Sather Tower description

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Jeff Bilmes
International Computer Science Institute
University of California, Berkeley

Dear Jeff:

I just found out about your ICSI WWW site
(http://www.icsi.berkeley.edu/~sather/FAQ), because some observant
paleontologist found your description of the Sather Tower under your FAQ
about your Sather computer language.  He posted it to a couple of
paleontology bulletin boards because it makes no sense paleontologically
and is in error in part.  Since Berkeley is one of the major centers of
paleontology in the country, we would appreciate a modification of your
description.  The Tower does indeed contain fossils from Rancho La Brea,
which are Pleistocene (Ice Ages) in age.  We have no dinosaurs, which are
Mesozoic in age and at least 64 million older than La Brea.   There never
have been any human remains stored there.  I wonder if you would kindly
change your text to set the record straight.  You can adapt some of the
following material, if you wish:

The University of California, Berkeley, Museum of Paleontology has 4 of the
5 floors in Sather Tower, which constitute one of our 3 auxilliary storage
facilities.  Our chief facility is in the new Valley Life Sciences Building
on the central campus.  Mostly we store Rancho La Brea fossils in the
Tower, plus bulk microfossil samples and some other misc. materials.  The
Rancho La Brea material was collected in Los Angeles by J. C. Merriam of
this Museum in the early 1900's, hence this collection is the original and
second largest La Brea holdings after the Natural History Museum of Los
Angeles (including the Page Museum at La Brea).  It includes sabre-toothed
cats, horses, sloths, giant vultures, dire wolves, and many, many more
interesting extinct animals and plants.  But no dinosaurs, which we keep in
our main Museum and another auxillary storage building.

Most importantly, NO human remains are stored in the Tower or in the Museum
of Paleontology.  This is a continuing error that could bring some
undeserved problems to us, if repeated widely, in terms of return of human
remains and artifacts to native Americans.  As I understand it, all human
remains and artifacts at Berkeley are being dealt with or have been dealt
with according to Federal regulations by the Hearst Museum of Anthropology,
which does house such items.

Thanks very much.  I liked your site, incidentally ('cept for the paleontology)

Jere



Jere H. Lipps,  Director
Museum of Paleontology
University of California
Berkeley, California 94720 USA

Voice:  510-642-9006.  Fax:  510-642-1822
Internet:  jlipps@ucmp1.berkeley.edu