Archaeology Collections at the Horniman Museum

Archaeology Collections ReviewFebruary-April 2013,

‘Collections People Stories: Anthropology Reconsidered’ Project

Dr. Jennifer WexlerSCC, July 11th 2013

The Archaeology Collection Review

A preliminary review of the collections currently classified as Archaeology (Anthropology: Archaeology) in the existing MIMSY catalogue of the Horniman Museum was undertaken Spring 2013, under the purview of Collections People Stories project.

Main Objectives of the Review:• Statistical representation of what we have in the collection based-on what is currently defined as ‘Archaeology’ (in MIMSY)

• What collections are particularly significant• Identifying sites that are still being researched• Getting in touch with relevant specialists and researchers/promotion of the collection

• Providing an overview of the collection and recommendations of how it could be further researched, displayed, and utilised.

Overview of the Archaeology Collections

10,215 individual catalogue entries in MIMSY

Majority of records derive from the SNAP database & card catalogues, although there has never been a review of the

Archaeology Stores to confirm the composition of the existing records.

The majority of material was collected between 1899-1937, with a further period of collecting from the late 1940s-

1960s (but at a much reduced scale).

The structure & research potential of the archaeology collections are not generally known within the museum or larger academic community, and it can be considered a major area of potential research within the museum.

Approaches to the Archaeology Collection Review

Statistical analysis of the archaeological collections by the four central categories (‘Place Made’, ‘Item Name’, ‘Date’, and ‘Donor Name’) represented in MIMSY were undertaken in order to gain a better idea of the collection’s composition by place,

type, period, and people/institutions.

1. Archaeology Collections by Geographical Location and Region

2. Archaeology Collections by Object Type

3. Archaeology Collections by Period

4. Archaeology Collection Donors and Acquisition

1. Archaeology Collections by Geographical Location & Region

54%

17%

13%

8% 7%

1%Archaeology Objects by Region

Europe (5491)Africa (1772)Asia (1297)Unprovenanced (855)Americas (732)Oceania (58)

European Collections

43%

18%

12%

7%

5%

4%

4%2% 2%

1% 1% 1%Europe by CountryEngland (2365)France (1005)Ireland & N.Ireland (650)Canary Islands, Spain (377)Cyprus (267)Denmark (219)Switzerland (210)Greece (135)Italy (87)Scotland (42)Wales (28)Europe (28)Hungary (16)Ukraine (13)Spain (11)British Isles (9)Germany (9)Romania (4)Gibraltar (3)Albania (2)Holland-Netherlands (2)Russia/USSR (2)

European Collections

England (2365)

Ireland & N.Ireland (650)

Cyprus (267)

Switzerland (210)

Italy (87)

Wales (28)

Hungary (16)

Spain (11)

Germany (9)

Gibraltar (3)

Holland-Netherlands (2)

Western Europe (2)

Austria (1)

Montenegro (1)

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

1600

1800

2000

2200

2400

Series1

African Collections

59%

9%

7%

5%

4%

4%

2%2%

2% 2%

1% 1%1%

Africa by CountryEgypt (1037)Tanzania (167)Kenya (117)South Africa (88)Zimbabwe (Rhodesia) (74)Somaliland (73)Nigeria (43)Ghana (42)Belgian Congo (34)British Cameroons &Cameroon (31)Congo (23)Sudan (13)West Africa (9)"Africa" (6)Ivory Coast (5)Sierra Leone (3)Gabon (2)Somalia (2)Uganda (2)Chad (1)

African Collections

Egypt (1037)

Tanzania (167)

Kenya (117)

South Africa (88)

Zimbabwe (Rhodesia) (74)

Somaliland (73)

Nigeria (43)

Ghana (42)

Belgian Congo (34)

British Cameroons &Cameroon (31)

Congo (23)

Sudan (13)

West Africa (9)

"Africa" (6)

Ivory Coast (5)

Sierra Leone (3)

Gabon (2)

Somalia (2)

