The Dubois collection

The Dubois collection

The Dubois collection consists of circa 40,000 objects, all collected between 1887 and 1900 in Indonesia by Eugène Dubois. It is a unique collection of fossils, providing an overview of the prehistoric fauna on Java and Sumatra, but as well of Dubois as a person and his dedication to palaeontological research. Besides fossils, the collections holds a vast archive and some of Dubois’ personal belongings, such as measuring instruments, his suitcase and some of his own teeth which he used to compare with fossil teeth of primates. The collection is much more than just a collection of fossils in a storage space, it tells the story of a remarkable man, his dreams and his determination to reach his goals. Dubois’ findings play a very important role in the knowledge we have today on human evolution. It was Dubois’ life goal to prove Darwin’s theory of evolution by searching for the Missing Link between apes and humans. Dubois succeeded but unfortunately did not get the recognition he hoped for. In recent decades this has changed and the Dubois collection is subject to research by scholars worldwide.