The imaginary adventure> Real and imaginary fossils
Step 4
alt_route Hydropithecus Lair
The cave of Barles shelters three skeletons of Hydropithecus: two adults and an infant, a group nicknamed the “Holy Family” by Father Fontana. This group would have been trapped in the cave by a sudden rise in seawater from the Alpine Ocean. From the arrangement of fossils, Abbot Fontana founded a new method of study: the ethology of hydropithecus, behavioral studies.
Here it is both science that functions as a place for the construction of knowledge and the legitimization of values. The Hydropithecus Route is a museographic device devoted to falsification that allows the artist to dive into the authoritative discourse of science.
Cost: Free
Location: About 4 km (5 min) after the village of Barles on the D900 A, towards Verdaches. After the bridge over the Bès (second bridge after the village of Barles), park on a clearance 200m on the right. In front and behind, you will see the markings of the mountain bike course.
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Then take the path that starts between the beeches of which you can distinguish stone steps.
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Falsified fossils
Hydropithecus are a work of art, but do counterfeit fossils actually exist? The increasing collection of fossils, both by institutions and individuals, has generated a very lucrative market, sharpening the tricks of criminals.
China is now the world's largest production center for fake fossils which are then traded illegally in the international market.
Read about two famous archaeological hoaxes in history:
- Piltdown Man:
http://www.linternaute.com/science/divers/dossiers/06/impostures/homme-de-piltdown.shtml
- The Archaeoraptor:
https://www.sceptiques.qc.ca/dictionnaire/archaeoraptor.html
To know how to choose your information, watch a video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-Y-z6HmRgI