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Witness History

I found the first dinosaur remains in Antarctica

Witness History

BBC

History, Personal Journals, Society & Culture

4.41.6K Ratings

🗓️ 22 October 2024

⏱️ 11 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Argentinian geologist Eduardo Olivero became the first scientist to find the remains of a dinosaur in Antarctica in 1986. But digging in frozen ground is not easy, so recovering them took several trips over a decade.

Eduardo had to work with discretion and hide the fossils a couple of times to prevent other scientists from taking away his discovery. It was later proven the dinosaur is a new kind of Ankylosaurus that now carries his name: Antarctopelta oliveroi.

He speaks to Stefania Gozzer about the challenges he faced working below freezing point in Antarctica and the friendly rivalries that rise in such a remote environment.

Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there. For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the world, to examine wars, coups, scientific discoveries, cultural moments and much more.

Recent episodes explore everything from football in Brazil, the history of the ‘Indian Titanic’ and the invention of air fryers, to Public Enemy’s Fight The Power, subway art and the political crisis in Georgia. We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: visionary architect Antoni Gaudi and the design of the Sagrada Familia; Michael Jordan and his bespoke Nike trainers; Princess Diana at the Taj Mahal; and Görel Hanser, manager of legendary Swedish pop band Abba on the influence they’ve had on the music industry. You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the time an Iraqi journalist hurled his shoes at the President of the United States in protest of America’s occupation of Iraq; the creation of the Hollywood commercial that changed advertising forever; and the ascent of the first Aboriginal MP.

(Photo: Eduardo with the first remains he found in Antarctica. Credit: Eduardo Olivero)

Transcript

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0:00.0

You are about to listen to a BBC podcast and I'd like to tell you a bit about what goes into making one.

0:06.0

I'm Siddhartha Cesset, an assistant commissioner of Podcasts for BBC Sounds.

0:11.0

I pull a lot of levers to support a diverse range of podcasts on all sorts of subjects,

0:16.6

identity, comedy, even one that mixes poetry, music and inner city life.

0:22.1

So one day I'll be helping host develop their ideas, the next

0:26.0

fact checking, a feature and the next looking at how a podcast connects with its

0:31.5

audience and maybe that's you. So if you like this

0:34.6

podcast check out some others on BBC Sounds.

0:39.4

Hello you're listening to the Witness History podcast from the BBC World Service with me,

0:49.0

Stephaniea Gotzer.

0:51.0

Today I take you to 1986 when Argentinian geologist Eduardo

0:56.0

made a pioneering discovery in Antarctica.

1:00.0

It's a story of cold mornings, friendly rivalries, and the sweet compelling aroma of

1:07.0

Argentinian barbecues.

1:09.0

It's the 22nd of January 1986 and Eduardo Olivero is getting ready to go to work.

1:19.0

His commute is like no other.

1:22.0

At minus 1 degrees Celsius he is going to buckle up with heavy

1:26.6

clothes and walk between 10 and 12 kilometers across James Rose Island, a group of islands in the north of Antarctica.

1:35.0

The Rose Island is the largest island of the archipelago,

1:39.0

is about 70 kilometers across.

1:42.0

It has a central part with a sudden ice dome, but the border, the

1:47.8

margin of the island, are ice-free in several parts. For geologists, ice-free alien Antarctica is a plane which we are looking for.

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