Integrated WritingPrivate collectors have been selling and buying fossils, the petrified remains of ancient organisms, ever since the eighteenth century. In recent years, however, the sale of fossils, particularly of dinosaurs and other large vertebrates,

The passage and the lecture discuss advantages and disadvantages of commercial fossil digging and trade. The passage claims that intervention of commercial section in fossil related topics is detrimental for both scientists and public. However, providing several counterarguments, the lecturer seriously casts doubt on the points made by the passage. He presents several points to support commercial section presence in the fossil digging and trade.

First, the lecturer explains that if commercial trade of fossils are legalized, people will be more extinsively exposed to fossils because small public entities such as libraries would be able to buy and exhibit fossils. This point counters the passage that states fossil trades would limit public exposure to fossils because fossils will be headed to private collections.

Second, the lecturer asserts that the passage is too careless in its statement that scientist would be unhappy because they cannot acces to important fossils. On the other hand, the lecturer clarifies that in order to be able to put a price on and evaluate newly discovered fossil, scientists should analyze them first. Therefore, one way or another, he claims, scientists would access to discovered fossils.

Finally, the lecturer points out, against the third point of the passage, that the benifits of private digging outweights its possible damages to the fossils. He outlines that of it was not for the private digging activities, several fossils would not be even unearthed. He believes that discovering fossils, even with a little damage to some parts of it, would be better in comparison to not finding them at all.