Ethnographic Collections Research Articles

A new museum for an ancient land: Patras University Science and Technology Museum

That university museums have a major role to play in contemporary life and are far more than the fortuitous outcome of random collecting is amply illustrated by the project of Patras University. Located just outside the city of Patras with a view over the Gulf of Corinth to the mountains of central Greece, it lies on a self‐contained campus of about 240 hectares and is now the third largest institution of tertiary education in the country. Its decision to create a Science and Technology Museum was seen as vital to its mission as a major venue for scientific research and knowledge. The author is a member of the museum’s preparatory team and is co‐chair of the ICOM/CIDOC/Ethno Group. She was formerly secretary and vice‐chair of the ICOM Hellenic National Committee. Her publications include texts in The International Core Data Standards for Ethnology/Ethnography (Collections Ethnographiques et Documentation Muséale), ICOM Study Series, 3, 1996, as well as its Greek version published in The Handbook for the Documentation of Ethnographic Collections, Athens, 1998.

Economic Sectors in Egypt and Their Managerial Implications

This study uses ethnographic data collection methods to investigate entrepreneurial sectors and types in Egypt. First, three sectors-formal, informal, and state controlled-were identified. Their characteristics and business practices were discussed. In the formal sector relationships rely on a set of impersonally defined relationships and transactions maximize benefits based on rational decision making. The bazaar sector transactions are numerous and rely on personal relationships. The state controlled sector is bureaucratic and aims to minimize competition. Second, the role of Egypt's Small Enterprise Credit Program in assisting entrepreneurs in the informal sector was discussed. Last, the managerial implications were presented.

From the Times of the Onça: on the meaning of the Kamayurá (Alto Xingu) objects.

O artigo apresenta um método para interpretar objetos da coleção etnográfica do Museu de Arqueologia e Etnologia da Universidade de São Paulo. Usando a análise estrutural de mitos e rituais, é explicado o significado de dois objetos (artefatos) da reserva indígena do Xingu, Mato Grosso.

Indigenous Languages of the Americas: A Bibliography of Dissertations and Theses

The study of the native languages of North and South America has recently developed into a major research area for academics. This new bibliography will assist scholars in this burgeoning area of inquiry. The author has meticulously compiled citations to over 1,600 dissertations and master's theses-from American, Canadian, and British institutions-that cover tribal groups in the entire western hemisphere. He made a special effort to locate master's theses, an oft-neglected source of useful information. The bibliography is divided according to language family and contains a section devoted to general sources. Author, language, dialect, and tribe indexes are provided. This valuable resource is a natural complement to all Native American ethnographic collections and, more broadly, academic collections supporting anthropological linguistics, cultural anthropology, and Mesoamerican studies.

Tecatas An Ethnotheoretical Look at Mexican American Female Injecting Drug Users

Ethnotheory is suggested as a way to study the roles Mexican American female injecting drug users play. It is suggested that ethnotheory extends present theoretical models used to explain and modify female IDUs' behavior; provide insights on female IDUs' roles useful for the development of effective intervention strategies; and suggests a type of ethnographic data collection that uncovers the subject's view of reality. Three detailed ethnographic excerpts from Mexican American female IDUs illustrate how female IDUs manage the array of roles they play and how information gained through ethnotheory is useful in the design of culturally relevant interventions.

The Bow and Arrow in the Eastern Woodlands: Evidence for an Archaic Origin

The timing of the introduction of the bow and arrow in the eastern United States has been debated for some time. The bow and arrow have long thought to have been introduced during the Late Woodland period in the eastern United States. An increasing body of evidence, however, suggests that this innovation may have occurred sometime during the Archaic period. Based on data from ethnographic collections, classification functions are developed that allow for archaeological specimens to be classified as dart or arrow points. These classification functions are applied to hafted bifaces from a number of sites in the eastern United States. Based on this evidence, it is argued that 1) the bow and arrow were introduced at least as early as the Late Archaic and 2) the atlatl and bow were probably used in conjunction for some period of time before the bow and arrow became the predominant weapon.

