IGA Lecture – TUESDAY 28th February: Dr Stimpson on “Nineteenth century fossil collections from the foothills of the Himalaya and the National Museum of Ireland”

Abstract

The main aim of this talk is to provide an accessible introduction and a brief history of the collection of Plio-Pleistocene fossils from the foothills of the Himalaya, also known as the ‘Siwaliks’ or ‘Siwalik Hills’. It will first consider the context and the practices of collection during the 19^th century before a concise survey of some of the remarkable fauna that the fossils have revealed. Special attention will be given to specimens from the collections held by the National Museum of Ireland highlighting their particular significance. The talk will then conclude with a discussion of priorities and challenges for future research on the fossils of the Siwaliks. 

Biography

Dr Chris Stimpson trained as a zoologist before specialising in the recovery and analysis of archaeological and palaeontological animal bone assemblages. His PhD research (University of Cambridge) focused on large assemblages of bird and bat bones recovered from the Great Cave of Niah in Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo. He has since held postdoctoral appointments at the University of Cambridge, University of Oxford, and Queen’s University Belfast. 

A Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and Honorary Associate of the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, Chris has worked widely in Europe, Southeast Asia, North Africa and the Middle East and has extensive fieldwork experience in varied environments including caves, sand deserts and rainforests. He is currently involved is research projects in Vietnam, Egypt and Ireland and is reviewing 19^th century collections of fossils from the foothills of the Himalaya in museums in the UK and Ireland. 

When: TUESDAY (!) 28th February at 7.00pm

Where: online via Zoom.

Registration: Please register here (in case of problem with the online form, please email info@geology.ie). All welcome!