The ancient Egyptians believed that the heart recorded all of the good and bad deeds of a person’s life, and was needed for judgment in the afterlife. After a person died, the heart was weighed against the feather of Maat (goddess of truth and justice). The scales were watched by Anubis (the jackal-headed god of embalming) and the results recorded by Thoth (the ibis-headed god of writing). If a person had led a decent life, the heart balanced with the feather and the person was rendered worthy to live forever in paradise with Osiris.
Aurora Trout (1927)
In 1923 the Aurora Trout was discovered by four Pittsburgh angelers in the Latchford area of Ontario, Canada. The next year Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s Curator of Fish made a trip to collect specimens and publish it as a new species to science in 1925. This diorama was first displayed at a time when fish dioramas were rare in museums. Image © Carnegie Museum of Natural History
Bear’s Head Tooth Mushroom
Black Swallowtail caterpillar
Microraptor fossil
This microraptor fossil was illegally brought into the U.S. and will be returned to China thanks to the efforts by Carnegie Museum of Natural History working with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). It will be exhibited at the Pittsburgh museum for six months, thanks to an agreement signed by Eric Dorfman, Director of Carnegie Museum of Natural History, and Zhang Zhijun, Deputy Chief of the Department of Stratigraphy and Paleontology for the Geological Museum of China. https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/ice-returns-ancient-dinosaur-fossil-ancient-cultural-artifacts-china
Roseate Spoonbill (1890-1910)
Around 1850 the study of natural history became a worldwide phenomenon, and with it, a fascination with taxidermy. As it became fashionable to display birds in parlors and drawing rooms, many taxidermists in American and Europe began mounting animals for decoration. Framed “Bubble Glass” taxidermy mounts were uniquely American and the epitome in home adornment. Image © Carnegie Museum of Natural History