A Very Remote Storage Box Indeed: The Importance of Doing Archaeology with Old Museum Collections

Frieman, Catherine J.; Janz, Lisa

doi:10.1080/00934690.2018.1458527

Cited by 13 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 52 publications

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“…A preliminary inventory indicates that some photographs appear to be missing from the archive, however. The analysis presented in this paper based on this archival material also underscores the importance for archaeological projects to conserve hard copies of field documentation post-excavation to permit the analysis of archaeological material by future researchers should a site not be fully published in a timely manner [109][110][111]. Given the growing recognition that archaeological legacy collections offer the potential to help address contemporary issues [112], it is essential to ensure their 'legibility' for future archaeologists by associating documentation in a format that is not strictly dependent on proprietary software.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

New insights into the spatial organization, stratigraphy and human occupations of the Aceramic Neolithic at Ganj Dareh, Iran

2021

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The Aceramic Neolithic site of Ganj Dareh (Kermanshah, Iran) is arguably one of the most significant sites for enhancing our understanding of goat domestication and the onset of sedentism. Despite its central importance, it has proven difficult to obtain contextually reliable data from it and integrate the site in regional syntheses because it was never published in full after excavations ceased in 1974. This paper presents the Ganj Dareh archive at Université de Montréal and shows how the documentation and artifacts it comprises still offer a great deal of useful information about the site. In particular, we 1) present the first stratigraphic profile for the site, which reveals a more complex depositional history than Smith’s five-level sequence; 2) reveal the presence of two possible pre-agricultural levels (H-01 and P-01); 3) explore the spatial organization of different levels; 4) explain possible discrepancies in the radiocarbon dates from the site; 5) show some differences in lithic technological organization in levels H-01 and P-01 suggestive of higher degrees of residential mobility than subsequent phases of occupation at the site; and 6) reanalyze the burial data to broaden our understanding of Aceramic Neolithic mortuary practices in the Zagros. These data help refine our understanding of Ganj Dareh’s depositional and occupational history and recenter it as a key site to improve our understanding the Neolithization process in the Middle East.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

New insights into the spatial organization, stratigraphy and human occupations of the Aceramic Neolithic at Ganj Dareh, Iran

2021

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“…Despite challenges to using legacy collections, there are ways to overcome these obstacles (64)(65)(66). Archaeological recordkeeping and curation methods have improved, often in response to present-day encounters with lost, inadequate, or separated records that plague older collections.…”

Section: Incorporating Legacy Collections Into Environmental Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Leveraging legacy archaeological collections as proxies for climate and environmental research

Amand

Childs

Reitz

et al. 2020

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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Understanding the causes and consequences of previous climate changes is essential for testing present-day climate models and projections. Archaeological sites are paleoenvironmental archives containing unique ecological baselines with data on paleoclimate transformations at a human timescale. Anthropogenic and nonanthropogenic forces have destroyed many sites, and others are under immediate threat. In the face of this loss, previously excavated collections from these sites—referred to as legacy collections—offer a source of climate and other paleoenvironmental information that may no longer exist elsewhere. Here, we 1) review obstacles to systematically using data from legacy archaeological collections, such as inconsistent or unreported field methods, inadequate records, unsatisfactory curation, and insufficient public knowledge of relevant collections; 2) suggest best practices for integrating archaeological data into climate and environmental research; and 3) summarize several studies to demonstrate the benefits and challenges of using legacy collections as archives of local and regional environmental proxies. Data from archaeological legacy collections contribute regional ecological baselines as well as serve to correct shifting baselines. They also enable regional climate reconstructions at various timescales and corroborate or refine radiocarbon dates. Such uses of legacy collections raise ethical concerns regarding ownership of and responsibility for cultural resources and highlight the importance of Indigenous involvement in planning and executing fieldwork and stewardship of cultural heritage. Finally, we discuss methodologies, practices, and policies pertaining to archaeological legacy collections and support calls for discipline-wide shifts in collections management to ensure their long-term utility in multidisciplinary research and public engagement.

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“…Archaeology remains part of nation-building campaigns, and state support of heritage activities waxes and wanes with nationalistic tides (Arnold 2015;Frieman and Janz 2018). For instance, the Swedish democrats, a populist right-wing party in the Swedish parliament, explicitly considers culture a part of the 'inherited essence' of a particular nation and, therefore, as worthy of preservation and in need of defence against outside influences.…”

Section: Blame and Reflexivitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Present pasts in the archaeology of genetics, identity, and migration in Europe: a critical essay

Frieman

Hofmann

2019

World Archaeology

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A Very Remote Storage Box Indeed: The Importance of Doing Archaeology with Old Museum Collections

Cited by 13 publications

References 52 publications

New insights into the spatial organization, stratigraphy and human occupations of the Aceramic Neolithic at Ganj Dareh, Iran

New insights into the spatial organization, stratigraphy and human occupations of the Aceramic Neolithic at Ganj Dareh, Iran

Leveraging legacy archaeological collections as proxies for climate and environmental research

Present pasts in the archaeology of genetics, identity, and migration in Europe: a critical essay

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