Crossing the Line: Disciplinary Boundaries, Decolonization and Museum Collections

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "Glass Beads: Global Artefacts, Local Perspectives", at the 2023 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

In the museum world, an invisible but firm boundary exists between ethnographic and archaeological collections. Ethnographic objects in general, and particularly those from other regions of the globe, are an underused resource in archaeological glass bead research, particularly within the U.S. In this study, beads that adorn ethnographic objects, including those acquired during the U.S. Exploring Expedition (1838-1842), one of the Smithsonian’s foundational collections, will be viewed as examples of potential comparative collections for archaeological studies. Incorporating objects like these into future research will also help position local or regional assemblages within a broader context of global trade. It also raises questions about colonialism and where to draw the line when working with materials gathered during an era of power imbalance.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Glass Beads: Global Artefacts, Local Perspectives   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2023

Keywords

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Nicole Haddow