Documentary

Notice: For family reasons Dr. Nigel C. Hughes will not be able to give his public keynote talk “Walcott, Trilobites, and the Cambrian Radiation”, originally scheduled on Tuesday Aug. 4^th at 1:30 pm. The following documentary is proposed instead.

Summary: The documentary opens with a summary description of Precambrian Earth and Life, with particular emphasis on the biota of the Ediacaran Period. It then focuses on palaeontological highlights of the Precambrian/Cambrian transition and the probable causes of the “Cambrian Explosion” (with a short discussion on the nature and reality of the event). The history of Cambrian studies is briefly presented, followed by a review of the importance of fossil sites with exceptional preservation in reconstructing Cambrian "wonderful life". Sites in Wales, Canada’s Burgess Shale, Chengjiang, China, and Sinsk in Siberia are featured, with special reference to the 100^th anniversary of the discovery of the Burgess Shale and its remarkable fossils. The final part of the documentary deals with the Cambrian Lagerstätte of Murero (Spain), stressing its fossil content, long and continuous record (lower to Middle Cambrian), and its contribution to the understanding of sexual dimorphism in trilobites. The film ends with some brief reflections on scientific progress in palaeontology and on the unique nature of the human mind.

Interviewees include Dr. Butterfield, Dr. Liñán, Dr. Zhuravlev, Dr. Owens, Dr. Gozalo, Dr. Gámez, Dr. Briggs, Dr. Zhou, and Dr. Dies.