Paul Stewens
@p-stewens.bsky.social
Law & Palaeontology researcher | PhD candidate (Maastricht University) | Master in Int‘l Law (Geneva Graduate Institute) | social dancer
Found out that my new #OA paper "A classification unearthed: the history of palaeontological objects as cultural property in international law" is currently the most read piece in the London Review of International Law! If you're curious what the hype is all about: doi.org/10.1093/lril...
November 8, 2025 at 1:34 PM
Found out that my new #OA paper "A classification unearthed: the history of palaeontological objects as cultural property in international law" is currently the most read piece in the London Review of International Law! If you're curious what the hype is all about: doi.org/10.1093/lril...
Fossils are cultural objects - and this is not some woke b*llshit that people come up nowadays to spoil the fun in #palaeontology; this classification actually has a long history.
If you're curious how fossils became #culturalproperty under int'l law, check my new paper: doi.org/10.1093/lril...
If you're curious how fossils became #culturalproperty under int'l law, check my new paper: doi.org/10.1093/lril...
A classification unearthed: the history of palaeontological objects as cultural property in international law
Abstract. Fossils are an overlooked yet threatened category of cultural property. This article traces how they became protected by international law under
doi.org
October 28, 2025 at 8:26 AM
Fossils are cultural objects - and this is not some woke b*llshit that people come up nowadays to spoil the fun in #palaeontology; this classification actually has a long history.
If you're curious how fossils became #culturalproperty under int'l law, check my new paper: doi.org/10.1093/lril...
If you're curious how fossils became #culturalproperty under int'l law, check my new paper: doi.org/10.1093/lril...
This is HUGE. Unconditional #repatriation of 28,000 fossils from the Dubois collection to Indonesia. Largest ever fossil and perhaps natural history #restitution (AFAIK). Famous #hominin fossil included. Lots of things to unpack, here are some preliminary thoughts. /1
Nederland geeft fossielen Dubois-collectie terug aan Indonesië.
Statement en meer informatie te vinden op www.naturalis.nl/persberichte...
Statement en meer informatie te vinden op www.naturalis.nl/persberichte...
September 26, 2025 at 12:29 PM
This is HUGE. Unconditional #repatriation of 28,000 fossils from the Dubois collection to Indonesia. Largest ever fossil and perhaps natural history #restitution (AFAIK). Famous #hominin fossil included. Lots of things to unpack, here are some preliminary thoughts. /1
I'm going back to #Geneva! As the 2024 Lalive Merryman Fellow, I'll be working on the legal classification of #hominin fossils as #humanremains between 22/09 and 17/10. If you're in GVA during that time and/or curious about my research project, please (re-)connect!
paul-stewens.com/news/fellows...
paul-stewens.com/news/fellows...
September 9, 2025 at 11:44 AM
I'm going back to #Geneva! As the 2024 Lalive Merryman Fellow, I'll be working on the legal classification of #hominin fossils as #humanremains between 22/09 and 17/10. If you're in GVA during that time and/or curious about my research project, please (re-)connect!
paul-stewens.com/news/fellows...
paul-stewens.com/news/fellows...
Many people have sent me the CNN piece on trade in 🇲🇦 fossils. It does many things well; picking interviewees is not one of them. No legal experts, only palaeontologists repeating legal factoids. Please read my comment.
🌐CNN: edition.cnn.com/2025/08/15/s...
✒️Blog: paul-stewens.com/blog/2025/mo...
🌐CNN: edition.cnn.com/2025/08/15/s...
✒️Blog: paul-stewens.com/blog/2025/mo...
Paul P. Stewens | The 1970 UNESCO Convention applies to individual fossils
There is no legal grey area, and they don't have to belong to a collection.
paul-stewens.com
August 20, 2025 at 8:01 AM
Many people have sent me the CNN piece on trade in 🇲🇦 fossils. It does many things well; picking interviewees is not one of them. No legal experts, only palaeontologists repeating legal factoids. Please read my comment.
🌐CNN: edition.cnn.com/2025/08/15/s...
✒️Blog: paul-stewens.com/blog/2025/mo...
🌐CNN: edition.cnn.com/2025/08/15/s...
✒️Blog: paul-stewens.com/blog/2025/mo...
