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Famous Fossil Lucy Leaves Ethiopia
Paleontologist Leonard Krishtalka, director of the Natural History Museum at the University of Kansas, said the most dangerous risk of damage to Lucy would be from exposure to hazardous light levels while on display.
"There's no question that there are dangers while Lucy travels around the country, but museums ship valuable specimens around the world all the time. The question is, is the risk enough not to allow the public to see this treasure?" he said.
  The framed hominid fossil "Lucy," is seen at a exhibition at the Ethiopian Natural History Museum in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa, Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2006. The 3.2 million-year-old Lucy skeleton has left Ethiopia for a tour of the United States _ a trip that some say is simply too risky for one of the world's most famous fossils.(AP Photo/Les Neuhaus) (Les Neuhaus - AP) PHOTOS |
Ethiopian government officials have said that they will use the money raised from the traveling exhibit to improve museums and build new ones in Ethiopia, one of the world's poorest countries. Officials have declined to say how much they spent to insure Lucy or how much the government was being paid for the tour.
But some don't believe the money is an important enough reason to allow the remains to leave the country.
"Money cannot be a justification to export original specimens," said Zelalem Assefa, an Ethiopian who works at the Smithsonian and was visiting Addis Ababa. "These are original, irreplaceable materials. These are things you don't gamble with."
Ethiopia's culture minister, Mahamouda Ahmed Gaas, declined to comment on the tour Monday.
Other Lucy stops in the U.S. have yet to be finalized, but Ethiopian officials have said they include New York, Denver and Chicago.
The fossil is tentatively scheduled to be exhibited at The Field Museum in Chicago from November 2009 through April 2010, according to spokeswoman Nancy O'Shea. However, details have yet to be worked out, and no contract has been signed, she said.
Laura Holtman, a spokeswoman for the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, said the museum has had discussions about hosting the exhibit, but has not made a final decision. She said it will require more work to set up than most traveling displays, and officials are also considering the ethical issues that have been raised about exhibiting the Lucy remains.
"We haven't ruled it out," Holtman said. "Certainly, it's an amazing opportunity."
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Associated Press Writers Lily Hindy in New York and Colleen Slevin in Denver contributed to this report.
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