Reuniting Archaeology and Archives through the Smithsonian Institution’s Ralph S. and Rose L. Solecki Papers and Artifacts Project
Main Article Content
Abstract
The Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History recently conducted a two-year project to process and connect the archives and artifacts of archaeologists Ralph and Rose Solecki, most famous for their work at the sites of Shanidar Cave and Zawi Chemi Shanidar in northern Iraq. Through a collaboration between the archivally-focused National Anthropological Archives and the object-focused Department of Anthropology collections management group, the Ralph S. and Rose L. Solecki Papers and Artifacts Project sought to set an example for archaeological collections and archives stewardship by preserving the association between archaeological specimens and archival records through an integrative methodology of archival processing and specimen cataloging to increase their value to future researchers. Further, the project provides a case study intended to contribute to interdisciplinary conversations about the enduring legacy of archaeologists and their collections within archives and museums through collaborative collections and archives management.
Downloads
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with Museum Anthropology Review (MAR) agree to the following terms: 1. As outlined in the journal’s Consent to Publish Agreement, authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal. 2. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal. 3. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in their home institutional repositories or on their personal website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work. 4. While MAR adopts the above strategies in line with best practices common to the open access journal community, it urges authors to promote use of this journal (in lieu of subsequent duplicate publication of unaltered papers) and to acknowledge the unpaid investments made during the publication process by peer-reviewers, editors, copy editors, programmers, layout editors and others involved in supporting the work of the journal. More information may be found in the journal’s Consent to Publish Agreement which must be signed and delivered to the editorial office prior to publication.
References
Barker, Alex W. 2001. “Databases, Core: Anthropology and Museums.” Pergamon: 3240-3243.
Bauer-Clapp, Heidi and Katie Kirakosian 2017. “For the Record: Archaeological Archives in the Twenty-First Century.” Advances in Archaeological Practice 5(3).
Buchanan, Sarah A. 2019. “The Assemblage of Repository and Museum Work in Archaeological Curation.” Information Research 24(2), paper 816. Accessed on 20 September 2020. http://InformationR.net/ir/24-2/paper816.html
Childs, S. Terry, ed. 2004. Our Collective Responsibility: The Ethics and Practice of Archaeological Collections Stewardship. Washington, D.C.: Society for American Archaeology.
Cowgill, Libby W., Erik Trinkaus, and Melinda A. Zeder. 2007. “Shanidar 10: A Middle Paleolithic immature distal lower limb from Shanidar Cave, Iraqi Kurdistan.” Journal of Human Evolution 53 (2): 213-223. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2007.04.003.
Faniel, Ixchel, Eric Kansa, Sarah Whitcher Kansa, Julianna Barrera-Gomez, and Elizabeth Yakel. 2013. “The Challenges of Digging Data: A Study of Context in Archaeological Data Reuse.” Proceedings of the 13th ACM/IEEE-CS Joint Conference on Digital Libraries, 295–304. New York: Association for Computing Machinery. https://doi.org/10.1145/2467696.2467712.
Frieman, Catherine J. and Lisa Janz (2018). “A Very Remote Storage Box Indeed: The Importance of Doing Archaeology with Old Museum Collections.” Journal of Field Archaeology 43(4): 257-268. https://doi.org/10.1080/00934690.2018.1458527
Greene, Candace. 2016. “’The Smithsonian Effect’ in Anthropological Cataloguing.” Museum Anthropology 39(2): 147-62. https://doi.org/10.1111/muan.12121
Jimerson, Randall C. 2002. “The Nature of Archives and Manuscripts.” OCLC Systems & Services: International Digital Library Perspectives 18 (1): 21–23.
Knoll, Michelle K. and Bruce B. Hucknell. 2019. “Guidelines for Preparing Legacy Archaeology Collections for Curation.” Society for American Archaeology. https://documents.saa.org/container/docs/default-source/doc-careerpractice/saa-guidelines-for-preparing-legacy-arch-collections.pdf?sfvrsn=5a6a1e5_2
Luby, Edward M., Kent G. Lightfoot, and Victoria Bradshaw. 2013. “Archaeological Curation and the Research Value of Archaeological Collections: As Case Study from California.” A Journal for Museum and Archives Professionals 9(3): 255-282. https://doi.org/10.1177/155019061300900303
Nimer, Cory and J. Gordon Daines III. 2008. "What Do You Mean It Doesn't Make Sense? Redesigning Finding Aids from the User's Perspective." Journal of Archival Organization 6(4): 216-232. https://doi.org/10.1080/15332740802533214
Pearce, Susan M.1997. “Archaeology as collection.” The Museum Archaeologist, Proceedings of the Society of Museum Archaeologists 22: 47–54. London.