Wholeheartedly agree with Emma. The piece is a really mixed bag: very comprehensive, topical, and timely, but with a selection of experts that I find partially questionable. Call me crazy, but I do think that a piece about the legality of the fossil trade should include legal experts. [cont'd]
Great to see an interrogation of the sources of commercial fossils, especially from Morocco 🦖🇲🇦
But utterly disappointing to see the platforming of people who have repeatedly and openly flouted (inter)national laws. Not a legal (or ethics) expert in sight 🤦♀️ [1]
edition.cnn.com/2025/08/15/s...
But utterly disappointing to see the platforming of people who have repeatedly and openly flouted (inter)national laws. Not a legal (or ethics) expert in sight 🤦♀️ [1]
edition.cnn.com/2025/08/15/s...
I tried to find out if the fossil I bought online was real. Then I realized I was asking the wrong question | CNN
It’s obvious a 95 million-year-old fossil would have a rich past — but what a CNN writer discovered about a dinosaur tooth he bought for about $100 was more than he anticipated.
edition.cnn.com
August 19, 2025 at 9:18 AM
Wholeheartedly agree with Emma. The piece is a really mixed bag: very comprehensive, topical, and timely, but with a selection of experts that I find partially questionable. Call me crazy, but I do think that a piece about the legality of the fossil trade should include legal experts. [cont'd]
Passionate about #restitution? Curious about what it means for natural history #museums? Then this event is for you! I'll be speaking at the @mnhn.fr on 3 June 2025 about this very issue - and you can join my hybrid lecture from anywhere!
More info: paul-stewens.com/news/lecture...
More info: paul-stewens.com/news/lecture...
Paul P. Stewens | Upcoming lecture 'A Tale of Two Museums - Introducing the Issue of Restitution to Natural History Museums' (Paris/hybrid)
On 3 June 2025, I will give a hybrid lecture at the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle titled 'A Tale of Two Museums - Introducing the Issue of Restitution to Natural History Museums'.
paul-stewens.com
May 20, 2025 at 8:15 AM
Passionate about #restitution? Curious about what it means for natural history #museums? Then this event is for you! I'll be speaking at the @mnhn.fr on 3 June 2025 about this very issue - and you can join my hybrid lecture from anywhere!
More info: paul-stewens.com/news/lecture...
More info: paul-stewens.com/news/lecture...
@alinemghilardi.bsky.social is leading another effort to bring the Irritator challengeri holotype back to Brazil. In support of #IrritatorBelongstoBR, I've written up a bit of background on the case, as well as some of my own thoughts. Make sure to check it out!
paul-stewens.com/blog/2025/ir...
paul-stewens.com/blog/2025/ir...
Paul P. Stewens | Fossil repatriation is back on the agenda (#IrritatorBelongstoBR)
There's a new social media campaign for the return of <i>Irritator challengeri</i> - and it's high time German institutions listened.
paul-stewens.com
April 8, 2025 at 10:47 AM
@alinemghilardi.bsky.social is leading another effort to bring the Irritator challengeri holotype back to Brazil. In support of #IrritatorBelongstoBR, I've written up a bit of background on the case, as well as some of my own thoughts. Make sure to check it out!
paul-stewens.com/blog/2025/ir...
paul-stewens.com/blog/2025/ir...
This is a beautiful, concise review of absolutely trailblazing research by the people who got me seriously interested in Law and Palaeontology back in 2021. You’ve done so much, against all odds, for the discipline and for me, and I deeply respect you for it!
When @mauritiantales.bsky.social and I began leading this study, we never thought it would get 10 citations let alone the 200 it reached his week!
But what started almost 5 years ago as a lockdown data project has taken us on an unimaginable rollercoaster... (1/n)
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
But what started almost 5 years ago as a lockdown data project has taken us on an unimaginable rollercoaster... (1/n)
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Colonial history and global economics distort our understanding of deep-time biodiversity - Nature Ecology & Evolution
Analysing the global distribution, source and authorship of fossil research over the past 30 years, the authors find that researchers in high- or upper-middle-income countries hold a monopoly over pal...
www.nature.com
April 7, 2025 at 4:59 PM
This is a beautiful, concise review of absolutely trailblazing research by the people who got me seriously interested in Law and Palaeontology back in 2021. You’ve done so much, against all odds, for the discipline and for me, and I deeply respect you for it!
Crucial point by @skyemcdavid.com: the social media campaign for #IrritatorBelongstoBR should target the gov't of Baden-Württemberg, not the @smnstuttgart.bsky.social (or the 🇩🇪 federal gov't). Remember: for #UbirajaraBelongstoBR, the gov't even overruled the museum, which had refused the return.
