National Museum Research Articles

Forty years later: a new Andean stream treefrog of the genus Hyloscirtus (Anura: Hylidae) from Ecuador, with comments on arm hypertrophy in the H. larinopygion group

We present the description of a novel treefrog species inhabiting the Andean streams in southeastern Ecuador that has been erroneously identified as Hyloscirtus lindae for four decades. The new species is closely related to H. tapichalaca and is part of the southern clade of the H. larinopygion group, which comprises five species confined to the southeastern Andes of Ecuador to the northeastern Andes of Peru. It is diagnosed from its close relatives by a unique combination of characteristics, including hypertrophied forelimbs in males, a pronounced, curved, and protruding spine-shaped prepollex, a substantial supracloacal flap, supratympanic fold, digital discs colored in shades of orange-red or bright-red, and the concealed surfaces of limbs displaying a bluish-gray hue and dorsal spicules in males. We briefly explore the implications of this discovery for the evolution of arm morphology in the H. larinopygion group. Our findings underscore the continued importance of periodically reviewing historical specimens, leading to unexpected discoveries; once again confirming the importance of natural history museums and their custodian biological collections.

Audiences of visits scheduled to the Museu de História Natural e Jardim Botânico of the Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais: contributions from records to museum management

The text presents an analysis of records of scheduling group visits to the Museu de História Natural e Jardim Botânico da Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais - Natural History Museum and Botanical Garden of the Federal University of Minas Gerais (MHNJB-UFMG) in the years 2018 and 2019. As a research source, records from the area of scheduling of the Educational Sector. From the analysis undertaken, it was possible to highlight the profile of these groups, requested educational itineraries and visit objectives. The data collected was categorized, organized, processed and interpreted. The results indicated that 86.8% of the institutions that requested the visit carried it out. The greatest demand for the MHNJB-UFMG is from schoolchildren, 86.1%, with emphasis on public education institutions and students enrolled in the initial years of Elementary School. Most scheduled groups come from the Metropolitan Region of Belo Horizonte and the most requested educational itinerary was the Circuito História Natural - Natural History Circuit. Within the scope of non-school institutions, the private sector segment was the one that most attended. School visits are concentrated from Tuesdays to Fridays. The data collected is useful for the management of the MHNJB-UFMG, as it makes it possible to review registration processes and highlight possible demands to propose actions aimed at these visitors, after knowing their motivations and expectations when making the appointment.

Los "antiguos peruanos" de la antropología americana: la arqueología de los Andes del siglo XIX como nexo de investigación global

Between 1820 and 1920, American anthropologists acquired more human remains of Andean origin than those of any other individual population worldwide. This article explains why in 1965 in the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History, anthropologists represented the growth of all humanity using 160 Andean skulls. Using archival sources, it argues that the excavation and interpretation of Andean ancestors in Peru prior to 1900 was foundational to the development of Americanist anthropology as a whole, and should be understood as the necessary preface to the more famous development of archaeology in Peru under Uhle and Tello. Exploration of this history is necessary in light of recent efforts in the United States to return or repatriate ancestral remains to source communities.

Updating the distribution of the genus Callitriche (Plantaginaceae) in Italy from the study of the Herbarium Centrale Italicum collections

The first results of a herbariological study on the genus Callitriche L. at the Central Italian Herbarium (Herbarium Centrale Italicum) of the Museum of Natural History of the University of Florence are presented. This genus represents a critical group from a systematic and taxonomic point of view, as the diagnostic characters mainly consist in details of the reproductive structures that are difficult to observe and interpret. The herbarium specimens represent a material suitable for study only if they have anthers and especially ripe fruits. The study of these samples has brought to light the presence of material from newly reported locations for various Italian regions. In some cases, the reports derive from original new revisions, in other cases they are the result of the discovery and confirmation of previous revisions not incorporated by the modern Italian floras.

