Volume 33 1997

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Coaxing history from the rocks: The contribution of the BPI (palaeontology)
(Bernard Price Institute for Palaeontological Research, 1997) Raath, M. A.
From humble beginnings at the conclusion of the Second World War, the Bernard Price Institute for Palaeontological Research has developed into a major centre of palaeontological research and training whose contribution extends far beyond the borders of South Africa. Over the 50 years of its existence it has amassed large collections offossils from most of the fossiliferous deposits of South Africa, covering a large segment of geological time and a broad sweep of the diversity oflife. These collections have provided the foundation for ongoing research by its staff and students, as well as by visiting scientists from many other parts of the world. As a component of the University of the Witwatersrand, the Institute incorporates the only separate teaching department of palaeontology in any South African university, through which a steady stream of undergraduate and graduate students has passed over the years. Many of those students now occupy senior research and management positions in institutions and corporations scattered across the world. Under its current leadership, the Institute looks set fair for the next 50 years of solid contribution to world palaeontology.