The skeleton that the Page Museum doesn't want you to see

You could call it the skeleton in the Page Museum's closet.

For years, the George C. Page Museum in Los Angeles has housed a 9,000-year-old set of bones that is said to be the only human remains recovered from the Rancho La Brea area, which is famous for its prehistorical tar pits. A cast of the skull was on display at the museum for a period but the museum withdrew it from exhibition about five years ago and placed it in storage along with the original bones.

Now, a former volunteer at the museum has published images of a facial reconstruction of the specimen against the museum's wishes. She claims that the museum is scared that her reconstruction, in which the specimen is depicted as having Native American features, will encourage tribes to reclaim the bones for reburial.

"Obviously they're not completely happy about it," said Melissa Cooper, the former volunteer in question, when asked about going public with her work. She said that the museum won't display her images out of fear that the Chumash, a Native American tribe, will attempt to take the bones away.

Officials at the Page Museum denied many of Cooper's claims, saying that the museum only approved Cooper's project provided that the results would not be published or disseminated anywhere.  

"It was a personal exercise. She wasn't doing it for us," said John Harris, who serves as chief curator at the Page Museum.

He also said that the museum is in compliance with regulations pertaining to Native American artifacts.

Informally known as "La Brea Woman," the incomplete skeleton was discovered in 1914 and is thought to belong to a young female who stood under 5 feet tall. Researchers determined the gender of the specimen by examining the shape of its pelvis.

Cooper, who has worked as a forensic artist for various institutions in California, said she completed her work on La Brea Woman a couple of months ago. The reconstruction consists of two-dimensional renderings of what the female's face may have looked like based on the structure of the original skull. (Cooper said she used a cast of the skull, not the original, for her work.)

"There are hints within the skull that she may have had Native American features," said Cooper.  "You can tell by the way the nose was pointed and the depth of her eyes. Based on the skull, she had Asian features which does coincide with Native Americans."

The Page Museum doesn't hide the fact that La Brea Woman resides in its storage facilities. But officials said that they believe it isn't appropriate to display something purporting to be La Brea Woman when it is only conjecture or speculation.

Cooper, who said she worked as a volunteer at the museum from 2006 until this year, has sent images of her work to various media outlets, including The Times. She has also published some of these images on her personal website. Asked about Harris' assertion that the work was supposed to be private, she said, "No, they never told me that."

As of Monday, the museum said it has not yet taken steps to halt Cooper's actions. "We'll have to see what she's done," said Jim Gilson, an administrator at the Page Museum and vice president and general counsel at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. (The Page Museum operates as a satellite facility of the Natural History Museum. The two institutions share administrators and both are public institutions.)

Cooper said she isn't affiliated with any Native American organizations. She said she plans on selling limited editions of her work on La Brea Woman.

-- David Ng

Photo (top): Page Museum. Credit: Los Angeles Times. Photo (bottom): a facial reconstruction of La Brea Woman. Credit: Melissa Cooper.

Comments

[Donald Frazell]

Uh, you show signs of illiteracy. for one thing, duh, she was of native stock, no one has doubted that, and native american peoples are from Asia, and so can be tied to those of Tibet and greater Mongolia. Whats your point?

And obviously it was not a holy site, she got either trapped or thrown in. No other human remaing are there, and we take out mummies from all over the world and bones from all of the Old world, get over your self abppointed moral godhood, yer an idiot.

Perhaps, collegia delenda est?
We have reached our Peter principle in academics long ago, and the idiots are taking over. since they obviously dont actually do anything

[Carol]

Such a shame to have someone with artistic skill use their talents for personal gain and to stir up trouble where none is needed. To say that the museum never outlined the privacy of this issue but to then acknowledge that what she did was wrong ("obviously they're not happy about it") goes to show how completely unprofessional she is.

To go on and say she's planning on making a profit off of her sketches is disgusting, to the very core. But would this even be an option if she hadn't sent out press releases to make an issue out it?? It's a slap in the face of any forensic artist who strives to showcase their work to right wrongs - not make a quick buck.

For those that search for their 15 minutes of fame, this may be her run at it. Bad press is supposed to be good press after all, isn't it? Let's just hope karma comes back around.