I agree Irritator should be repatriated, but the social media campaign should really be focusing on the State government of Baden-Württemberg rather than the museum, since the museum can't legally take action on its own.
April 7, 2025 at 7:15 AM
Crucial point by @skyemcdavid.com: the social media campaign for #IrritatorBelongstoBR should target the gov't of Baden-Württemberg, not the @smnstuttgart.bsky.social (or the 🇩🇪 federal gov't). Remember: for #UbirajaraBelongstoBR, the gov't even overruled the museum, which had refused the return.
Essential thread by @alinemghilardi.bsky.social about #IrritatorBelongstoBR. There was so much support for repatriation when we pushed for it in 2023 - and it’s high time that this is put back on the agenda; the fossil HAS to go back.
Detailed legal background: www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
Detailed legal background: www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
April 6, 2025 at 9:46 PM
Essential thread by @alinemghilardi.bsky.social about #IrritatorBelongstoBR. There was so much support for repatriation when we pushed for it in 2023 - and it’s high time that this is put back on the agenda; the fossil HAS to go back.
Detailed legal background: www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
Detailed legal background: www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
Remember the potentially forged #mosasaur jaw? I've turned my thread into a blog post, so if you're interested in the extended version, the director's cut, then here's the link: paul-stewens.com/blog/2025/xe...
March 19, 2025 at 2:01 PM
Remember the potentially forged #mosasaur jaw? I've turned my thread into a blog post, so if you're interested in the extended version, the director's cut, then here's the link: paul-stewens.com/blog/2025/xe...
Happening today at 1.00 pm (CET), title slide for a teaser!
March 12, 2025 at 9:03 AM
Happening today at 1.00 pm (CET), title slide for a teaser!
Event announcement! Next Wednesday (12 March), I'll tell you why it's not productive to think of natural history and cultural property as two separate worlds. The talk will be online at 1.00 pm (CET), so feel free to join me over lunch!
For all relevant information: paul-stewens.com/news/talk-na...
For all relevant information: paul-stewens.com/news/talk-na...
March 6, 2025 at 11:13 AM
Event announcement! Next Wednesday (12 March), I'll tell you why it's not productive to think of natural history and cultural property as two separate worlds. The talk will be online at 1.00 pm (CET), so feel free to join me over lunch!
For all relevant information: paul-stewens.com/news/talk-na...
For all relevant information: paul-stewens.com/news/talk-na...
Big news: I won the 2024 Lalive Merryman Fellowship for my article on the #restitution of Brazilian #fossils from Germany! If you haven't checked it out yet, this is your sign. More information about the award is on my website: paul-stewens.com/news/2024-la...
Winner of the 2024 Lalive Merryman Fellowship | Paul P. Stewens
Exploring the law of palaeontological objects, human remains, museums, and cultural artifacts
paul-stewens.com
February 26, 2025 at 1:12 PM
Big news: I won the 2024 Lalive Merryman Fellowship for my article on the #restitution of Brazilian #fossils from Germany! If you haven't checked it out yet, this is your sign. More information about the award is on my website: paul-stewens.com/news/2024-la...
This is the most unhinged thing I’ve read in a while and it’s not even close
This honestly made me throw up in my mouth. Hate to share it on principle, but it's important to know how certain parties conceive of the "value" of the dead. FFS! @counteringcrime.bsky.social @museumofloot.bsky.social @babao2025meeting.bsky.social. www.undervalued-shares.com/weekly-dispa...
Human bones – an emerging asset class? - Undervalued Shares
Prices for dinosaur skeletons have gone vertical. Will rare human bones experience a similar boom?
www.undervalued-shares.com
February 11, 2025 at 9:25 AM
This is the most unhinged thing I’ve read in a while and it’s not even close
I find it most curious how the exact same people that would mock Greta Thunberg for her #aspergers now defend the fascist salute by a “genius” billionaire because he’s on the spectrum and didn’t know any better
January 21, 2025 at 7:31 PM
I find it most curious how the exact same people that would mock Greta Thunberg for her #aspergers now defend the fascist salute by a “genius” billionaire because he’s on the spectrum and didn’t know any better
Since a few people saw the fishy-mosasaurus thread, please also check the correction I added. TL;DR: The specimen is probably in Marrakech, not in Paris, but most ethical and legal issues remain regardless.
CORRECTION: Big thanks to @taissarms.bsky.social, @skyemcdavid.com and anyone else for spotting my mistake. I got confused with the acronyms (MHNM vs. MNHN) and wrongly assumed the fossil to be in Paris; it actually appears to be in Marrakech. /add.1
bsky.app/profile/tais...
bsky.app/profile/tais...