Bak, M. A. (2020). Playful Visions: Optical Toys and the Emergence of Children’s Media Culture. Cambridge: The MIT Press. Review by Eva Van de Wiele

Optical devices and their domestic variants are housed in exhibition venues ranging from museums of cinema (such as the National Museum of Cinema in Turin) to toy museums (such as the Spielzeugmuseum in Nuremberg). My visit to that German toy museum this summer, while spending a research stay at the International Children’s Library in Munich, coincided with the reading of Meredith Bak’s Playful Visions. Her book reveals how optical toys fundamentally impacted the evolution of material culture for children and offers fruitful ground for research beyond (pre)cinema studies. She argues for scholarly attention to children in media studies, as they ‘became central figures around whom new media culture revolved’ (Bak, 2020, p. 11).

Manuscripts from Library to Museum: Malek National Library and Museum Institution

Manuscripts from Library to Museum: Malek National Library and Museum Institution

Centering multimodality: A personal and disciplinary journey

While museums have always been multimodal in and of themselves, and while museum studies have long engaged with different modalities in the museum (exhibition design, visitor movement, etc.), a comprehensive understanding of museums as ‘multimodal constellations’ has been missing. This was certainly the case in the 1990s, particularly for linguistics as a discipline, in which language was likely to be viewed as an isolated, and primary, form of communication. Yet in a museum, every label is connected to an exhibit, an exhibition, and the museum itself, and communication needs to be understood as a holistic, multimodal enterprise. For me as a linguist involved with the Australian Museum, Australia’s foremost museum of natural history, the multimodal environment of language was critical in our project to improve communication with visitors through better label writing. This article explains the personal and disciplinary developments resulting in the centering of multimodality as a research agenda. An important feature of this approach is the metafunctional theory of Michael Halliday as a core tenet. I explain how this theory of meaning operates across different levels of the institution, in relation to different modes, and in relation to subsequent developments in multimodal research.

A photographic type catalogue of Platygastroidea (Insecta, Hymenoptera) in the Natural History Museum Vienna

As insect decline threatens the fauna of Central Europe, “dark taxa” present an obstacle to understanding biodiversity loss. The superfamily Platygastroidea is a dark taxon, with many superficial descriptions requiring examination of type material to characterize and revise species and genera. The Natural History Museum Vienna (Naturhistorisches Museum Wien) is arguably the most important historical collection of Platygastroidea in Central Europe. Type specimens from 85 species in 21 genera and three families are here catalogued and photographically illustrated, including previously undocumented types described by Förster, Kieffer, Nees von Esenbeck, and Ratzeburg. Lectotypes are designated for Anteris bicolor Kieffer, Anteris simulans Kieffer, Hadronotus laticeps Kieffer, Leptacis foersteri Kieffer, Plastogryon investis Kieffer, Plastogryon sagax Kieffer, Prophanurus mayri Kieffer, and Telenomus laeviceps Förster. Trissolcus schimitsheki (Szelényi) syn. nov. is treated as a junior synonym of Trissolcus scutellaris (Thomson) and Telenomus nomas Förster syn. nov. is treated as a junior synonym of Trissolcus semistriatus (Nees). Baeus maculatus (Förster) comb. nov. is transferred from Telenomus. Historical, taxonomic, and curatorial remarks are included, providing an essential foundation for revisionary work on the Platygastroidea of Central Europe and beyond.

Monuments of Bugo-Dniester and Trypil culture in the scientific heritage by P. I. Havlyuk

