The Research Potential of Anthropological Museum Collections

Abstract

R u tgers Un ivers it y Newark, New Jersey 07102 HE RELATIONSHIP of anthropologists to museums is a complex one, T marked frequently by a degree of contradiction. Anthropologists have often worked in museums; in fact, museums were at the core of anthropology when the discipline began,1-3 including on their staffs such prominent individuals as Boas, Wissler, Putnam, Holmes, and Powell. More anthropologists today, however, are found in universities than museums, and the latter are described as being outside "the center of gravity" in anthropology. [4][5][6] Museums themselves have changed dramatically over time, and the roles that anthropological museums have played in society have also varied. At the simplest level, museums demonstrate a tendency for the accumulation of "things" which is not limited to humans or even primates. In the 16th and 17th centuries, the early anthropology museums in Europe served as repositories for accumulated curios2 in keeping with the contemporary ignorance of and growing curiosity about the rest of the world. The first American anthropological museums were Du Simitiere's American Museum (opened in Philadelphia in 1782) and Dartmouth's Museum, opened in 1783.3 The concept of museums as educational institutions came early, although Boas in 1907, in describing 2 ANNALS NEW YORK ACADEMY OF SCIENCES the functions of museums included that of being a resort for popular entertainment which would help keep people away from race tracks and sa100ns.~ Today anthropology museums can be seen as research and teaching centers, treasuries for accumulated wealth, and ritual centers where some of the most critical values of our society may be seen (either overtly or covertly) in the organization and presentation of material .a Most contemporary museums holding anthropological (and other) collections define their functions in terms of exhibition, research for scholars, and education of the public through a variety of methods.2,3,9~0 Another critical function, necessary if the others are to be successful, is the curation of collections. Museums are the most significant repositories for all types of anthropological collections, of material culture of past and present peoples, of human skeletal remains, of faunal and ethnobotanical specimens, and of paleontological, archival, and photographic materials.And yet, in spite of these collections, and the vast quantity of data available therein, the identifying attribute of an anthropologist, since Boas, has been fieldwork; the favored type of research has been with data one has collected oneself. In addition, the fact that data analysis takes much longer than data collection, combined with the pressure in the first part of this century to do "salvage" ethnography and archaeology, and collect information from fast-disappearing tribal societies, has resulted in the accumulation of material of many types that is often unanalyzed or underanalyzed.4,11 This situation is aggravated by a variety of factors ranging from lack of space to examine collections to lack of t...

A Guide to the Use of Museum Collections for Archaeological Research

“…All of these institutions have different missions, priorities, stakeholders, and constraints. Although all welcome and encourage research on their collections, their ability to accommodate outside researchers differs due to differing priorities as well as shortages in budget, space, and/or staff (Barker 2010; Bustard 2000; Keene 2006; Lindsay and Williams-Dean 1980; Rothschild and Cantwell 1981; Silverman and Parezo 1992). Specifically, federal and state repositories have been set up expressly to house archaeological collections as part of the cultural resource management directive of public lands.…”

“…There is an increasing recognition of the value and use of archaeological collections housed in museums and repositories to answer important research questions (Childs 2006; Goetze and Mills 1991; King 2016; MacFarland and Vokes 2016; Rothschild and Cantwell 1981), and this is likely to increase in the future (Surovell et al 2017). Collections-based research uses existing archaeological collections rather than undertaking new excavations and/or surveys.…”

The use of museum old collections: retrieving the 030 assemblage from Museu Paulista

“…Um dos aspectos interessantes no estudo de an tigas coleções é a avaliação dos critérios envolvidos em sua formação (Rothschild & Cantwell 1981). Algumas formas de organização e sistematização de acervos que podem atualmente nos parecer ób vias ou confusas, quase sempre estão inseridas em contextos ou com objetivos totalmente distintos dos atuais.…”

Excavating Repositories: Academic Research Projects Using Archaeological Collections

“…Now is the time to advocate strongly for museum-based research for graduate theses and dissertations in lieu of new field-based research (Childs 2006; Goetze and Mills 1991; King 2016; MacFarland and Vokes 2016; Rothschild and Cantwell 1981; Schiappacasse 2016a; Stone 2018; Swain 2007). As Childs and Benden have remarked, “Both archaeologists and granting institutions, such as the National Science Foundation (NSF), National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), and the Wenner-Gren Foundation, should support research on existing collections to validate their research potential and justify the need for their long-term curation” (2017:18).…”