Are you sure about that? The paper says it is in the museum in Marrakesh.
January 20, 2025 at 10:22 AM
Since a few people saw the fishy-mosasaurus thread, please also check the correction I added. TL;DR: The specimen is probably in Marrakech, not in Paris, but most ethical and legal issues remain regardless.
ICYMI: There’s trouble with a trafficked fossil again; this time, it’s a mosasaur from Morocco. Read about the legal and ethical issues down below!
#FossilFriday
#FossilFriday
Another day, another case of questionable practices in #palaeontology. In the news today: Xenodens calminechari, a mosasaurid with "unique" dentition that was described from Moroccan #fossil material in 2021. Let's talk fossil trafficking, forgery, and accessibility of specimens, shall we? Thread /1
January 17, 2025 at 7:40 AM
ICYMI: There’s trouble with a trafficked fossil again; this time, it’s a mosasaur from Morocco. Read about the legal and ethical issues down below!
#FossilFriday
#FossilFriday
Reposted by Paul Stewens
How do you find a stolen piece of art? On Thursday 5pm CET/11am EST we explore the world of thieves, forgers and fraudsters with @sauterne.bsky.social, CEO of The Association for Research into Crimes against Art in the first Stage Talk of 2025. Join us: discord.gg/r88a4zcX?eve...
January 13, 2025 at 3:46 PM
How do you find a stolen piece of art? On Thursday 5pm CET/11am EST we explore the world of thieves, forgers and fraudsters with @sauterne.bsky.social, CEO of The Association for Research into Crimes against Art in the first Stage Talk of 2025. Join us: discord.gg/r88a4zcX?eve...
Another day, another case of questionable practices in #palaeontology. In the news today: Xenodens calminechari, a mosasaurid with "unique" dentition that was described from Moroccan #fossil material in 2021. Let's talk fossil trafficking, forgery, and accessibility of specimens, shall we? Thread /1
January 14, 2025 at 3:02 PM
Another day, another case of questionable practices in #palaeontology. In the news today: Xenodens calminechari, a mosasaurid with "unique" dentition that was described from Moroccan #fossil material in 2021. Let's talk fossil trafficking, forgery, and accessibility of specimens, shall we? Thread /1
Today's the big day: I'm officially starting as a #PhD candidate at @lawinmaastricht.bsky.social ! I can't wait to get started, and look forward to everything I'll be doing, thinking, and experiencing over the next four years. My hobby's now my job, and I couldn't be more grateful. Happy New Year!
January 2, 2025 at 8:55 AM
Today's the big day: I'm officially starting as a #PhD candidate at @lawinmaastricht.bsky.social ! I can't wait to get started, and look forward to everything I'll be doing, thinking, and experiencing over the next four years. My hobby's now my job, and I couldn't be more grateful. Happy New Year!
All I want for Christmas is a bookmark functionality on Bluesky
December 17, 2024 at 9:32 AM
All I want for Christmas is a bookmark functionality on Bluesky
So I'm aware that there's already an excellent #StarterPack on Cultural Heritage Law but maybe it'd be cool to have one dedicated only to art and cultural heritage crime with a wider disciplinary range: go.bsky.app/UtWmSRM
This is work-in-progress, and I'm grateful to anyone who helps me grow it!
This is work-in-progress, and I'm grateful to anyone who helps me grow it!
December 12, 2024 at 1:36 PM
So I'm aware that there's already an excellent #StarterPack on Cultural Heritage Law but maybe it'd be cool to have one dedicated only to art and cultural heritage crime with a wider disciplinary range: go.bsky.app/UtWmSRM
This is work-in-progress, and I'm grateful to anyone who helps me grow it!
This is work-in-progress, and I'm grateful to anyone who helps me grow it!
We’ve had plenty of it on Twitter back in the day, but here’s some beautiful #UbirajaraBelongstoBR for your Bluesky feed!
New to the internet #paleoart: "Ubirajara jubatus", the strangely filamented Brazilian compsognathid famous for its history as an illegally exported fossil. Here, it's signalling to us with colourful mouthparts and a fetching bower of twigs and pinecones. Drawn for @palaeogames.bsky.social.
December 10, 2024 at 6:29 PM
We’ve had plenty of it on Twitter back in the day, but here’s some beautiful #UbirajaraBelongstoBR for your Bluesky feed!