Watch the documentary “The Bones” and you will never see dinosaurs the way you used to. I have taken my children to see the dinosaurs at The Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto and now it is the grandchildren. Children are fascinated with dinosaurs but if you take them when they are too young, they may just be terrorized. You just may be fascinated by this documentary.
“The Bones” makes dinosaur bones and fossils fascinating delving into the poaching, smuggling, commercialization and economic necessity for marginal populations to trade in them.
The stars of the show, so as to speak (dinosaurs excluded) are paleontologists in Canada, The United States, France, Mongolia and Morrocco explaining their work with dinosaurs and just how important it is that they be protected from poachers and smugglers. One explains in rather sobering fashion that no species lasts forever and that includes us so if we understand the process of their extinction, we may very well find clues to avoid our own extinction.
Roy Chapman Andrews (the big game hunter type) of the American Museum of Natural History in New York funded by Rockefeller and Morgan arrived in Mongolia’s Gobi Desert in 1922 and again in 1923 packing off goodness knows how many fossils and bones and shipping them off to New York. Although Andrews was a man of high credentials was he a thief? If he wasn’t the thieves and looters followed in his footsteps pillaging The Sahara Desert, The Gobi Desert and sites in Canada and the United States creating a dino exploitation pyramid with small time locals, small dealers, wholesale dealers and importers in the destination countries. You’ll see all of them in the documentary and auctioneers as well revelling in multimillion dollar auctions of T-Rex’s. As one dealer notes everything in the world is for sale.
When a dinosaur skeleton can sell in auction for millions to investment funds, wealthy collectors and museums many are looking to profit and the documentary features those who share their thoughts as how to stem the trade and the answers are varied. If marginal populations need to feed their families by selling bones and laws are weak or nonexistent the solution is not easy nor answers apparent.
You can watch the trailer here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p29RrEUOu9U
Directed by Jeremy Exido.
“The Bones” screens on 3May2024 at HOT DOCS.
RKS 2024 Film Rating 91/100.
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