Pomeroy, Emma, Paul Bennet, Chris O. Hunt, Tim Reynolds, Lucy Farr, Marine Froun, James Holman, Ross Lane, Charles French, and Graeme Barker. 2020. “New Neanderthal Remains Associated with the ‘Flower Burial’ at Shanidar Cave.” Antiquity 94: 11–26. https://doi.org/10.15184/aqy.2019.207
Punzalan, Ricardo L. (2014). “Archival Diasporas: A Framework for Understanding the Complexities and Challenges of Dispersed Photographic Collections.” Society for American Archivists 77(2): 326-349. https://doi.org/10.17723/aarc.77.2.729766v886w16007
Reynolds, Tim, William Boismier, Lucy Farr, Chris O. Hunt, DIshad Abdulmutalb, and Graeme Barker. 2015. “New Investigations at Shanidar Cave, Iraqi Kurdistan.” Antiquity 89. Accessed July 22, 2020. https://antiquity.ac.uk/projgall/barker348.
Ritzenthaler, Mary Lynn. 2010. Preserving Archives and Manuscripts. Chicago: Society of American Archivists.
Society for American Archivists. 2014. Describing Archives: A Content Standard, 2nd ed. Accessed July 22, 2020. https://www2.archivists.org/standards/DACS.
Simmons, John E. and Toni M. Kiser, eds. 2010. Museum Registration Methods, 6th ed. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield and the American Alliance of Museums.
Society for American Archivists. 2019. Describing Archives: A Content Standard. Accessed March 31, 2021. https://github.com/saa-ts-dacs/dacs.
Solecki, Ralph S. 1953. “A Paleolithic Site in the Zagros Mountains of Northern Iraq.The Shanidar Cave sounding, 1953 Season, with Notes Concerning the Discovery of the First Paleolithic Skeleton in Iraq.” Sumer 9: 229–232.
Solecki, Ralph S. 1954. “Shanidar Cave, a Paleolithic Site in Northern Iraq.” Annual Report of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution 4190: 389–426.
Solecki, Ralph S. 1960. “Three Adult Neanderthal Skeletons from Shanidar Cave, Northern Iraq.” Annual Report of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution 4392: 603–35.
Solecki, Ralph S. 1961. “New Anthropological Discoveries at Shanidar, Northern Iraq.” Transactions of the New York Academy of Sciences 23: 690–99. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2164-0947.1961.tb01403
Solecki, Ralph S. 1963. Prehistory in Shanidar Valley, northern Iraq. Science 139: 179–93. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.139.3551.179
Solecki, Ralph S. 1971. Shanidar: The First Flower People. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.
Solecki, Ralph S. 1972. Shanidar: The Humanity of Neanderthal Man. London: Penguin.
Solecki, Ralph S. 2006. “Reminiscences of Plains Archaeology, Pre- and Post-World War II.” In Plains Archaeology's Past: A Collection of Personal Narratives. Plains Anthropologist 51: 537–552. https://www.jstor.org/stable/25670902
Solecki, Ralph S., Rose L. Solecki, and Anagnostis P. Agelarakis. 2004.The Proto-Neolithic cemetery in Shanidar Cave.Texas A&M University College Station, TX.
Solecki, Rose L. 1981. An Early Village Site at Zawi Chemi Shanidar. Biblioteca Mesopotamica 13. Malibu, CA: Undena Publications.
Sullivan, Lynne P. and S. Terry Childs. 2003. Curating Archaeological Collections: From Field to Repository. Lanham, MD: Rowman Altamira Press.
Thiessen, Thomas D., and Karin M. Roberts. 2009. “The River Basin Surveys Collections: A Legacy for American Archeology.” Plains Anthropologist 54 (210): 121–36. Accessed June 8, 2021. http://www.jstor.org/stable/25671048.
Turner, Hannah. 2016. “The Computerization of Material Culture Catalogues: Objects and Infrastructures in the Smithsonian Institution’s Department of Anthropology.” Museum Anthropology 39(2): 163-177. https://doi.org/10.1111/muan.12122
Wiedeman, G. 2019. "The Historical Hazards of Finding Aids." The American Archivist 82(2): 381-420. https://doi.org/10.17723/aarc-82-02-20