MUSEUMS Lost and found again

In 1860, the string of Mary Jacob’s necklace snapped, scattering the multi-colored glass beads between the cracks of the kitchen floor. She was heartbroken—they had been her mother’s. When Mary died a year later, her will still listed the necklace among her possessions.

Fast forward 125 years. The kitchen site undergoes archeological investigations. The archeologists complete their surveys, catalog the finds, analyze the results, write a report, and file the artifacts and their notes at a local repository.

Fast forward 15 years. A living history interpreter needs inspiration to pull together an interpretive program about women’s lives. So little evidence remains about them—what they wore, how they lived, and what their families were like.

A curator suggests looking through the archeological collections. The interpreter digs through the boxes of cataloged archeological material. It doesn’t make much sense to her—what is all this broken stuff good for?

Then, among the bags of cataloged artifacts from the kitchen area, there they are—the beads. Immediately they grab her attention. The historical research includes receipts telling that Mary’s father purchased a beaded necklace in January, the month of her mother’s birthday. “Wow,” she thinks, “here are real moments in time—why aren’t we using these artifacts more?”

The broken artifacts were starting to make sense. The interpreter makes a story from the pushpins, buttons, hairpins, and broken ceramics. It seems to her that these things had repeatedly fallen through the cracks—first in the past, and again in the museum.

Case Studies

Archeological collections offer many opportunities for people to become curious about the past in new and different ways, and to inspire reverence for a place.

Consider these outreach and education possibilities:

1. People love to see old things from the place they live now.
2. Craftspeople and artists use archeological materials as models and inspiration.
3. Educators and museum specialists work together to develop projects with archeological materials.
4. Natural scientists, such as ecologists or biologists, use collections as comparative material for learning about the relationships between people and nature.
5. Communities of people—senior citizens, youth groups, volunteers, professionals—can learn important teamwork, collaboration, and organizational skills for living as a group.

Additional Resources:

• Museums links
• Museums readings