Uganda (2)

Chad (1)

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

900

1000

1100

Asian Collections

58%

14%

8%

8%

3%2%

1% 1% 1% 1% 1%

Asia by CountryPalestine (750)Malaysia-Malay Pennisula (182)India (110)China (108)Japan (38)Lebanon (25)Iraq (18)Turkey (16)Arabia-Middle East-Near East (8) Israel (8)Taiwan (7)Indonesia (6)Iran (5)Syria (4)Andaman Islands, India (3)Asia (3)Jordan (3)Burma (2)Tibet (1)

Asian Collections

Palestine (750)

Malaysia-Malay Pennisula (182)

India (110)

China (108)

Japan (38)

Lebanon (25)

Iraq (18)

Turkey (16)

Arabia-Middle East-Near East (8)

Israel (8)

Taiwan (7)

Indonesia (6)

Iran (5)

Syria (4)

Andaman Islands, India (3)

Asia (3)

Jordan (3)

Burma (2)

Tibet (1)

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

American Collections

30%

23%14%

10%

5%

4%

3%2%

2%1% 1% 1% 1% 1% 1% 1%

Americas by CountryUSA (218)Mexico (170)Peru (104)North America (70)Argentina (33)Central America (28)Canada (24)Ecuador (17)Brazil (13)British Honduras (8)Chile (7)Costa Rica (7)Guatemala (7)South America (6)Guiana (5)Bolivia (4)Caribbean (3)

American Collections

USA (218)

Mexico (170)

Peru (104)

North America (70)

Argentina (33)

Central America (28)

Canada (24)

Ecuador (17)

Brazil (13)

British Honduras (8)

Chile (7)

Costa Rica (7)

Guatemala (7)

South America (6)

Guiana (5)

Bolivia (4)

Caribbean (3)

Paraguay (3)

Uruguay (2)

West Indies (2)

St. Lucia (1)

0

50

100

150

200

250

Oceania Collections

64%

14%

10%

9%2% 2%

Oceania by CountryAustralia (37)New Zealand (8)Papua New Guinea (6)Solomon Islands (5)Fiji (1)New Caledonia (1)

Oceania Collections

Australia (37) New Zealand (8) Papua New Guinea (6)

Solomon Islands (5)

Fiji (1) New Caledonia (1)

0

10

20

30

40

2. Archaeology Collections by Object Type

62%

8%

5%

3%

3%

3%

2%

2%

2%

2%

2%

Tools (6594)Ceramics & Pottery (873)Weapons (571)Organics (370)Ornaments & Jewelry (303)Art/Decorative (266)Containers (264)Models/Samples/Casts/Fragments (208)Rock/Stone (192)Funerary & Grave Goods (177)Money/Currency (163)Clothing/Textile-Related (161)Domestic Items/Furniture (156)Food Processing (81)Documents/Writing-Related (72)Votive & Ritual (47)Building Materials (35)Miscellaneous & Objects Unknown (19)Musical Instruments & Noise-Makers (14)Toys/Games (9)Transportation-Related (8)

2. Archaeology Collections by Object Type

Tools (6594)

Ceramics & Pottery (873)

Weapons (571)

Organics (370)

Ornaments & Jewelry (303)

Art/Decorative (266)

Containers (264)

Models/Samples/Casts/Fragments (208)

Rock/Stone (192)

Funerary & Grave Goods (177)

Money/Currency (163)

Clothing/Textile-Related (161)

Domestic Items/Furniture (156)

Food Processing (81)

Documents/Writing-Related (72)

Votive & Ritual (47)

Building Materials (35)

Miscellaneous & Objects Unknown (19)

Musical Instruments & Noise-Makers (14)

Toys/Games (9)

Transportation-Related (8)

05001000150020002500300035004000450050005500600065007000

Tools

62%16%

14%

4% 3%

1%

Europe (4073)Africa (1071)Asia (930)Unprovenanced (284)Americas (185)Oceania (53)