The purpose of the article is to generalize and evaluate the scientific conclusions of P. I. Havlyuk about the development of archaeological cultures of the Neolithic (Bugo-Dniester) and Eneolithic (Trypil) eras. The research methodology is represented by: the principle of historicism, the systemic approach, the methods of logic and grouping, the comparative-historical and problem-chronological principle. The scientific novelty of the work lies in the fact that the article summarizes P. I. Havlyuk conclusions about early agricultural archaeological cultures in the Eastern Podil, as well as their assessment by other archaeologists. To write the article, unpublished manuscripts from the personal fund of P. I. Havlyuk, stored in the Vinnytsya Regional Museum of History and Nature and archaeological research reports from the Scientific Archive of the Institute of Archeology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine were used. The point of view of P. I. Havlyuk about the peculiarities of the material culture of the population during the Neolithic and Eneolithic eras in the Middle Pobuzhzhia is presented. The following issues were considered: topography of settlements (planning features), characteristics of housing construction, economic activity (agriculture and animal husbandry) and crafts (pottery, weaving and tool making). The article also mentions the settlements of the Bugo-Dniester culture discovered by the archaeologist (Glynishche, Glynske I, Ladyzhyn I, Ladyzhyn II, Samchintsi, Skibyntsi, Sokiltsi, Trostyanets) and Trypil culture (Borysivka, Velyki Yaruzhki, Verbivka I, Verbivka II, Gunchanske, Ivanky, Klishchiv, Pechera, Rakhnianske, Soroka, Ulanivka, Chortorija). They are chronologically systematized and a scientific interpretation is presented. Conclusions. The archaeologist was the first in Vinnytsia to start a systematic study of Neolithic monuments. He managed to find out the peculiarities of material culture and present his own interpretation of the development of the population of that time. The discussion about the published conclusions of P. I. Havlyuk continues.

137Cs Gamma Radiation Effect on Fungal Strains on an Artwork by Candido Portinari

Gamma radiation is an effective technique for the conservation of art collections, reducing microbial loads and can be obtained by the emission of a radioactive isotope, such as Cesium 137. A Portinari’s artwork (National Museum, Brazil) was analysed, and the fungi contained therein were isolated and treated with gamma radiation for decontamination. Radiation doses used were 16, 19 and 22kGy. Results indicated 11 genera and 17 species of fungi isolated. Penicillium and Cladosporium were isolated from air, the artwork, and its support. The genera Penicillium, Cladosporium, Nigrospora and Curvularia showed high resistance to radiation (16kGy) being the most resistant species Cladosporium, with no growth just under 22kGy. The results outlined indicate that the rates of DNA damage and repair were critical, depending on chronic or acute doses. The biochemical mechanism acting on fungal cells under irradiation was basically the inactivation of specific enzymes and, probably, DNA damage, particularly stimulating double-strand breaks.

Study on the Album of Colored Landscape and Figure Paintings from the Mid-Joseon Period - Focusing on the Album of Landscape and Figures(Deoksu1890) in the National Museum of Korea-

Study on the Album of Colored Landscape and Figure Paintings from the Mid-Joseon Period - Focusing on the Album of Landscape and Figures(Deoksu1890) in the National Museum of Korea-

Exhibiting Holden: Best practice and practical problems in a national motor museum

Exhibiting Holden: Best practice and practical problems in a national motor museum

“Received no awards”: from the pages of the biography of a repressed scientist, G. L. Stadnikov (1880–1973)

Georgy Leontievich Stadnikov (also spelled Stadnikoff and Stadnikow) (1880–1973) was a Russian / Soviet organic chemist, the author of fundamental works in the field of chemistry of fossil fuels, well-known in Russia and abroad. In 1957, he was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. In the Soviet era, he was twice subjected to repressions. In 1939–1955, he served in forced labor camps of the Komi Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. Based on the publications about Stadnikov, his scientific works, and the memoirs of geological scientists B. L. Afanasyev and L. N. Belyakov, discovered by the author in the collections of the K. G. Voinovsky-Krieger Geological Museum (Vorkuta), Stadnikov’s scientific biography is reconstructed. Georgy Leontievich was a pupil of V. V. Markovnikov and N. D. Zelinsky, the founders of the foremost Russian school of organic chemistry. He conducted research in the field of origin and genetic classification of fossil fuels. During his incarceration, Stadnikov continued with his research work. At the labor camps located in the European North-East of the USSR, he tackled the problems arising in the course of commercial development of coal deposits in the Pechora coal basin. Stadnikov’s research had an important role in the development of fossil fuel chemistry and his work in the harsh conditions of the Arctic facilitated the coal industry formation in the Komi Republic.