[david mcneil]

I certainly think that Cooper is lying. The museum would be foolish to give her carte blanche approval like that.
Mr Frazell, its extremely foolish to stereotype artists like that. Not every artist behave in this way. But by the way, what is art if it is not self expression? You declined to say and I being an artist would like to have your opinion.

[Lyn]

I used to go to the Page Museum several times every few months as a kid. LA's museums were practically my second home so when the skull went off exibit, I noticed and wanted to know why. This was interesting to know.

[Zeno Izen]

Human remains before the arrival of Europeans are supposed to be what, Irish? Of course she's Native American.

[Donald Frazell]

David McNeil, click on my name below, and find out. Art has never been about self expression, thats the lie of the art academies to enable them to sell art degrees for profit. Did the artists in the caves of lascaux express themselves? Those of Japan? did Michelangelo, Cezanne, Paul Klee? No, they sought to reflect their peoples, their joined passions and beliefs of life.

Creative Art is about defining humanity, exploring nature, and searching for god. Always has been, always will be. What we have now is childish self expression, therapy, absurdist humor to appease the rich, and glorified wallpaper as well as speculative investment pieces. That is not creative art, Fine art, maybe, but again, that is to appease the rich and over refine things into nothingness, so they feel better about themselves through control and illusion of power. The fixation on surface and "quality" always reveal this, and that is all we have had in our shallow age. An age of Excess and Meism that is now over. Time to get to work. Time to put aside childish things.

art collegia delenda est
art colleges must be destroyed.

[Kristian]

Not sure what the controversey is about. I remember seeing the La Brea woman many times. That her bones are there is no secret. It is not as if the museum is trying to hide her. I think this woman was just trying to stir up attention so she could sell her drawings. And she succeeded.

[lizbetty]

Carol, you're right. If this Cooper woman is saying that the museum doesn't want people to know about the Indian bones, then turns around and sells art that is based on those Indian bones how is this not evil? She's not doing it out of "awareness" or being nice she's trying to screw her former job and make money off it at the same time.

"But officials said that they believe it isn't appropriate to display something purporting to be La Brea Woman when it is only conjecture or speculation." That means they probably looked at her art and said "Yeah. It's an Indian girl. We know that already. And?" and she got all butthurt about it and cried and decided to do the one thing spoiled little children do CRY LOUDER and being in Los Angeles you try to make a story and a buck at the same time.

She has pictures all over her site of police sketches and stuff. She's not only profiting off the Indians by selling this skull picture but off people who have done crimes and gone missing! HORRIBLE! Kill someone I draw your picture and get a better job!

Better what, how ironic would it be if she sold one of her Indian bone drawings to an Indian?!

[Deb Krol]

In response to this posting..."Sorry deb. If its 9k yrs old, can any current tribe even claim it?"

Posted by: Carol | November 24, 2009 at 04:21 PM

Let me state most categorically that most--if not all--of the California coastal-area tribes CAN claim residency in their traditional lands for 10,000 and more years. As archaeology develops and/or adapts more technology, it's becoming apparant that our ancestral oral histories that place us in our traditional lands are backed up by Western science.

My ancestral lands lie about 300 or so miles north of Los Angeles, so I am not certain as to traditional land boundaries down in LA, however this passed-on person certainly belongs to one of the area tribes and, as such, should be returned to the tribe whose ancestral lands encompass the museum and the tar pits. Of course, the museum doesn't have to do anything, because virtually none of the tribes in the area were blessed with federal recognition [mostly due to oversight on the part of the BIA back in the day], which is ANOTHER question...but morally, the Page should return the remains. It's the moral and ethical thing to do.

[anonymouse]

She did not get stuck in the tar or was murdered. She was buried upstream and washed down with the rains.

[Anonymous]

This is the story of a creative person who wanted to do something in order to enhance her career. The fact that she contacted the media about her volunteer work is proof of that. She drew her sketches, hoping that the museum would endorse them. They didn't. But she's going to make some money on them anyway.

I hope it doesn't cost the museum too much in legal fees to dispute this volunteer's actions, if they choose to do that. It is cash the museum desperately needs to do its work.

