Dear PaleoNetters,
If I had not been informed by one of the correspondents what
Euskadi was I probably would have suspected that it
was somewhere other than northeastern Spain. I suspect
that many palaeontologists around the world would experience similar puzzlement
if I stated that a particular fossil was found in Pitjantjajara
Country, without making it clear that it is in northwestern
South Australia. The
problem stems in part from a confusion of ethnicity and geography. We have to
stick with the geographical side of the coin because we are dealing with a
geographical location, not the ethnicity of the people that occupy that tract
of country, nor their political persuasion or aspirations. The most common way
of narrowing down the geographical location is to mention the name of the
modern nation state which happens to have the particular location within its
borders. These borders are essentially defined by international agreement (in
most cases). These change over time as everyone is well aware, but so does the
ethnicity of the people who occupy particular tracts of country. It may not
occur as rapidly as the former, but it does occur.
Putting Euskadi in your
publication may make you popular with your particular political grouping, but surely
a palaeontological publication should be more outward-looking and should cater to
the many palaeontologists around the world who would, if you put ‘Euskadi’, have no idea what you would be talking
about. You and your political group know where you live, what you want to call
it and who you want to be affiliated with, but many of the rest of us do not,
and it is us you are writing to!
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Dr John R.
Laurie
Eastern and Onshore Petroleum
GEOSCIENCE AUSTRALIA
GPO Box 378
Canberra ACT
2601
Australia
Tel: (02)
6249 9412; Fax: (02) 6249 9980
E-mail:
John.Laurie@ga.gov.au
Street Address:
Cnr Jerrabomberra Avenue & Hindmarsh Drive
Symonston
ACT 2609
ABN 80 091 799 039
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