Shake, rattle, and roll: Continuity of rattling ceramic vessels and adornos in the Caribbean

Ceramic rattles and rattle vessel adornos have received little attention in current Caribbean archaeology literature and may be overlooked or misidentified in Caribbean ceramic collections due to their minimal audibility or “failure” during the construction process. Here, we evaluate existing reports of rattle ceramics and adornos in the Caribbean and report on the discovery of rattle adornos within collections at the Florida Museum of Natural History and the Yale Peabody Museum. A detailed analysis of adorno rattles, including microscopic analysis, measurement of sound intensity, and a replication experiment was conducted. This study answers questions regarding their technological construction, potential function, geospatial and temporal spread, and cultural implications to Indigenous groups in the Caribbean. Despite difficulty in their construction, adorno rattles and ceramic rattles appeared in the Greater and Lesser Antilles throughout the Ceramic Age and likely functioned in ceremonial spaces.

Pelayanan Pengunjung Disabilitas pada Museum Geologi dan Museum Konferensi Asia Afrika di Kota Bandung

This study is entitled "Disability Visitor Service at the Museum of Geology and Museum of the Asia Africa Conference in the Bandung City". This study seeks to find a discussion of museum services for persons with disabilities that substantively refer to the service quality concept revealed by Zeinthaml in 2006 consisting of (1) Tangibles, (2) Empathy, (3) Responsiveness, (4) Reliable and (5) Assurance, and performed at the Museum of Geology and the Museum of Asia Africa. This research uses a qualitative method approach. A qualitative approach is considered by researchers to be very appropriate in providing a holistic picture of the existing reality data. Data collection was performed using observation techniques, in- depth interviews, and documentation. Data analyzed was using the stages described by Miles and Huberman (1992: 16). Based on research, a conclusion can be drawn that both museums have all aspect studied for disabilities tourists. Broadly speaking, the Museum of Geology already has infrastructure and services that prepared for disabilities tourists, meanwhile the Museum of Asia Africa still has a variety of obstacles and minimal infrastructure will be aimed for disabilities tourists with some rules procedure and condition.

First records of Miracinae (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) from Borneo with description of two new species

The braconid subfamily Miracinae is recorded for the first time from Borneo. Two new species are described: Rugosimirax obsolescens sp. nov. and Rugosimirax bimacula sp. nov. based on specimens in the Natural History Museum, UK. The relationships of Miracinae genera are discussed.

Natural Dyes in Embroideries of Byzantine Tradition, the Collection of Embroidered Aëres and Epitaphioi in the National Museum of Art of Romania

The medieval textiles collection of the National Museum of Art of Romania (MNAR) has been in place since 1865 and nowadays preserves about 1000 medieval and pre-modern weavings and embroideries. These extremely valuable objects, dated between the 14th and the 19th centuries, are mainly religious embroidered garments and veils with special significance in the Byzantine li-turgy. Ecclesiastical embroideries of Byzantine tradition are characterized by a complex technique: metallic threads with a silk core, metallic wires and coloured silk threads are couched over padding on layers of silk and cellulosic supports so as to create relief through light reflection. The silk sup-ports and the sewing threads are coloured, mainly in red, blue, green and yellow hues, and analytical investigations of the dyes used in embroideries preserved in the MNAR, in the Putna and Sucevița Monasteries, have been released in previous studies by the corresponding author. The present work continues the approach with research into dyes in about 25 aëres and epitaphioi from the MNAR collection. Considering their privileged function in the liturgical ritual, these luxurious pieces embroidered with silver, gilded silver or coloured silk threads and decorated with pearls, sequins or semi-precious stones are the most faithful description of the stylistic and technological evolution of the art of post-Byzantine embroidery in the Romanian provinces. The data resulting from the present research will improve the knowledge regarding this topic. Dye analysis was performed by liquid chromatography with diode array detection, while fibres were characterized by infrared spectroscopy (with attenuated total reflectance) and optical microscopy. The biological sources identified—carminic acid-based dyes, redwood, dyer’s broom, weld, indigo-based dyes––will be discussed in correspondence with their use in the embroidery technique: support, lining and embroidery threads, together with other sources previously reported on Byzantine embroideries in Romanian collections, and in similar objects preserved at Holy Mount Athos.

