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Nicolas Cage To Return Rare Stolen Dinosaur Skull To Mongolia (nytimes.com)

HughPickens.com writes: Nicolas Cage is known as an avid collector, with interests that include real estate, rare cars and comic books: In 2011, he sold a like-new copy of Action Comics No. 1, which featured the first appearance of Superman, for $2.1 million. Now Katie Rogers reports at the NY Times that Cage has agreed to turn over the skull of a Tyrannosaurus bataar. It was the star artifact in a natural history-themed luxury auction in Manhattan, and was sold for $276,000 to an anonymous buyer eight years ago. "Cultural artifacts such as this Bataar Skull represent a part of Mongolian national cultural heritage," says Glenn Sorge. "It belongs to the people of Mongolia. These priceless antiquities are not souvenirs to be sold to private collectors or hobbyists." Several skeletons of the Tyrannosaurus bataar, a large, carnivorous dinosaur that was a close relative of Tyrannosaurus rex, have been returned to Mongolia in recent years. The private sales of such artifacts have worried paleontologists because it makes it harder for the scientific community to learn more about how the dinosaurs once lived. "We're losing science, we're losing education, we're losing valuable specimens," says Kevin Padian, a paleontologist at University of California, Berkeley.

95 comments

  1. First Post by Sigvatr · · Score: 1

    That man is a national treasure.

    1. Re:First Post by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      He is a bit cagey though.

      (Thank you, I'm here all week.)

    2. Re: First Post by IBME · · Score: 1

      I hope he didn't fuck it.

    3. Re:First Post by DeathElk · · Score: 2

      I tried the lamb, it sucked.

    4. Re:First Post by davester666 · · Score: 1

      Chicks complain he's done in 60 seconds.

      --
      Sleep your way to a whiter smile...date a dentist!
    5. Re:First Post by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Reminds me of my dad, gone in 60 seconds never to be heard from again.

    6. Re:First Post by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Why don't you tell the whole story: It was lamb cock and you sucked.

  2. Cagey guy by BarbaraHudson · · Score: 1
    Cagey guy
    That Nicholas Cage
    Two point one million
    For a comic book they paid
    He's returning the dinosaur
    skull today
    'Cus the Ghost Rider one is
    Way cooler, they say.

    Burma Sahve

    --
    "Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.
    1. Re: Cagey guy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That was horrible

    2. Re: Cagey guy by smittyoneeach · · Score: 1

      Why do you H8 art?

      --
      Get thee glass eyes, and, like a scurvy politician, seem to see things thou dost not.--King Lear
  3. tax write-off by turkeydance · · Score: 2

    now he'll focus on his core competencies.

  4. I'm all for returning cultural artifacts. by hey! · · Score: 5, Insightful

    But I'm not sure a dinosaur skull counts as a cultural artifact, unless it was looted from the temple of a dinosaur worshipping cult or something.

    --
    Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
    1. Re:I'm all for returning cultural artifacts. by Tablizer · · Score: 5, Funny

      not sure a dinosaur skull counts as a cultural artifact, unless it was looted from the temple of a dinosaur worshipping cult or something.

      It's happened before.

    2. Re:I'm all for returning cultural artifacts. by h33t+l4x0r · · Score: 1

      It's like how the moon rocks are part of our cultural heritage because we went there and got them. It's not required that we be present at time the rocks were formed.

    3. Re:I'm all for returning cultural artifacts. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's like how the moon rocks are part of our cultural heritage because we went there and got them. It's not required that we be present at time the rocks were formed.

      Well, obviously a westerner went to Mongolia and got that skull. I guess that's American cultural heritage now.

    4. Re:I'm all for returning cultural artifacts. by gl4ss · · Score: 0

      well.. yes and no.

      the moon rocks only became cultural heritage of the USA after USA got them. However.. Would you count the ruins the Mongol horde created as mongolian cultural heritage?

      Obviously they had no standing actual legal claim to the fossil, otherwise it would have been returned already, so I'm unsure why it was described as stolen. I just wish Cage got some assurances(however feeble they may be) that the skeleton doesn't get sold again, because that would be a nice pretty scam for the mongolians. just sell it off and keep claiming back... futhermore, it might have been a lot easier to get decent 3d scans of it while under his possession. a lot cheaper probably anyways than paying off the bureaucrats to gain access.

      from quick research, it seems that the government negotiated expeditions happened way after mongolian independence so there's that too to negate any claims. the mongolian government in practice already sold them once so what is going to hold them from selling them again.. especially after any scientific use has been exhausted(would be easy to argue that any foreseeable use for scanning or whatever has been exhausted already and thus it would be better to have the remains distributed across the globe evenly).

