Boxed but not Forgotten (Again!): The Importance of Collections-Driven Research
Part of: Society for Historical Archaeology 2018
For the past several years SHA's Committee on Collections and Curation has emphasized the importance to the profession of continuing to use the collections that fill our repositories. It is tremendously important scholars today to continue to demonstrate the value of the archaeological materials that are in our respositories -- emphasizing both research value and the value that these collections have to communities. The session is intended to highlight the research potential of our collections as well as demonstrate outside-the-box thinking of what constitute an archaeological collection. The session is also part of the continuing work of the Committee on Collections and Curation to raise awareness of the significance of archaeological collections-- and by implication the importance of adequately curating our excavated heritage.
Other Keywords
Collections •
Trade •
Research Potential •
Economy •
Material Culture •
Commercial •
Collections Management •
Urban Archaeology •
Teaching •
Colonialism
Temporal Keywords
Nineteenth Century •
19th Century •
17th Century •
18th - 19th Century •
early nineteenth century •
Archaic through Late Nineteenth Century •
1660-1740
Geographic Keywords
North America •
Massachusetts (State / Territory) •
New York (State / Territory) •
New Hampshire (State / Territory) •
Idaho (State / Territory) •
Maine (State / Territory) •
Wisconsin (State / Territory) •
Michigan (State / Territory) •
Washington (State / Territory) •
Minnesota (State / Territory)
Resources Inside This Collection (Viewing 1-10 of 10)
- Documents (10)
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Feature 43: Re-examining Cultural Relationships and Trade in 17th Century Charlestown, MA (2018)
DOCUMENT Citation Only
A significant issue in archaeology today is the need to revisit interpretations of long-held collections. One such site is Feature 43, a 17th century domestic cellar that was once used as a refuse pit and later filled. Feature 43 provides a window into the activities and relationships of the Massachusetts Bay merchants of coastal Charlestown. Although Feature 43 was studied in the 1980's, the assemblage remained in storage for nearly thirty years, demanding a recontextualization of the site and...
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Kitchen Space in the Wing of Offices at Thomas Jefferson’s Poplar Forest (2018)
DOCUMENT Citation Only
The Wing of Offices at Poplar Forest was excavated over the course of several years in the late 1980s and 1990s. Originally consisting of a kitchen, smokehouse, and possible laundry and storage spaces, subsequent owners of the property tore down the Wing and replaced it with two outbuildings. The re-analysis of kitchen related materials has demonstrated patterns of refuse disposal reflecting both the use of the space during Jefferson’s lifetime and the later occupation. Relationships to other...
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Organization, Tracking, And Metadata: Bar Coding For Collections Management (2018)
DOCUMENT Citation Only
Housing more than 15 million artifacts from over 8,000 archaeological sites, the Texas Archeological Research Laboratory at the University of Texas at Austin has a significant need for high-functioning collections tracking systems. As part of our institutional digitization strategy, TARL has begun implementing a system of bar codes for collections, with the goal of facilitating artifact retrieval and replacement as our collections are used for research, education, and public outreach. The system...
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Out of the Box: Thinking of Cemeteries as Collections Storage Facilities (2018)
DOCUMENT Citation Only
When the archaeological community thinks of collections and collections based-research our minds frequently leap to serried ranks of boxes and the assemblages housed within them. It is less common for our minds to leap to cemeteries, yet the collections of tombstones located in them, cumulatively represent one of the largest datasets utilized by historical archaeologists. This paper considers whether a shift in perspective is needed. Instead of regarding cemeteries as landscapes replete with...
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Pills and Potions at the Niagara Apothecary, Canada (2018)
DOCUMENT Citation Only
In 1964, pharmacist E. W. Field, closed his practice in Niagara-on-the-Lake due to ill health. This pharmacy had been in operation for a total of 156 years by 6 pharmacists, 5 of whom had been apprenticed to their predecessors. Re-opened in 1971 as an authentic restoration of an 1866 pharmacy, the building is owned by the Ontario Heritage Trust. The excavation of a pit feature recovered pharmaceutical bottles dating from the late 1800s to the early 1900s. This assemblage allows for discussion on...
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Reassessing the Ballajá Archaeological Collection (2018)
DOCUMENT Citation Only
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, archaeological research was undertaken in urban blocks of the Santo Domingo and Ballajá wards producing one of the largest collections from within the city walls of San Juan, Puerto Rico. Part of the collection was transferred to the Museum of History, Anthropology and Art of the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras campus. This presentation explores the contents of the collection in terms of artifacts, documents, drawings, and photographs. The objective...
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Revisiting Providence Cove Lands: Lessons in Curation and the Potential of Existing Collections. (2018)
DOCUMENT Citation Only
The Providence Cove Lands Archaeological District (RI 935) is located at the confluence of the Moshassuck and Woonasquatucket Rivers near the State House in Providence, Rhode Island. Between 1981-2, De Leuw, Cather/Parsons (DCP) completed archaeological and environmental surveys of the District, focused primarily on two sites—Carpenter’s Point (RI 935A) and North Shore (RI 935B). Based on DCP’s findings, the Keeper of the National Register determined that the District is eligible for listing on...
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Revisiting Snowtown: A 21st Century Analysis of the North Shore Site in Providence, Rhode Island (2018)
DOCUMENT Citation Only
In the early 1980s, archaeologists from De Leuw Cather/Parsons conducted a large-scale data recovery project in downtown Providence within the Providence Cove Lands Archeological District. In 2013, The Public Archaeology Laboratory, Inc. (PAL) began a multi-year project to assess, analyze, catalog, and re-curate the Cove Lands Collection. In total, PAL’s effort re-cataloged and re-curated an assemblage of approximately 150,000 artifacts dating from the Middle Archaic period through the...
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Searching for Clarity (and Lead) in Colorless Colonial Glass Tableware from Southern Maryland and Virginia's Northern Neck (2018)
DOCUMENT Citation Only
In the late 17th century, most glass tableware used in England was imported soda-based glass until a domestically produced potash-lead based glass became available in the late 1670s. This English lead glass would go on to dominate glass tableware of the 18th century. When did colonists in Southern Maryland and the Northern Neck of Virginia begin importing and using this English lead glass? Determining when lead glass began appearing required diving into collections of glass at several collection...
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Tales From the Front Line: Politics, Teaching, and Museum Collections (2018)
DOCUMENT Citation Only
The tensions between stewardship, scholarship and access to collections often play out on a local scale, as contests for funding and resources. Cultivating support and funding for the long-term needs of a museum or repository is a fight for recognition of their value, and takes place in the corridors of power and among people who serve a bigger cause.Aligning with university strategic plans and policies has limited traction unless we do the work and demonstrate how collections are of central...