Hello, Fort
Friends! This is Moline again. Tonight we had an amazing guest lecture by our
very own Dr. Terry Martin, Curator Emeritus of Anthropology at Illinois State
Museum in Springfield, Illinois. Dr.
Martin is a zooarchaeologist, meaning that he studies animal remains in order
to better understand past cultures. Dr.
Martin gave us some really interesting insight into the world of curation and museum
work, and I’m going to share some of the main talking points with you all!
One of the
biggest themes Dr. Martin touched on was the concept of “institutional memory.” Basically what this means is that an
institution has a certain way of doing things, and a certain history goes along
with that protocol. This can include any
number of different things, like the collection of artifacts housed at an
institution, the way that the artifacts are handled, any difficulties or
challenges experienced by the institution, etc.
Having a good sense of an institution’s memory is absolutely crucial for
being a good curator. If you don’t know
the history of the artifacts in your collection, or the general protocol used
for them, you’re not going to be able to do the best job possible with curating
them.
As I’m sure
you already know, being a curator is a big job!
Dr. Martin broke it down for us by giving us four “core activities” of a
curator. They include management of collections,
organization of and assistance with exhibit design, education, and interdisciplinary
research.
You might be
surprised at how interdisciplinary archaeology actually is: archaeologists often work with experts from
all different fields, including geology, paleontology, zoology, history, the
list goes on! Having this kind of
interdisciplinary approach is critical for doing good archaeology. Without the help of experts from different
fields and disciplines, it would be impossible to glean the same amount of information
from the artifacts, ecofacts, and features that we recover at our sites.
Perhaps one
of the most exciting aspects of archaeological work is the potential that
exists for future generations to enhance our field. As Dr. Martin pointed out, there are new
techniques (for example, DNA, stable isotope analysis, and AMS radiocarbon
dating) being developed and, perhaps most importantly, new questions being
asked that are helping us to become more and more knowledgeable as we progress
in the world of archaeology. Many of
these questions and techniques were not even envisioned until fairly recently! With these new developments, we can use old
collections to answer new questions.
Thank you
all so much for keeping up with the Fort’s activities!
Happy
digging!
Moline
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