      --
      world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
    5. Re:I'm all for returning cultural artifacts. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It doesn't. Mongolia just wants it returned so they can sell it again.

    6. Re:I'm all for returning cultural artifacts. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You get it wrong. Crushing rare animal skull for medicine is the culture they're talking about. It's part of the traditional chinese pseudo-medicine.

    7. Re:I'm all for returning cultural artifacts. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Well, obviously a westerner went to Mongolia and got that skull. I guess that's American cultural heritage now.

      Exactamundo!

    8. Re:I'm all for returning cultural artifacts. by malditaenvidia · · Score: 1

      I guess you could say he's Bringing Out the Dead.

    9. Re:I'm all for returning cultural artifacts. by naris · · Score: 1

      Apparently Mongolia must be a nation of Paleontologists. Paleontology is taught too all Mongolian children at a very young age as it is deeply embedded in Mongolia's Culture!

    10. Re:I'm all for returning cultural artifacts. by GLMDesigns · · Score: 1

      I completely agree with you. It's not a cultural artifact. It's a creature that died millions of years before homo sapiens existed and Mongolia didn't exist in any way shape or form. The indian subcontinent had not yet "barreled" into asia.

      --
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      Vote 3rd Party in 2016 and beyond
  5. cultural artifact how? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I get the whole wanting it back thing.... but how is it in any way cultural? It was dead and fossilized before human culture was ever a thing. Nobody for the most part even knew the things where in the ground until what the last hundred years or so?

    1. Re: cultural artifact how? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Immaterial, something does not have to be human created to be considered a cultural artifact or very long recognized. Just think of Vasquez Rocks. Nobody gave a shit about them till Hollywood started using them. Now? They're like Ayers Rock. Heck, the Old Man of the Mountain was on the back of a quarter.

      If Mongolia wants to set those terms for their fossils, that is their business. If you want to change them, become one or persuade them to act different. As casus belli goes, Dinosaur bones aren't much of one.

    2. Re: cultural artifact how? by rossdee · · Score: 1

      "They're like Ayers Rock."

      How come Ayers Rock isn't called by the Aboriginal name?

    3. Re: cultural artifact how? by donscarletti · · Score: 1

      The name "Uluru" is used as the primary name by the Australian government and in school textbooks. Though ordinary people have the right to refer to it however they like.

      Aboriginal place names have always been a enthusiastically promoted part of Australia, long before Aboriginals even had the right to vote or hold public office. Why Australians never questioned calling their capital city Canberra (which may or may not mean "breasts" or "cleavage"), but a century later seem to find the name of a rock in the desert a sticking point is beyond me. My guess is 1) inertia 2) the perceived implication that this monolith means comparatively little to non-indigenous Australians.

      --
      When Argumentum ad Hominem falls short, try Argumentum ad Matrem
    4. Re: cultural artifact how? by evilviper · · Score: 3, Insightful

      How come Ayers Rock isn't called by the Aboriginal name?

      Same reason you don't call Germany "Deutschland"...

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      Slashdot gets worse every day... Pipedot: News for nerds, without the corporate slant
    5. Re: cultural artifact how? by ChrisMaple · · Score: 1

      The Old Man of the Mountain is now a part of the scree in the Franconia Notch. Nobody is interested in that pile of rocks, nobody considers the rubble to be cultural heritage.

      --
      Contribute to civilization: ari.aynrand.org/donate
    6. Re: cultural artifact how? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      How come Ayers Rock isn't called by the Aboriginal name?

      Same reason you don't call Germany "Deutschland"...

      So... the Australians lost WWII?

    7. Re: cultural artifact how? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's worse than that, they lost a war to the emus.

    8. Re:cultural artifact how? by MancunianMaskMan · · Score: 1

      not only is it not cultural, it'as not an artefact either, an "artefact" is an "artificially made" object. Still think it's part of Mongolian "national heritage" in a sense though.

    9. Re:cultural artifact how? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If a marble fireplace is an artefact, so is this.

    10. Re: cultural artifact how? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The Old Man of the Mountain is now a part of the scree in the Franconia Notch. Nobody is interested in that pile of rocks, nobody considers the rubble to be cultural heritage.

      Yeah, that's why they didn't set up viewscopes so you could continue to see where it was! There wasn't an attempt at a more elaborate memorial either!

      Oh wait...they did.

      I wouldn't even be surprised if somebody saved the rocks.

