By: Kendra Young
We at Roger’s Archaeology Lab have been working on a multi-year project cataloging the last remaining uncatalogued site from the River Basin Survey (RBS) collections. The Larson site, 39WW2, is one of the largest RBS collections stored at the Smithsonian Institution's (SI) Museum Support Center (MSC) - encompassing approximately 70,000 artifacts! With great excitement we announce the Larson collection is completely catalogued and properly stored for future researchers to access. We could not have completed this project without the help from staff, volunteers, and interns of the Department of Anthropology -- many thanks to you!
If you have been following our blog, you are familiar with the array of artifacts comprising the collection (you can catch up here, here, here, and here). In this post, we would like to share our processes and reflect on the issues found.
The brief story of how the collection came to us begins in the 1949 field excavations near Mobridge, South Dakota. Due to its proximity to the Missouri River, the Larson site was one of many areas threatened by the construction of the Oahe Dam. During the next 17 years, throughout many seasons of excavations, the artifacts were sent for processing to a lab in Lincoln, Nebraska. It was here that the collection was inventoried, housed, and marked with field catalog numbers. Then in the 1980s the collection (excluding human remains) was inventoried and placed into storage at MSC for museum cataloging along with other RBS sites.
When we assessed the collection in 2015 we quickly realized the artifacts were stored not in field catalog order but by artifact type (how the lab packed them). The ceramic sherds were mostly packed in their original paper bags and boxes which sometimes had multiple field numbers inside. The stone artifacts were condensed in trays in the recent past and grouped by the thousands (objects with catalog numbers 1000-1999, for example). Essentially, all the bone artifacts were together, all the stone artifacts together, all the ceramic artifacts together...and so forth, with little regard to their numbered order. In addition, we found previous research was done on pottery and worked stone artifacts, causing displacement from their original packaging. These artifacts mostly had no field catalog numbers written on them, but an unknown analysis number. From this initial standpoint this collection was a huge, complex puzzle!
We then had to develop a strategy to refit the pieces of this puzzle and get all the artifacts back to their original order so as to maintain their provenience from the field. Because of the vast size of the collection (did we mention it has about 70,000 artifacts?) and the level of disorder, we decided to work together finding one catalog number at a time. We developed a three-person checks and balances system for verifying the multiple steps for each number. Steps included:
- transfer data from field catalog to SI catalog
- search inventory documents for recorded locations
- physically sort and locate artifacts
- unpack and count artifacts
- rehouse the artifacts in archival quality storage trays or bags
- input new data from previous steps to SI catalog
For those artifacts with unknown analysis numbers, we were able to obtain the researcher’s original analog data. This became yet another puzzle piece, as we had a heavy stack of computer printouts of coded data (on that retro continuous form paper) and a microfiche film containing the key to decode the printouts. But soon after we mastered our analog learning curve, we were able to return the analyzed artifacts to their field catalog number.
After all the artifacts in the collection completed the above steps, we assigned SI catalog numbers. This involved creating and printing barcoded labels and uploading the data into the KeEmu collections management database software. The final step was to place the labels with objects in the storage drawers and physically add the number to each artifact. There was no way to streamline this process, so we went drawer by drawer, object by object (70,000!) using conservation materials to write SI catalog numbers next to the old field number. This step, tedious as it was, is pivotal for loss prevention in case artifacts are ever removed from storage for study, loan, display, etc. Also, it was important that we added the new SI catalog number to resolve any confusion with the previous numbers associated.
Throughout the cataloging process we not only resolved storage and organizational issues, but also enjoyed learning about the collection and the history of the people who created and used the artifacts. One reason the RBS collections stored here at NMNH are significant is the accessibility to the public for research and education that the museum provides. Documentation such as field reports and excavation records, in addition to the physical artifacts in our repository, provide teaching opportunities which otherwise would be lost to history from 20th century construction. In particular, the Larson site collection teaches us about the Arikara people in the 18th century and helps us understand their relationships with the physical and social environments in which they lived. Preserving sherds from broken pottery, hand-flaked stone weapons, farming tools carved from bison bones, and even the repurposed trade goods today allows for tomorrow’s research using technological innovations and new methodologies. In other words, the research potential of this collection is endless!
If you would like to search the collection online you can do so at http://collections.nmnh.si.edu/search/anth/ under the keyword search ‘Larson’ and/or ‘39WW2’. Or, if you would like to research the collection in person, you can visit http://anthropology.si.edu/cm/research.html for all the information you need.
Note from the author:
This is my last post to the Rogers Archaeology Lab blog as I am off to a new adventure in New York City. Over the past few years I have been able to contribute to innovative research and work alongside individuals whose passion for science and museums inspires me. I am grateful to have made lasting memories and many friendships in my time here. I especially thank Dr. Rogers for the opportunity to help preserve a (70,000) piece of our country’s history.