Overview

Vertebrate paleontology has always inspired scientific and political debates. Humans have been fascinated with discoveries of ancient, and sometimes bizarre, animals that reflect Earth's history. No recent event has produced as much controversy as the discovery of a Tyrannosaurus rex dinosaur in South Dakota, initially called "Sue."

Background

The saga began in 1990 when a field collector for a private company, the Black Hills Institute of Geological Research, discovered the most complete fossil of a Tyrannosaurus rex ever found. The research institute allegedly paid the Cheyenne Sioux landowner, Maurice Williams, $5,000 for the fossil and began their excavations. The amazing specimen was placed in protective plaster jackets and transported to the company's facilities for removal from its 67 million-year-old earthly encasement. Some of the bones were partially prepared for making replicas and display at the institute's headquarters.

News of the rare fossil's...