    11. Re:cultural artifact how? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      A marble fireplace is a thing made by humans, thus is an artifact of human culture. A fossil is not made by humans and thus is not an artifact of human culture.

    12. Re: cultural artifact how? by GrumpySteen · · Score: 1

      And rabbits
      And cane toads
      And pigs
      And cats (okay, to be fair, they haven't necessarily lost this one yet, but feral cats are pretty goddamn good at surviving).

      Australia: The world's favorite destination for invasive species.

    13. Re: cultural artifact how? by CanEHdian · · Score: 1

      Good Day Sir.

      I am a representative of the Cult of the O2, a/k/a Oxygenians and we have a good faith believe that you are in possession of some of our cultural artifacts, i.e. oxygen molecules, consisting of 2 oxygen atoms each, present in or near your lungs as well as your blood stream. We demand the immediate return of these cultural artifacts and demand you cease and desist obtaining any further specimens of O2 molecules.

      Thank you for your immediate cooperation.

      --
      When the copyright term is "forever minus a day", live every day like it's the last.
    14. Re: cultural artifact how? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Ayers Rock *is* frequently referred to by it's Aboriginal name: Uluru

  6. free trade by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    who gets to interfere in the sacred contract between buyer and seller.

    buncha sjws, screaming about national cultural heritage

    amirite?

    1. Re:free trade by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Who opened the door to the mental asylum again?

    2. Re:free trade by donkwich · · Score: 1

      Probably a Poe, but if not this doesn't really work when the skull was stolen from its original owners beforehand.

  7. That must be some national treasure by nensondubois · · Score: 1

    I ruined the joke already, but it was fun.
    Does Nicolas Cage collect rediculously rare videogames? Because I have tons.

    --
    http://gamehacking.org/vb/threads/12747-nensondubois-codes http://twitter.com/nensondubois_
    1. Re:That must be some national treasure by I'm+New+Around+Here · · Score: 1

      Does Nicolas Cage collect rediculously rare videogames? Because I have tons.

      Only E.T. and Custer's Revenge.

      --
      If you think I voted for Trump because of this post, you're wrong. I voted for Dr. Jill Stein of the Green Party. Again.
  8. why sell it in the first place? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    star artifact in a natural history-themed luxury auction in Manhattan, and was sold for $276,000 to an anonymous buyer eight years ago... These priceless antiquities are not souvenirs to be sold to private collectors or hobbyists.

    If the idea is to not have these artifacts sold to private collectors - and that makes perfect sense - then why sell them to private collectors? TFS doesn't make it sound like it was stolen or anything. Just sold to some rich AC, and it eventually ended up with Cage.

    1. Re:why sell it in the first place? by Ranbot · · Score: 1

      If you read the article you have seen that investigations years afterwards tied the dinosaur skull to a smuggler who knowingly broke Mongolian law by removing the fossil [and many others] from the country, and sold it to the auction house, who then sold it to Cage.

    2. Re:why sell it in the first place? by crow_t_robot · · Score: 1
      The article has a link to this:
      http://www.justice.gov/usao-sd...

      Which says:

      Not long after his arrest, on December 27, 2012, Prokopi pled guilty to engaging in a scheme to illegally import the fossilized remains of numerous dinosaurs that had been taken out of their native countries illegally and smuggled into the United States.

    3. Re: why sell it in the first place? by IBME · · Score: 1

      Who then fucked it.

    4. Re:why sell it in the first place? by gl4ss · · Score: 1

      that link doesn't mention the skull that Cage has anyways - if it did, it wouldn't really be a voluntary return anyways.

      besides, I would be willing to bet money that post 1924 the government of mongolia allowed remains to leave.. the expeditions were negotiated with them, with almost certainly money changing hands as is the custom in the region.

      that is, the skull would be safer in cages cage.

      --
      world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
    5. Re: why sell it in the first place? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Dude, it wasn't funny the first time.

    6. Re: why sell it in the first place? by Coren22 · · Score: 1

      Naa, he drank a beer from it.

      --
      APK likes to ask for responses to the same things over and over. Maybe he just likes the responses?
    7. Re:why sell it in the first place? by KGIII · · Score: 1

      Yup. If they had the force of law, they wouldn't be asking. Likewise, if a cop is asking to come in, tell him no. If he had a right to come in, he wouldn't be asking.

      --
      "So long and thanks for all the fish."
    8. Re:why sell it in the first place? by tehcyder · · Score: 1

      Yup. If they had the force of law, they wouldn't be asking. Likewise, if a cop is asking to come in, tell him no. If he had a right to come in, he wouldn't be asking.

