Expansion of the Scientific Value of the Mold and Pattern Collection at the University Museum

记录过去人类变化过程的证据主要是一组独特的原始人化石。它们的独特性使得在损坏或丢失的情况下无法更换。化石也应该提供给合格的调查人员进行研究，但大多数博物馆都有理由不允许独特的原始标本离开博物馆。这个问题的解决办法是提供极其精确的模型——考虑到大多数化石的微小细节的重要性，这是一个困难的问题。一位研究人员花了多年时间完善制作这种模型的过程，他在业内很有名。这个项目是为了让他制作目前存放在南斯拉夫、捷克斯洛伐克和德国的重要人类化石的模型，这些化石目前在美国无法进行研究。这些重要标本的模具将用于生产高度精确的阳性复制品，这些复制品将被纳入大学博物馆的2200多具原始人类和灵长类动物化石复制品库。在那里，它们可供调查人员研究或借阅。它们的收录大大提高了其对科学界的价值。

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.