You are warmly invited to attend the Symposium in memory of Björn Kurtén on his 100th birthday, which will take place on November 19th from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the House of Science and Letters (Kirkkokatu 6) in Helsinki.

The symposium will be conducted in English. We kindly ask you to register for the seminar by no later than November 11, 2024, using this registration form.

The Finnish paleontologist Björn Kurtén (1924–1988) was a world-famous expert on fossil mammals, especially bears and other carnivores. He was also a skillful science communicator and an author of novels depicting Ice Age life. To commemorate the centenary of his birth, we wish to celebrate Kurtén’s life by showing how his scientific legacy lives on, both in Finland and beyond.

Programme:

9.00-9.05 Henry Pihlström & Mats Gyllenberg: Opening words
9.05-9.20 Lars Werdelin: Introducing Björn Kurtén
9.20-9.40 Jukka Jernvall: Kurten’s contributions to evodevo
9.40-10.00 Christine Janis: A horse walks into a bar: an explanation for the long face

COFFEE BREAK

10.20-10.40 Indrė Žliobaitė: How many indricotheres could have lived in Helsinki?
10.40-11.00 Jouko Rikkinen: Interactions between insects and plants/fungi in amber
11.00-11.20 Lars Werdelin: A joint journey with hyenas
11:20-11:40 John Hunter: Are talonids more evolvable than trigonids? Evidence from North American Paleogene primates

LUNCH BREAK

13.10-13.30 Maija Karala: Palaeoart – the long dance of art and science
13.30-13.50 Miikka Tallavaara: The evolution of human niche in East Asia over the Pleistocene
13.50-14.10 Kristiina Mannermaa: Prehistoric bovids from Karelia and neighbouring areas
14.10-14.30 Björn Kröger: Unexpected findings – new data on Early Paleozoic fossils from Finland

COFFEE BREAK & POSTER SESSION

15.40-16.00 Howie Firth: Flowers for the Tiger: Kurtén’s palaeofiction
16.00-16.20 Adrian Lister: Kurténian bivariate analysis and the radiation of Mediterranean island deer
16.20-16.40 David Polly: Scaling Kurtén: the evolution of paleontology in the 20th and 21st centuries
16.40-16.55 Mikael Fortelius: Björn Kurtén’s legacy
16.55-17.00 Martin Lodenius: Björn Kurtén Prize announcement

Organizers: Björn Kurtén Centenary Symposium Planning Group, Nordenskiöld-samfundet i Finland, Suomen paleontologinen seura BKK and The Finnish Society of Sciences and Letters. Partially supported by The Swedish Cultural Foundation in Finland.

Photo: The archives of Svenska Litteratursällskapet i Finland, SLSA927 009. Rolf Österblad.