Bone Clones, Inc. manufactures, distributes, and sells

osteological Osteology () is the scientific study of bones, practised by osteologists. A subdiscipline of anatomy, anthropology, and paleontology, osteology is the detailed study of the structure of bones, skeletal elements, teeth, microbone morphology, func ...

reproductions of human and animal bones. Located in

Chatsworth, California Chatsworth is a suburban neighborhood in the City of Los Angeles, California, in the San Fernando Valley. The area was home to Native Americans, some of whom left caves containing rock art. Chatsworth was explored and colonized by the Spanish be ...

, Bone Clones provides these reproductions to museums,

universities A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

medical schools A medical school is a tertiary educational institution, or part of such an institution, that teaches medicine, and awards a professional degree for physicians. Such medical degrees include the Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS, M ...

, and other educational institutions.

History

Bone Clones creator Dave Kronen became interested in animals during his career as an artist. During the 1980s, he began processing animals in his Woodland Hills studio, carefully and painstakingly mounting the skeletons of lizards, snakes, and other animals. With a supply of animal remains from local zoos, museums began to buy the processed skeletons from Kronen. The idea of replicating real bones out of

resin casting Resin casting is a method of plastic casting where a mold is filled with a liquid synthetic resin, which then hardens. It is primarily used for small-scale production like industrial prototypes and dentistry. It can be done by amateur hobbyists wit ...

came from the increasing demand of museums for processed skeletons. The manufacturing of Bone Clones reproductions began in 1993. SCM-191-A-Female-Euro-v2-Lo

Product

Bone Clones reproductions are made from a custom blended

polyurethane Polyurethane (; often abbreviated PUR and PU) refers to a class of polymers composed of organic chemistry, organic units joined by carbamate (urethane) links. In contrast to other common polymers such as polyethylene and polystyrene, polyurethan ...

resin. To avoid misrepresentation, all Bone Clones reproductions are stamped with company trademark information.

Bone Clones in museums and colleges

Bone Clones reproductions have been featured in museums and colleges as part of exhibits and exhibitions. Human reproductions can be seen in the "Footsteps Through Time" exhibit at the

San Diego Museum of Man The Museum of Us (formerly known as the San Diego Museum of Man) is a museum of anthropology located in Balboa Park, San Diego, California and housed in the historic landmark buildings of the California Quadrangle. History The museum traces it ...

in California. In 2004, Glendale Community College in Glendale, California partnered with Bone Clones, Inc. to create the science exhibit "“Bone: The Hidden Structure of Life." This exhibit showcases skeletons of extinct and extant animals, inviting students and visitors to interact with otherwise inaccessible specimens. In 2012,

anthropologist An anthropologist is a person engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropology is the study of aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms and ...

Richard Wright used Bone Clones cast BC-110 to train users in quality control when using his CRANID program for determining the

ancestry An ancestor, also known as a forefather, fore-elder or a forebear, is a parent or (recursively) the parent of an antecedent (i.e., a grandparent, great-grandparent, great-great-grandparent and so forth). ''Ancestor'' is "any person from whom ...

of unidentified human remains. In February 2014, ''

The American Biology Teacher The National Association of Biology Teachers (NABT) is an incorporated association of biology educators in the United States. It was initially founded in response to the poor understanding of biology and the decline in the teaching of the subject ...

'' journal featured an article by Mike Darwin Yerky, who used Bone Clones casts to create an engaging and effective lesson plan in

hominin The Hominini form a taxonomic tribe of the subfamily Homininae ("hominines"). Hominini includes the extant genera ''Homo'' (humans) and '' Pan'' (chimpanzees and bonobos) and in standard usage excludes the genus ''Gorilla'' (gorillas). The t ...

evolution Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation ...

for

biology Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary i ...

students.Yerky, MD. Wilczynski, CJ. (2014) The Mystery of the Skulls: What Can Old Bones Tell Us about Hominin Evolution? The American Biology Teacher, Vol. 76, No.2; Pgs 109-117 Bone Clones have been featured on television, numerous magazine and newspaper articles and museum exhibitions including: * "Bone Reproduction Company Does it All – Except the

Elephant Man Joseph Carey Merrick (5 August 1862 – 11 April 1890), often erroneously called John Merrick, was an English man known for having severe deformities. He was first exhibited at a freak show under the stage name "the Elephant Man" and then wen ...

" Flash News * Knoxville NBC News April 2013 * ''

Wired Magazine ''Wired'' (stylized as ''WIRED'') is a monthly American magazine, published in print and online magazine, online editions, that focuses on how emerging technologies affect culture, the economy, and politics. Owned by Condé Nast, it is headquar ...

'' * ''

How It's Made ''How It's Made'' (''Comment c'est fait'' in French) is a Canadian documentary television series that premiered on January 6, 2001, on the Discovery Channel in Canada and the Science Channel in the United States. The program is produced in t ...

'', Season 24 Episode 5

Gallery

File:KO-191-001-Sphenoid-Lo.jpg, Human sphenoid bone File:BC-018T-Sabercat-Tarpit-r2-Lo.jpg, Saber-toothed cat skull, ''

Smilodon fatalis ''Smilodon'' is a genus of the extinct machairodont subfamily of the felids. It is one of the most famous prehistoric mammals and the best known saber-toothed cat. Although commonly known as the saber-toothed tiger, it was not closely related ...

'' File:BC-095-Great-White-Jaw-r2-Lo.jpg,

Great white shark The great white shark (''Carcharodon carcharias''), also known as the white shark, white pointer, or simply great white, is a species of large mackerel shark which can be found in the coastal surface waters of all the major oceans. It is nota ...

jaw File:BH-021-T-A-afarensis-Lucy-3qtrR-Lo.jpg, ''

Australopithecus afarensis ''Australopithecus afarensis'' is an extinct species of australopithecine which lived from about 3.9–2.9 million years ago (mya) in the Pliocene of East Africa. The first fossils were discovered in the 1930s, but major fossil finds would not ...

'' "Lucy" skull File:BCH-808-Syphillis-Lo.jpg, Human female with syphilis from the

Aleš Hrdlička Alois Ferdinand Hrdlička, after 1918 changed to Aleš Hrdlička (; March 30,HRDLICKA, ALES ...

Paleopathology Paleopathology, also spelled palaeopathology, is the study of ancient diseases and injuries in organisms through the examination of fossils, mummified tissue, skeletal remains, and analysis of coprolites. Specific sources in the study of ancie ...

Collection at the

in California File:SC-027-A-Komodo-Skeleton-f-Lo.jpg,

Komodo dragon The Komodo dragon (''Varanus komodoensis''), also known as the Komodo monitor, is a member of the monitor lizard family Varanidae that is endemic to the Indonesian islands of Komodo, Rinca, Flores, and Gili Motang. It is the largest extant ...

in walking stance

References

{{reflist

External links

Official site
1993 establishments in California Companies based in California