HARMONY AND COMPLICATION: The collection of Victor Goldschmidt, founder of the Ethnographic Museum of the J. u. E. von Portheim-Stiftung in Heidelberg

The history of the little-known and partly lost collection of Victor Goldschmidt is traced here for the years 1895–1935. The collection was for a long time regarded as little more than a rag-bag and, in a reduced form, merely as a standard ethnographic collection. In fact it had an internal coherence which illustrated aspects of Victor Goldschmidt's intellectual standpoint as a natural philosopher. The analysis of Goldschmidt's assignment of meaning to the objects in his collection is followed by consideration and comparison of the ways in which the two subsequent curators, Alfred Zintgraff and Eugen Fehrle, exhibited parts of the collection in the service of imperialist and fascist ideology.

The ethnographic collection of the MAE-USP: analysis of the Kaingáng vessels.

O Museu de Arqueologia e Etnologia da USP possui em seu acervo etnológico uma coleção de 43 peças coletadas entre grupos Kaingáng de São Paulo. Dentre elas tem-se 29 vasilhas cerâmicas, formando a maior coleção do Estado. O objetivo do presente texto é apresentar e descrever, dentro de uma perspectiva arqueológica, este conjunto de vasilhas.

Strategies of Verbal Dueling

Verbal dueling is the artful exchange of rapid nonserious insults between two or more participants. Using ethnographic data collection techniques, conversations that transpired in the dining hall of a college dormitory were recorded to identify verbal dueling among students. Examples of verbal duel openings and closings are presented to illustrate how the openings and closings signal a change in footing. Examples of duel segments are provided, interspersed with an analysis and discussion of the strategies duelers and audience members use to influence other conversants, dictate the flow of the conversation, and win the verbal duel.

The Future of the Past: Archaeology and Anthropology on the World Wide Web

In the final scene of “Raiders of the Lost Ark”, a crate containing the object of Indiana Jones' quest is wheeled into an immense warehouse for indefinite storage and questionable research access. Unfortunately, this fate is not all that far from reality. Collections of archaeological and ethnographic materials ranging from stone axes, broken potsherds, and carved monuments to baskets, ceremonial masks, and skin canoes have been held by museums collections since the Renaissance. However, their inestimable value and unique conservation and curatorial requirements often conspire to remove them from the reach of all but the most diligent scholars. The potential of the Web to enhance the quality of research on archaeological and ethnographic collections is enormous. This paper will examine ways that one can use the Web to enhance research and improve access to a variety of materials; while there are many other resources for archaeology available on the Web, this paper focusses on museum-related sites. It will also explore the potential of the Web for innovative research strategies. Digitization of catalogs, associated documents, and images to help one locate and study collections and specific artifacts are just one approach. Others include the connection of devices to the Web, such as cameras and microscopes, the creation of virtual reference collections, and the establishment of research networks that will enhance the identification and analysis of material culture. This paper will also consider the role the Web could play in issues of cultural property, contributing to and in many ways intensifying ongoing debates of ownership, curation, conservation, and repatriation of sensitive materials.

Analysis of the Paints on a Selection of Naskapi Artifacts in Ethnographic Collections

Analysis of the Paints on a Selection of Naskapi Artifacts in Ethnographic Collections

Analysis of the paints on a selection of Naskapi artifacts in ethnographic collections

Paint samples from 32 ethnographic artifacts of the Naskapi, who lived in the Quebec-Labrador region of Canada, were analyzed. The artifacts, primarily articles of clothing made from caribou hide, dated from the late eighteenth to the early twentieth century. Samples were analyzed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, X-ray microanalysis and polarized light microscopy. During the nineteenth century, the Naskapi palette consisted of pigments likely to be of local origin, for example haematite, yellow ochre and green copper salts of fatty acids, as well as pigments acquired through trade, including vermilion, vermilion-red lead mixtures and Prussian blue. By the early part of the twentieth century, ultramarine blue, which could be obtained from the laundry bluing, Reckitt's blue, was the preferred blue pigment. The binding medium was characterized as an albumen-type protein, which was often used alone to give a yellow colour. The pigments and binding medium identified were compared to descriptions of Naskapi paints recorded in the ethnographic literature.

