Hadar casts

The Laboratory of Physical Anthropology houses the record and study casts of hominids from Hadar in Ethiopia. There are over 490 casts in this collection.

This set of casts is especially valuable - it is the most accurate set of replicas available of these fossils outside the National Museum of Ethiopia.

Definitions:

Record Cast - The first cast made from the first cast of a fossil right after the final preparation of the fossil is completed.  These casts are made from plaster and are the most dimensionally accurate reproductions of the original fossils.  They are used only to make new molds.

Study Cast - The second cast made from the first cast of a fossil right after the final preparation of the fossil is completed.  These casts are specially painted and prepared so that they resemble the original fossils very closely.  These are the casts that are available to scientists and the public.