Peabody Museum Research Articles

Introducing the Peabody-Yale Reference Obsidians (PYRO) sets: Open-source calibration and evaluation standards for quantitative X-ray fluorescence analysis

A series of well-characterized specimens, known as the Peabody-Yale Reference Obsidians (PYRO) sets, has been designed to aid with calibrating and assessing X-ray fluorescence analysis (XRF) data, including portable XRF (pXRF) measurements, for obsidian sourcing. Each of these ten matched sets consists of 35 specimens: 20 specimens for calibration and 15 specimens for evaluation. These sets include not only obsidians with common geochemical compositions (i.e., alkaline rhyolites) but also rarer ones (i.e., peralkaline rhyolitic, trachytic, and andesitic specimens, including East African Rift obsidians). When used as described, the PYRO sets are suitable to calibrate and evaluate XRF data for obsidians worldwide. A set can be borrowed following loan policies of the Peabody Museum of Natural History, which will also accession a set. Publishing all source information – from their names and GPS coordinates to the datasets used for the recommended values – not only allows the sets to be replicated by others but also fulfills the demands of scientific transparency. Their main purpose is facilitating collaborations and “big data” projects, and the PYRO sets were designed to complement existing protocols for calibration and evaluation. In short, the sets are intended as a tool for almost anyone (e.g., a student who borrows an instrument to source artifacts) to meet – and even exceed – experts' practices involving transparency, accuracy, and reproducibility.

Indarctos and other Caniformia fossils of G.E. Lewis’ YPM collection from the Siwaliks

ABSTRACT Material of Indarctos and other Caniformia fossils from the Yale Peabody Museum G.E. Lewis Siwalik expedition collections from Pakistan and northern India are described herein. The M2 of a newly described cranium of Indarctos from the Dhok Pathan Zone is extremely similar to the holotype of Indarctos salmontanus, and both materials are similar to European I. atticus, thus both the holotype of I. ‘salmontanus’ and the new material from the Siwaliks can be assigned to I. atticus. ‘Indarctos’ punjabiensis from the Dhok Pathan Zone is markedly different from I. atticus and other known species of Indarctos in having a much shorter M2 talon and probably represents another genus. A hemicyonid from the Chinji Zone is reported in the Siwaliks for the first time. Plesiogulo from the Dhok Pathan Zone is identified as Plesiogulo aff. crassa, differing slightly from Chinese Plesiogulo crassa, P. brachygnathus and all North American species. The earliest member of the small clawed otter lineage, Amblonyx barryi sp. nov., from the Tatrot Zone in the Siwaliks already shows several mandibular and dentition traits characteristic of the genus. An amphicyonid (aff. Magericyon sp.), a gulonine mustelid (aff. Iberictis sp.), and the lutrine mustelid Sivaonyx gandakasensis are also reported.

Indian Basketry in Yosemite Valley, 19th-20th Century

Basketry is the highest art form of Native Americans in California. I will focus on Yosemite Valley starting in the 1850s when Native Americans adapted progressively to contact with miners, settlers, and tourists. As a Research Associate at the Peabody Museum, Andover, Massachusetts, I inventoried the Native American Basket Collection. The unpublished Hutchings Mills Collection, acquired by Gertrude ‘Cosie’ Hutchings in Yosemite prior to 1900, caught my attention. In 1986, the Department of the Interior requested the collection be loaned, exchanged, or purchased as “the single most important assemblage from that period.” The collection did not leave Andover; however, one basket by Dulce, an activist whose signature appears on the Indian Petition of 1891, was published by the Yosemite Museum in 1991. James Mason Hutchings (1824-1902) was among the first settlers to remote Yosemite Valley and opened a hotel. His daughter, Gertrude ‘Cosie’ Hutchings (1867-1956) was born in the Yosemite Village and collected baskets. The Gertrude Hutchings Mills Collection of 53 baskets is significant because she acquired them from “friends and faithful allies of her family. Those from the Mono and Owens River country were packed mule-back across the Sierras to Yosemite by myself.” Some basket makers are identified by name and location; such record keeping was very rare. My timeline for Yosemite will include the following events: Proclamation as a state park, 1864; eviction of the Hutchings family, 1874; designation as a National Park, 1890; and the Indian Petition, 1891. In the 20th century, the National Park promoted non-traditional Indian events and featured demonstrations by basket makers until the Native American were gradually expelled. My presentation will contrast basket makers in contact with Hutchings and the National Park Service.