A novel contaminant in museums? A cross-sectional study on xerophilic Aspergillus growth in climate-controlled repositories

In the last decade, extensive fungal growth has developed in Danish museums parallel to climate change, challenging occupational health and heritage preservation. The growth was unexpected as the museums strived to control relative humidity below 60 %, and it should exceed 75 % to risk growth. A Danish case study found xerophilic Aspergillus species able to grow at low relative humidity in a museum repository. This cross-sectional study aimed to examine whether xerophilic growth from Aspergillus section Restricti has become a novel contaminant nationally distributed in Danish museum repositories striving to control relative humidity according to international environmental recommendations for heritage collections. The study examined The National Museum of Denmark and eight large State Recognized museums distributed throughout Denmark. It was based on 600 swab and tape-lift samples and 60 MAS100-Eco and filter air samples analyzed for fungi with cultivation and morphological identification, Big-Dye-Sanger sequencing, CaM-Nanopore and ITS-Illumina amplicon sequencing. The study showed growth from seven xerophilic Aspergillus species: A. conicus, A. domesticus, A. glabripes, A. halophilicus, A. magnivesiculatus, A. penicilloides, A. vitricola, of which three are new to Denmark, and 13 xerotolerant Aspergillus species. There was no growth from other fungal species. The multiple detection approach provided a broad characterization; however, there was variance in the detected species depending on the analysis approach. Cultivation and Big-Dye Sanger sequencing showed the highest Aspergillus diversity, detecting 17 species; CaM-Nanopore amplicon sequencing detected 12 species; and ITS-illumina amplicon sequencing detected two species but the highest overall diversity. Cultivation, followed by Big-Dye Sanger and CaM-amplicon sequencing, proved the highest compliance. The study concluded that xerophilic Aspergillus growth is nationally distributed and suggests species from Aspergillus section Restricti as a novel contaminant in climate-controlled museum repositories. To safeguard occupational health and heritage preservation research in sustainable solutions, avoiding xerophilic growth in museum collections is most important.

A Study of Protective Coatings for Archaeological Silver

ABSTRACT This study investigates the sustainability and efficacy of coatings for archaeological silver. Building on a survey of current practices in silver conservation and a literature review, a group of Chimú (Peruvian north coast, 1100–1400 CE) silver alloy items in the National Museum of the American Indian collection serves as a case study. Assessing treatment options for 80 Chimú items led to the investigation into the implications of introducing a new coating campaign. Experimentation was carried out with coupons approximating the composition and manufacture of Chimú silver. Four conservation grade materials, Agateen® 27, Acrysol® WS24, Paraloid® B-72, and Regalrez® 1126, were tested for protection efficacy in a humid, sulfur-containing environment. Analysis with X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XRF), scanning electron microscopy energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDX), and imaging at several phases throughout the experiment provided data on the interaction of the metal and the coating and the effects of coating and re-coating. Oddy testing and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) conducted on these prepared coatings helped determine their suitability for long-term use. Results indicate that not coating is more appropriate for preservation than coating with any of the four materials tested.

Plants and Peoples exhibit at MUHNAC: analysis of traditional and scientific medicine from the perspective of the Epistemologies of South

The article explores the ““Cure, Malaria, Frederic Welwitsch and the Healer”” theme of the exhibition “Plants and Peoples” from the Museum of Natural History and Science, Portugal. The study focuses on the research carried out by German naturalist F. Welwitsch on local plants in Angola as well as on history of lived colonial experience A. M. Mafumo, a healer from Mozambique, arrested for practicing “traditional medicine”. Using the analytical framework of the Epistemologies of the South we analyze the relationships between traditional and scientific knowledge using documentation, as well as interviews with curators and visitors. The article questions the exhibit' dialogue between these knowledges as an expression of an ecology of knowledges.