      Yes, that's what happened when I had to report a recent burglary to the police. When a uniformed stormtrooper knocked at my door, I told him to go fuck himself and his "victim support" bullshit, and immediately posted on facebook about my heroic resistance to fascism.

      --
      To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
    9. Re:why sell it in the first place? by KGIII · · Score: 1

      LOL Probably for the best, actually. I was tooling around on YouTube and I heard one of the funnies improv lines ever. There's a redneck with a strong rural Georgia accent and a cop who's trying to get him to let them search his house for a buddy who has a warrant out for him. He's refusing to let the cops search and the cops says something about the Georgia boy shaking and looking scared.

      The Georgia Boy says, "You got a whole tool-belt designed to kill me. Of course I'm scared."

      Ah well, at least you posted to Facebook. Down with the man! Fight the power! Oddly enough, I gave everyone clear directions, novel ones too, on how to shut the government down without actually getting shot - in a form of peaceful protest. Someone marked my post as overrated. ;-) (I presume it was a politician, someone who hates me, or someone who lives in D.C.)

      --
      "So long and thanks for all the fish."
  9. F them by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    And any other country that claim something is a "national treasure" and thus must be "returned".

  10. Return Nicolas Cage to Mongolia by jfdavis668 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Keep the skull.

    1. Re:Return Nicolas Cage to Mongolia by Sycraft-fu · · Score: 1

      We don't really need to be at war with another nation, thanks :P

    2. Re:Return Nicolas Cage to Mongolia by SinShiva · · Score: 1

      Score:All the points, ajsdhflkawjef

    3. Re:Return Nicolas Cage to Mongolia by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Keep the skull.

      This just made my day...

    4. Re: Return Nicolas Cage to Mongolia by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yup they wanted a dinosaur they get a dinosaur!

  11. Re: He is such a Republican by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    He's rich so you just know he's one of those Republicans.

  12. Re: He is such a Republican by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    That's how they be.

  13. Re: He is such a Republican by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    They constantly steal. Constantly steal.

  14. Re: He is such a Republican by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    He is insane and all Republicans are so there's a good chance of that.

  15. Dinosaurs got shlonged! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    In your face, dinos!

  16. Not "cultural" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    A fossil, that was in the ground before any human inhabited Mongolia, is not their "cultural" artefact.

    That's like saying the rocks in my backyard are part of my "cultural heritage", because, well my backyard.

    1. Re:Not "cultural" by Impy+the+Impiuos+Imp · · Score: 1

      In this case it's more like the guy who owned your house 3 owners ago let someone pay him to dig around and keep whatever he found.

      --
      (-1: Post disagrees with my already-settled worldview) is not a valid mod option.
    2. Re:Not "cultural" by tehcyder · · Score: 1

      A fossil, that was in the ground before any human inhabited Mongolia, is not their "cultural" artefact.

      That's like saying the rocks in my backyard are part of my "cultural heritage", because, well my backyard.

      I'm pretty sure you'd say that the Grand Canyon was part of America's cultural heritage.

      --
      To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
  17. Best of 2015 by PopeRatzo · · Score: 1

    That is the best Slashdot headline of 2015, bar none.

    Thank you and Merry Christmas/Happy New Year to everyone, even the Anonymous Cowards. Let me leave you with this traditional seasonal music:

    https://youtu.be/0A8KT365wlA

    --
    You are welcome on my lawn.
    1. Re:Best of 2015 by cfalcon · · Score: 1

      There have been some epic ones, especially the ones where we found out about all the backdoors in every product, and all the ones where rooms full of people who don't understand encryption talk about it because they saw a movie or something.

      But I have to concur- this one involves Nicolas Cage AND a dinosaur AND theft. Bingo!

  18. You kjnow what also destroys science by Maxo-Texas · · Score: 2

    When primitive screwheads destroy it during a period of civil unrest due to their religious beliefs.

    We've lost a lot to isis and the taliban.

    Hopefully the bhuddists of Mongolia can keep the items safe.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

    At the very least, we should take a casting of items before they are returned and perhaps laser surveys of things too large to protect.

    --
    She was like chocolate when she drank... semi-sweet at first and then increasingly bitter.
    1. Re:You kjnow what also destroys science by myowntrueself · · Score: 1

      When primitive screwheads destroy it during a period of civil unrest due to their religious beliefs.

      We've lost a lot to isis and the taliban.

      Hopefully the bhuddists of Mongolia can keep the items safe.

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

      At the very least, we should take a casting of items before they are returned and perhaps laser surveys of things too large to protect.

