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News and musings from the UCL Culture team
By Dean W Veall, on 10 November 2017
Hello Specimen of the Week fans, Dean Veall here. This week I am sharing a specimen I have a great affinity for as I was once a proud owner of a breed of this Ordinary Animal as a child and have loved them ever since. Specimen of the Week is…….
By Jack Ashby, on 2 March 2016
The other day, two skulls were next to each other on the trolley – a capybara and a hyena. One is the world’s largest rodent, from the wetlands of South America, the other is a large carnivore from Sub-Saharan Africa, and as such are not often found together in museums.
Capybara and spotted hyena skulls, which are surprisingly the same size. (LDUCZ-Z180 and LDUCZ-Z2589)
I was amazed that they were the same size. This inspired me to find other bits of animals that are surprisingly the same size… (more…)
By Emma-Louise Nicholls, on 27 January 2014
At the Grant Museum we like any excuse to talk about animals and the Chinese New Year always provides an easy subject matter. The list of animals used in the Chinese calendar is on a 12 year rotation cycle. There are tigers, dragons and snakes… I however was born in the year of the, err, rooster. Yay. This year is an animal that has helped to win wars, boost the Olympics event programme and transport both goods and people. However, I think it’s close cousin, in the same genus, but classified as a different species, is a more interesting subject. This week’s Specimen of the Week is… (more…)
By Edmund Connolly, on 16 August 2013
Last week’s animals weren’t as exotic as their forerunners, and we will be looking at another recognisable animal for both Ancient Egyptians and Victorian Londoners. As promised, this week will be examining the horse, perhaps a not so obvious element of an Egypt based menagerie.
Petrie’s Menagerie #4 The Horse
Man’s best friend may be a dog, but man’s most useful friend is probably the horse and I won’t insult my readers by describing one.
“With the harnessing of its strength and swiftness to provide mobility, the horse transformed human existence”
Lawrence, 223.
Icelandic ponies, I spent a few holidays riding these shaggy beasts around France. copyright wikipedia.org
