Forensic Geology and Paleontology

Conflicts related to fossils, unquestionably a humanity heritage, did not end a century ago when newsboys gathered hundreds with stories about creatures hiding in the rocks and emerging scientists securing supremacy over a quarry with rifles. Decades of deceitful, unexpected, and most important unnoticed conflicts have led to a complex reality where the life of hundreds of people crosses with billions of dollars every year. If nowadays several countries represent a crucial target for fossil hunters (either scientists or poachers) powering collections and legal trade, others are recriminating decades of colonial impositions and claim their fossilized treasures back.

In a global network that even lacks a shared, unequivocal definition of fossil, all modern conflicts related to Paleontology are remarkably rooted in an ineffective legislation.

By 2030 professional paleontologists working for private or public institutions will have to share knowledge with, amongst others, lawyers, traders, FBI representatives, ministries, ethic experts and media.

Federico Fanti is member of the IUGS-IFG Committee as the ‘Forensic Palaeontologist Adviser’  with a focus on the growing global problem of fossil crime, fakes and fraud.