The Myrick Park Mounds (47Lc10), an Effigy Mound Site in Western Wisconsin

Abstract The earliest documented excavation of an effigy mound group by a professional archaeologist occurred in 1883 when Frederic Ward Putnam and local acquaintances excavated portions of four mounds at the Myrick Park site (47Lc10) in La Crosse, Wisconsin. Putnam worked on one effigy (similar to the short-tailed turtle form) and three conical mounds. Theodore H. Lewis visited the site in 1885 and mapped one additional conical mound. We examined documentation and collections housed at the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology at Harvard University. Artifacts include a portion of a Madison Cord Impressed jar (a common Effigy Mound offering) and a trailed rim sherd similar to terminal Late Woodland types. Human remains represent a minimum of 23 individuals: 18 adults and 5 subadults. Dental and skeletal evidence indicates a relatively healthy population with low levels of nutritional deficiency, early life stress, and trauma, similar to other regional Late Woodland populations.

Description of new dyrosaurid specimens from the Late Cretaceous–Early Paleogene of New Jersey, United States, and comments on Hyposaurus systematics

ABSTRACT Dyrosauridae was a successful clade of marine crocodyliforms that survived the Cretaceous–Paleogene biotic crises. The most important taxon from North America is Hyposaurus rogersii, a species first described in the mid-19th century based on fragmentary fossils. Several new specimens are described here, comprising material that once belonged to the Yale Peabody Museum (New Haven, USA) but obtained later by L.I. Price and housed in the paleontological collections of the former Divisão de Geologia e Mineralogia (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil). The remains include postcranial bones and fragments of a lower jaw. The present work urges for the necessity of a revision about the validity of Hyposaurus rogersii based on the absence of diagnostic features observed in the holotype. The new specimens show new postcranial features that support the importance of the postcranial bones for dyrosaurid systematics.

Taxonomic validity of Petalodus ohioensis (Chondrichthyes, Petalodontidae) based on a cast of the lost holotype

Only a crude line drawing of the holotype tooth of the shark Petalodus ohioensis Safford, 1853 has ever been published, and the location of that specimen has long been unknown. The discovery of a cast of the holotype in the collections of the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History demonstrates that P. alleghaniensis Leidy, 1856, is a junior subjective synonym of P. ohioensis, thus resolving a long-standing dispute.

Against primitivism

Previous articleNext article No AccessAgainst primitivism Meyer Schapiro’s early writings on African and Romanesque artRisham MajeedRisham Majeed Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUSFull Text Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Res Volume 71-72Spring-Autumn 2019 Published in association with the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/704389 Views: 402Total views on this site Copyright © 2019 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College. All rights reserved. No part of this issue may be reproduced without permission of the publisher.PDF download Crossref reports no articles citing this article.

Molding Maya practice

Previous articleNext article No AccessMolding Maya practice Standardization and innovation in the making of Jaina figurinesMary MillerMary Miller Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUSFull Text Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Res Volume 71-72Spring-Autumn 2019 Published in association with the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/705387 Views: 301Total views on this site Copyright © 2019 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College. All rights reserved. No part of this issue may be reproduced without permission of the publisher.PDF download Crossref reports no articles citing this article.

Covers

Next article FreeCoversPDFPDF PLUS Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Res Volume 71-72Spring-Autumn 2019 Published in association with the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/708380 Views: 239Total views on this site © 2019 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College. All rights reserved.PDF download Crossref reports no articles citing this article.

Confessions of a child of the century

Previous articleNext article No AccessConfessions of a child of the centuryRoberto CalassoRoberto Calasso Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUSFull Text Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Res Volume 71-72Spring-Autumn 2019 Published in association with the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/706986 Views: 232Total views on this site Copyright © 2019 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College. All rights reserved. No part of this issue may be reproduced without permission of the publisher.PDF download Crossref reports no articles citing this article.

Books received November 2018–October 2019

Previous articleNext article No AccessBooks received November 2018–October 2019PDFPDF PLUSFull Text Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Res Volume 71-72Spring-Autumn 2019 Published in association with the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/707129 Views: 32Total views on this site Copyright © 2019 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College. All rights reserved. No part of this issue may be reproduced without permission of the publisher.PDF download Crossref reports no articles citing this article.

