China, We Have a Problem

A recent article in Science by R. Stone (Altering the Past: China's Faked Fossil Problem. Science, 2010, vol. 330, p. 1740-1741) shows "that many composites and fakes are now finding their way into Chinese museums, especially local museums" who often do not have palaeontologists on staff. Some of these fossils include large marine reptiles, supposedly early Cheetahs, and the now infamous "Archaeoraptor". There are several suggestions to at least reduce the amount of alteration of fossils but for the most part this is still "too lucrative".