[Owl Creek]

Paulet6te Steeves and everyone else crowing about the sanctity of burial grounds: being as she died 9,000 years ago, how do any of you know this woman was "buried" there? She could have been murdered there (or her body dumped there), or she could have had an accident or been attacked by an animal there, or she could have just dropped dead there. The planet was not teeming with people 9,000 years ago; most people who died while wandering off or traveling alone were probably never found.

In fact, being as NO other human remains have been found on that site, the most logical conclusion is that it was NOT a "burial ground," and that one of the scenarios I described is what happened.

Since no one has any idea how her remains ended up in the tar pits--and likely, no one ever will know--the museum has just as much right to her remains as anyone else does.

[steve]

Maybe the bones are that of an early asian explorer who managed to sail the Pacific who then accidently got stuck in the tar and met her demise.

[Jean]

Obviously this "artist" has only her own interests in mind and when the museum rightfully declined to display her simplistic drawing, she goes to the press hoping to make a few bucks and some publicity. Unfortunately, the LA Times played right into her hands. As a former Human Resources Manager, I would expect the museum had her sign something when she came on board as a volunteer that stated she could not use the property of the museum to gain personal income. As GT states below, I too certainly wouldn't hire someone as lacking in ethics and professionalism as Ms. Cooper. As far as the museum "hiding" the bones in fear of losing them to a Native American tribe - ridiculous! They have been on display for many years and any tribe with a claim has the opportunity to take ownership of them.

Ms. Cooper, are you a scientist? Can you claim that your drawings are scientifically correct? It is incredible you feel that the museum owes you something for your personal project.

[Tanya]

This is amazing work. The museum should have taken the opportunity to display it and get more patrons visiting. That place hasn't changed in years.

I think this artist is awesome for having the guts to come out with this work.

[Emily]

What a find! This is incredibly interesting! I don't understand the hate for the artist. Who wouldn't publish their work given the opportunity? It seemed like a win:win situation for the both of them in addition to providing new information to researchers and just plain ol people like us who want to know about this fascinating mystery. And whoever said she has a ridiculous career making money off of drawing criminals is insane. Are you saying we should get rid of all of law enforcement? From her site, looks like she does a pretty good job on the rest of her forensic work. I personally would like to thank this woman. I must be missing something big because the most of you are making this sound completely out of line. It's purely her artwork.

[Donald Frazell]

Tanya and Emily(Cooper?) you obviously cant draw, not that it would be unusual, as it is no longer taught in schools. Because her drawing is extremely juvenile. I see better in HS and art association showings. Only hippies and hyper sensitive wannabes would think this is anywhere near good. Time to go study the drawings in that museum nearby(LACMA), and stay out of the playgrounds of contempt art, the broad and MoCa.

fine art colleges must be destroyed
art collegia delenda est

[wallfillers]

Hi Mathew, I think its prehistoric. I am not sure about it.

[Tim]

Donald,

You are either trolling or some meditation would do you could. Do people really get this angry over little articles like this? I happen to know this girl is still working for their affiliation so obviously this wasn't too big of a deal. You got sucked into the hands of the press. There is no controversy. She showed her image. The skull got a face. Happens all the time. Obiovusly you've never been to the Smithsonian. Does this make my last name "cooper" as well since I don't agree with you? hahaha

[Donald Frazell]

Again, Tim Cooper, this girl cant draw, thats one point, she is terrible. Second, the bones had been shown for decades, then taken down. Perhaps in an agreement with the local tribes. The pits are not a burial ground, no other bones found or others "washed" into them.
She obviously was never "affiliated" with the museum, they just let her draw for some reason, perhpas to use for internal reasons. It had been done already as a reconstruction, a better one,long ago. So they didnt use it.

Yes, it is much ado about nothing. Stirred up by this girl herself, not the museum. She is using it for potential profit. I just hope those "buyers" realize she is a terrible draughtman, she cant draw. But then, they dont teach that in art schools anymore, so people are used to bad drawing.

art collegia delenda est
fine art colleges must be destroyed
This is the outcome. Self absorbed incompetence.