Brazil's First Human, A 'priceless' Loss From Rio's Museum Fire
Sumaira FH Published September 04, 2018 | 02:48 AM
Rio de Janeiro, Sept 3 (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 4th Sep, 2018 ) :Brazil on Monday mourned the loss of the "first Brazilian," Luzia, after the 12,000-year-old fossil was destroyed in a raging fire that ripped through Rio de Janeiro's treasured National Museum.
The jewel in the crown of the museum's collection of 20 million valuable pieces, Luzia was the first human fossil found in Brazil, in the southwestern Minas Gerais state in 1970.
"Luzia is a priceless loss for everyone interested in civilization," Paulo Knauss, director at Brazil's national history museum, told AFP.
Using her skull, researchers at Britain's University of Manchester had managed to produce a digital image of her face, which was used as the base for a sculpture displayed in the museum that went up in smoke on Sunday night.
"Luzia died in the fire," moaned Katia Bogea, president of the National Institute of Historic and Artistic Heritage, as quoted by Estado de S.
Paulo newspaper.
She said the tragedy had been coming, blaming major budget cuts for the irreparable cultural loss.
Knauss said the lack of funding was due to "a crisis of values" that had been blighting the country for many years.
"It's an old problem but we have to stop talking about the past and think about the future... to inverse a process that shames us in the face of future generations," he said.
Considered the most important natural history museum in Latin America, the National Museum, which celebrated its bicentenary in June, was particularly renowned for its paleontology collections.
The former imperial palace housed a dinosaur skeleton also found in Minas Gerais as well as 26,000 fossils of extinct species, including the famed saber-toothed tiger.
Related Topics
Recent Stories
3 Gawadar attack victims funeral offered
Mbappe says he will leave PSG at end of season
Usmani felicitates Sardar Saleem on taking oath as Punjab Governor
DC for provision of facilities to people in Lasbela
Solar storm could bring auroras, power and telecoms disruptions
Court grants interim bail to PTI leaders
Ulema, Mashaykh call for political accountability, collaboration for Pakistan's ..
SHRC asks NADRA to issue CNICs to transgender as per law
Flash floods kill 50 in one day in north Afghanistan
CDA chief expresses commitment to promoting modern-day technologies
By wide margin, UN General Assembly votes to back Palestinian bid for membership ..
Musadik slams PTI's political approach as provocative
More Stories From World
-
Endrick in Brazil's Copa America squad but no Neymar
3 hours ago -
Djokovic bottle strike overshadows Rome Open cruise past Moutet
3 hours ago -
Train crash in Argentine capital leaves 30 injured
3 hours ago -
Pandemic agreement talks to continue beyond deadline
3 hours ago -
Chopra falls short in Doha, Bednarek blitzes before Olympics
3 hours ago -
Djokovic struck with bottle from stands after winning Rome opener
3 hours ago
-
England great Anderson's Test career under threat after McCullum talks - report
4 hours ago -
Senegal launches inquiry into Boeing jet runway crash
4 hours ago -
Madagascan leader's former aide jailed in UK for graft
4 hours ago -
Seven killed as bus crashes into river in Russia's St Petersburg
4 hours ago -
Mbappe confirms he will leave PSG at end of season
4 hours ago -
Fresh rains pound Brazil's flood-hit south as evacuations double
5 hours ago