Profane illuminations

Previous articleNext article No AccessProfane illuminations Classic Maya molded figurines in comparative contextChristina T. HalperinChristina T. Halperin Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUSFull Text Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Res Volume 71-72Spring-Autumn 2019 Published in association with the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/704702 Views: 173Total views on this site Copyright © 2019 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College. All rights reserved. No part of this issue may be reproduced without permission of the publisher.PDF download Crossref reports no articles citing this article.

On Correggio, frames, and the borders of the Renaissance image

Previous articleNext article No AccessOn Correggio, frames, and the borders of the Renaissance imageGiancarla PeritiGiancarla Periti Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUSFull Text Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Res Volume 71-72Spring-Autumn 2019 Published in association with the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/706118 Views: 195Total views on this site Copyright © 2019 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College. All rights reserved. No part of this issue may be reproduced without permission of the publisher.PDF download Crossref reports no articles citing this article.

Anticipating replication

Previous articleNext article No AccessAnticipating replication Hand-modeled Preclassic figurinesJulia Guernsey and Michael LoveJulia Guernsey Search for more articles by this author and Michael Love Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUSFull Text Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Res Volume 71-72Spring-Autumn 2019 Published in association with the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/704177 Views: 119Total views on this site Copyright © 2019 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College. All rights reserved. No part of this issue may be reproduced without permission of the publisher.PDF download Crossref reports no articles citing this article.

The end of the Neolithic? (Part 2)

Previous articleNext article No AccessThe end of the Neolithic? (Part 2)Rémi LabrusseRémi Labrusse Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUSFull Text Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Res Volume 71-72Spring-Autumn 2019 Published in association with the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/706916 Views: 61Total views on this site Copyright © 2019 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College. All rights reserved. No part of this issue may be reproduced without permission of the publisher.PDF download Crossref reports no articles citing this article.

The liver, the heart, and the brain

Previous articleNext article No AccessThe liver, the heart, and the brain Francesco Scannelli and the body of paintingLorenzo PericoloLorenzo Pericolo Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUSFull Text Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Res Volume 71-72Spring-Autumn 2019 Published in association with the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/706279 Views: 98Total views on this site Copyright © 2019 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College. All rights reserved. No part of this issue may be reproduced without permission of the publisher.PDF download Crossref reports no articles citing this article.

Truth from fiction

Previous articleNext article No AccessTruth from fiction Connoisseurship in Greco-Roman antiquityNathaniel B. JonesNathaniel B. Jones Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUSFull Text Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Res Volume 71-72Spring-Autumn 2019 Published in association with the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/706208 Views: 121Total views on this site Copyright © 2019 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College. All rights reserved. No part of this issue may be reproduced without permission of the publisher.PDF download Crossref reports no articles citing this article.

Modeling, models, and knowledge exchange in early modern Japan

Previous articleNext article No AccessModeling, models, and knowledge exchange in early modern JapanChristine M. E. GuthChristine M. E. Guth Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUSFull Text Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Res Volume 71-72Spring-Autumn 2019 Published in association with the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/707114 Views: 201Total views on this site Copyright © 2019 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College. All rights reserved. No part of this issue may be reproduced without permission of the publisher.PDF download Crossref reports no articles citing this article.

Copying in clay

Previous articleNext article No AccessCopying in clay Maya hieroglyphs and changing modes of scribal practiceMallory E. MatsumotoMallory E. Matsumoto Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUSFull Text Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Res Volume 71-72Spring-Autumn 2019 Published in association with the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/704762 Views: 586Total views on this site Copyright © 2019 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College. All rights reserved. No part of this issue may be reproduced without permission of the publisher.PDF download Crossref reports no articles citing this article.

Muisca cloth and image in early New Granada

Previous articleNext article No AccessMuisca cloth and image in early New GranadaAlessia FrassaniAlessia Frassani Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUSFull Text Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Res Volume 71-72Spring-Autumn 2019 Published in association with the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/705778 Views: 158Total views on this site Copyright © 2019 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College. All rights reserved. No part of this issue may be reproduced without permission of the publisher.PDF download Crossref reports no articles citing this article.