Ceramics & Pottery

62%16%

10%

10%2%

Europe (538)Asia (142)Unprovenanced (87)Africa (86)Americas (19)Oceania (1)

Weapons

40%

35%

9%

11%

5%

Europe (230)Americas (198)Unprovenanced (54)Africa (60)Asia (28)Oceania (1)

74%

10%

5%4%

Objects from EuropeTools (4073)Ceramics & Pottery (538)Organics (266)Weapons (230)Domestic Items & Furniture (70)Containers (64)Money & Currency (51)Clothing &Textile-Related (45)Rock & Stone (42)Ornaments (41)

62%8%

5%

5%

4%3%

3%3%

3% 2%Objects from AfricaTools (1071)

Funerary & Grave Goods (143)Ornaments (87)Ceramics & Pottery (86)Clothing &Textile-Related (64)Weapons (60)Containers (53)Rock & Stone (44)Domestic Items & Furniture (43)Organics (38)Documents & Writing-Related (17)Musical Instruments & Noise-Makers (6)

31%

29%

12%

10%

6%

3%3%

2%Objects from Americas

Weapons (198)Tools (185)Ornaments (79)Rock & Stone (66)Clothing &Textile-Related (36)Containers (22)Ceramics & Pottery (19)Documents & Writing-Related (12)Domestic Items & Furniture (8)Funerary & Grave Goods (3)Organics (3)Building Materials (2)Toys & Games (1)Transportation-Related (1)

71%

11%

4% 3%2%

2%2%2%

Objects from AsiaTools (930)Ceramics & Pottery (142)Ornaments (49)Containers (38)Organics (31)Weapons (28)Documents & Writing-Related (24)Money & Currency (22)Rock & Stone (14)Funerary & Grave Goods (12)Clothing &Textile-Related (6)Domestic Items & Furniture (6)Musical Instruments & Noise-Makers (3)Transportation-Related (1)

3. Archaeological Collections by Chronological Periods

Palaeolithic (1615)

Lower Palaeolithic (192)

Middle Palaeolithic (208)

Middle Palaeolithic-Mesolithic (26)

Upper Palaeolithic (720)

Mesolithic (628)

Neolithic (2067)

Neolithic-Bronze Age (60)

Copper Age (30)

Bronze Age (239)

Iron Age (734)

Pre-Columbian (119)

Middle Ages (30)

Post-Medieval (10)

Modern (116)

Miscellaneous (697)

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

4. Key Archaeology Donors by Amount of Objects Donated

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

Recommendations for Further Work on the Archaeology Collections

•Full review and analysis of the collections, starting with the complete cataloguing and documentation of objects currently in Stores.

•Re-evaluation of the classification of objects and standarisation in the documentation terminology used for the archaeological collections, especially for ‘object types/items names’ and ‘dates/periods’.

•Identification of archaeological objects currently catalogued under ‘Ethnography’ in MIMSY, as well as the identification of ethnographic materials erroneously catalogued under ‘Archaeology’ in MIMSY.

•Resolution of unprovenanced records (over 855 total object records), through further examination of the objects and collection registers.

•Creation of a working reference list of donors and acquisition history of the archaeological collections.

•Online research catalogue, to promote the archaeological collections as well as allow researchers to access the available information on the collections.

•Contacting future research partners and other interested parties to undertake research on specific sections of the collections. 

Particular areas of academic research importance to highlight are:

European Collections, in particular objects from England, Ireland, France, and the Canary Islands (Spain)

Palaeolithic - Neolithic collections, in particular those from Europe, Africa, and the Levant

Lithics and tools

Ceramics and pottery, in particular Classical Greek and Roman pottery

Ancient Egyptian materials, specifically in connection to the study of the Petrie archive

‘Palaeo-Indian’ artefacts from North America

Pre-Columbian artefacts and ceramics from Mexico/Central America

Objects from London and SE England

History of the collection and collection donors, particularly in connection to the development of the study of prehistory and archaeology