      Unfortunately the facilities in Mongolia aren't that great. The main museum where dinosaur bones are kept has suffered water damage. Its likely this skull will just rot (or whatever dinosaur bones do).

      --
      In the free world the media isn't government run; the government is media run.
  19. Nice, but... by Nimloth · · Score: 1

    When's he gonna return the declaration of independance?

  20. Babality! by future+assassin · · Score: 1

    Perfect Score!

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  21. Dinosaur Ghost Rider by Gumbercules!! · · Score: 2

    Presumably he'll be returning it, on fire, on top of a motorcycle?

  22. Return the skull? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    What's he gonna have on top of his neck?

  23. "the skull had been stolen from the Gobi Desert" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    TFA says "the skull had been stolen from the Gobi Desert" which sounds like somebody discovered it, dug it out of the ground, and sold it without getting the proper permits. It's a reach to call that theft.

  24. High Praise by n3r0.m4dski11z · · Score: 1

    I remember a similar auction being written about in the new yorker. Was very interesting. This particular dinosaur only is found in mongolia so virtually every one has been smuggled out illegally. The article covers an american collector who swares that he didn't smuggle it out of china, but it ruined or nearly ruined him simply being in possession of it!

    http://www.newyorker.com/magaz...

    --
    -
    1. Re:High Praise by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Has anyone ever seen this law from 1924 in Mongolia on period paperf? I suspect that unlike Dinosaurs there is precious little evidence of it.

  25. Worst. Movie pitch... EVER. by evilviper · · Score: 1

    But I bet Disney already green-lighted it...

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  26. The dinosaur was alive by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    before watching Nicolas Cage's acting. It was a caged pet for Nicolas. Its health deteriorated when he played his movies at his home and by Ghost Rider 2 only the freaking skull was left.

  27. Con Air II... by Macfox · · Score: 1
    Put the Dinosaur back in Mongolia

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

    --
    Area51 - We are watching...
  28. Re: He is such a Republican by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    He's giving it back because they found out they can't extract DNA from it. Republicans are so evil. They wanted to clone an army of dinosaurs to kill us all. To kill us all.

  29. I want to be Nicholas Cage when I grow up. by cshark · · Score: 1

    What's interesting about this story is not that he returned it.
    Sure, that was nice of him and all.

    But the real story here is that Nicholas Cage stole a dinosaur skull to begin with.
    That has got to be among the coolest fucking things I've ever heard about a celebrity doing.

    I hope this blows up in memedom.

    --

    This signature has Super Cow Powers

    1. Re:I want to be Nicholas Cage when I grow up. by cshark · · Score: 1

      (Okay, technically, it was the other guy that stole it, but being in possession of a stolen artifact is still very Indiana Jones.)

      --

      This signature has Super Cow Powers

    2. Re:I want to be Nicholas Cage when I grow up. by tehcyder · · Score: 1

      What's interesting about this story is not that he returned it. Sure, that was nice of him and all.

      But the real story here is that Nicholas Cage stole a dinosaur skull to begin with. That has got to be among the coolest fucking things I've ever heard about a celebrity doing.

      I hope this blows up in memedom.

      The bit where he gives it back is a bit of an anti-climactic ending though.

      --
      To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
  30. Re:"the skull had been stolen from the Gobi Desert by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You stole some text from TFS therefore you are a pirate.

  31. everything there is trying to kill you by dlt074 · · Score: 1

    except they don't do a very good job of it.

  32. He had to return it by naris · · Score: 1

    Because Harrison Ford told him it belongs in a Museum!

  33. Yes, it's being studied by.... by Radical+Moderate · · Score: 1

    ....Top. Men.

    --
    Never let a lack of data get in the way of a good rant.
  34. I Love This Horseshit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The private sales of such artifacts have worried paleontologists because it makes it harder for the scientific community to learn more about how the dinosaurs once lived. "We're losing science, we're losing education, we're losing valuable specimens," says Kevin Padian, a paleontologist at University of California, Berkeley.

    'We should have these things, not other people, only us. If we don't have it then science and education are losing and terrorists win.'

    Holy sour grapes, Batman!

  35. $2.1 million for a comic book? by tehcyder · · Score: 1

    Truly, some people have more money than sense or taste.

    --
    To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
  36. Re:"the skull had been stolen from the Gobi Desert by tehcyder · · Score: 1

    You stole some text from TFS therefore you are a pirate.

    Copied, dude. He copied some text.

    Plagiarism is not theft, any more than it's a bicycle.

    --
    To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it