The evidence documenting the course of human change over past time is primarily a collection of unique hominid fossils. Their uniqueness precludes replacement in case of damage or loss. Fossils should also be available for study to qualified investigators, but most museums justifiably will not allow unique original specimens out of the museum. The solution to this problem is to make available extremely accurate casts--a difficult problem given the minute details of importance on most fossils. One researcher has spent many years perfecting the process of making such casts and he is well known in the profession for doing so. This project is to allow him to make casts of important human fossils currently housed in Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, and Germany, that are currently not available for study in this country. The molds of these important specimens will be used to produce highly accurate positive replicas that will be incorporated into the University Museum repository of more than 2200 fossil hominid and primate reproductions. There, they are available to investigators for study or for loan. Their inclusion in this collection significantly enhances its value to the scientific community.
