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Importance of Kenneth Edward Caster (1908–1992) Personal Correspondence and Field Notebooks to the Brazilian Paleontological Heritage

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Abstract

The aim of this work is to value Kenneth E. Caster’s correspondence and field notebooks as Brazilian paleontological heritage. These data are usually underestimated in the Geosciences, although they have been used in the development of an inventory of the most valuable occurrences of Devonian fossils in NE Brazil. During his academic career, Kenneth E. Caster (1908–1992) worked in several universities, including the University of São Paulo (USP, Brazil), where he was a visiting professor from 1945 to 1947. We analyze more than 2000 documents of his personal correspondence (from 1937 to 1984) and three field notebooks. These documents allow the recovery of historical, educational, and scientific information. They represent an important source of historical value to identify Caster’s personal and professional relationships as well as to understand his contribution to establish and improve the first Brazilian institutions related to Paleontology (National Department of Mineral Production; Paranaense Museum; Cultural Center “Euclides da Cunha”; Brazilian Geological Society; Brazilian Paleontological Society; National Petroleum Council). These documents also have educational value, related to the beginning of Paleontology in the Brazilian universities (USP) and the formation of its teaching collections. In the same way, they are an important source of scientific value to current geological and paleontological research, resulting in the discovery of new fossil localities and additional fossiliferous levels at previously known sites from the Parnaíba and Paraná basins.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are very grateful to Carlton E. Brett, David L. Mayer, Warren D. Huff, Lewis A. Owen, and Barry J. Maynard (University of Cincinnati/Department of Geology) for allowing the study and scanning of Kenneth E. Caster’s field notebooks and correspondence, and for the donation of Brazilian fossils (“Caster’s Collection”) to the Museu Nacional (Rio de Janeiro). We are also thankful to Brenda Hunda (Cincinnati Museum Center/Geier Collections & Research Center) for allowing the study and loan of Brazilian fossils. The authors appreciate the helpful comments and linguistic revision of the text given by Tim Hobson, Ana Banito, and the two Geoheritage reviewers, which resulted in a much improved manuscript. Funding was provided by FAPERJ (Carlos Chagas Filho Research Support Foundation).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Postgraduate Program in Museology and Heritage (PPG-PMUS, UNIRIO/MAST), Universidade Federal do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

    Joana David Caprário de Lima

  2. Laboratório de Tafonomia e Paleoecologia Aplicadas—LABTAPHO, Universidade Federal do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Avenida Pasteur 458, sala 504, Urca. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, CEP 22290-255, Brazil

    Luiza Corral Martins de Oliveira Ponciano

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  1. Joana David Caprário de Lima
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  2. Luiza Corral Martins de Oliveira Ponciano
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Correspondence to Luiza Corral Martins de Oliveira Ponciano.

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de Lima, J.D.C., de Oliveira Ponciano, L.C.M. Importance of Kenneth Edward Caster (1908–1992) Personal Correspondence and Field Notebooks to the Brazilian Paleontological Heritage. Geoheritage 10, 179–190 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12371-017-0241-4

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