The Etholen Collection. The ethnographic Alaskan collection of Adolf Etholen and his contemporaries in the National Museum of Finland

The Etholen Collection. The ethnographic Alaskan collection of Adolf Etholen and his contemporaries in the National Museum of Finland

Nomads of Luristan: History, Material Culture, and Pastoralism in Western Iran

The Lur nomads live in Luristan in the west of modern Iran. Two Danish scholars, Carl Gunnar Feilberg and Lennart Edelberg, visited this region in 1935 and 1964 respectively, and assembled two valuable ethnographic collections which provide a remarkable perspective over time on the historical transformation of Lur nomadism at a critical time when the sedentarization of these people was gathering momentum. This book discusses Lur material culture and practices within the wider social, political and administrative setting which historically allowed their nomadism to flourish but in the end curbed it. Theories linking modeern pastoral nomadism in this area with ancient forms of life are critically evaluated in the light of recent archaeological data from the Zagros, a cradle of early agriculture and domestication of sheep and goats. A generously illustrated descriptive catalogue presents the collections grouped under subject headings with short introductions: Settlements; Imamzadehs and Cemeteries; Transport; Domestic Animals; Hunting; Agriculture; Furniture and Household Equipment; Cooking and Food Storage; Weaving; Tools for the Manufacture of Skin, Wood and Metal; Dress and Personal Equipment; Musical Instruments. The Lur perpetuated ancient nomadic ways in a region which first saw their development out of prehistoric hunter-gatherer subsistence. Here is a fully documented record of their material legacy.

Ethnographic wax cylinders at the British library national sound archive: A brief history and description of the collection

The ethnographic wax cylinder collection held by the British Library National Sound Archive, totalling over 3,000 items, contains material of considerable musical and historical interest, much of which has been until now little known outside the Archive. This paper summarises the history of the recordings and their accumulation under a single roof, and briefly describes their significance, with the aid of quotations from contemporary sources. The history of the collection is discussed with reference to the earliest recordings, recordings from Oceania, Australia, Africa, South Asia and other areas, connections with other archives, and the current situation.

Cultures of the World: the ethnographic collections of Dundee Art Galleries and Museums

Cultures of the World: the ethnographic collections of Dundee Art Galleries and Museums

Temporary storage: a challenge to the National Museum of Denmark

The massive task of evacuating the ethnographic collection of the National Museum of Denmark turned out to be a blessing in disguise, for it resulted in a state-of-the-art computerized system for collection management and research.

Ethnomuseology: from collection to exhibition.

Antropólogos ligados a museus questionam: de que valem coleções etnográficas mal documentadas e mal conservadas, acumuladas em reservas técnicas poeirentas, ameaçadas de mofo e infestação de cupim? Representam, é certo, o acervo dos aborígines americanos legado à Nação que se construiu sobre seu território. Como extrair, porém, informação científica, cultural e simbólica de objetos mudos, carentes de dados mínimos para subsidiá-los? Este artigo busca respostas para algumas dessas questões.

L’art populaire dans la collection du Musée de la civilisation de Québec

Since its opening in 1988, the Musée de la civilisation de Québec has worked on defining the axes of development of its ethnographic collection. Through the research it conducted in the main areas of this collection, the museum worked with specialists and researchers to review several issues in order to better direct the policy of developing its collections. In this context, Prof. Jean Simard of Laval University was led to clarify the evolution of the idea of folk art from its traditional forms to its current expression of living heritage. The Musée de la civilisation de Québec wants to express its gratitude for his contribution.

Preventive conservation at the Field Museum

Abstract The Field Museum in Chicago is in the process of upgrading the storage of 300,000 objects in its archaeological and ethnographic collections. The project is funded by the US National Endowment for the Humanities and is part of a long-range plan to provide maximum protection for the anthropological collections. The project entails removing unstable packing materials and replacing them with conservation-approved packing materials, constructing storage mounts, and placing fragile objects within enclosed cabinets. In addition, certain collections will be reorganized to alleviate overcrowding and improve accessibility.