Corinda Kelly, John Clark (Anthropology) and Shane Baker (Office of Public Archaeology)

In the Fall of 2001 the Museum of Peoples and Cultures (MPC) located at BYU received a donation of a very highly valued collection of pre-Columbian Mesoamerican artifacts as well as several artifacts from the ancient Middle East. According to the American Association of Museums (AAM), one of the main responsibilities of a museum is to “have a formal and appropriate program of documentation, care, and use of collections” (http://www.aamus. org/infocenter/infor01.htm). My project at the MPC involved providing appropriate documentation, care, and use of the objects. Providing accurate documentation on a large collection such as this required many painstaking efforts. I labeled each of the nearly 500 objects individually with archivally safe products. This ensured two things: the long-term safety of the objects as well as the ability to find objects again in the future without confusing them with other objects in the Museum’s permanent holdings.

In addition to labeling each object, I recorded detailed descriptions of each object on official Museum documents and then entered the information into a database. I also took digital photographs of each object, edited the photographs, and then entered them on the database as well. This process, while very time consuming, will facilitate rapid retrieval of that information in the future. This is important for future scholarly research because it can save investigators a lot of time searching through the millions of objects within the Museum’s holdings. Instead, they can look up the number of the object, instantly retrieve a photograph of it, and quickly decide if they want to examine the object more closely. Storing information about each object in the database also protects the objects from being handled unnecessarily, increasing the quality and longevity of their preservation.

Another aspect of my project included ensuring proper care of each object. The storage area for this particular collection has some advantages as far as caring for objects is concerned for two reasons: first it is highly secure, and second it was designed specifically to store artifacts in a dust-free environment. While this part of my project was made easy, I had to place each object on a specially prepared cushioned and acid free surface. During the time I worked on the project, the MPC also replaced the lights in the room so that they would generate less ultraviolet radiation. This will reduce or prevent the discoloration of the objects over time.

While I was not directly responsible for overseeing how the objects were and will be used, the work I did in providing a documentation system and of caring for the objects make them available for future research by local or visiting scholars. This initial work of caring for the objects also facilitates their exhibition, which allows the community to learn and benefit from them as well.

Working on this project taught me a great deal about how to do research and how important it is to care for ancient objects. One of the main things I learned was to be flexible. The room in which I worked had poor ventilation and during the time when I was labeling objects I could only work for a few hours before the fumes from the chemicals became too intense to work. So I had to plan around that and find other aspects of the project to work on. I also found that it was difficult for me to know when to stop one aspect of the project and move on to the next because there were always more details to record. As a result of working on this project, I learned how to prioritize different aspects of my work. I also learned how important the fine details are in research. Flexibility, prioritizing, and detail work will all be important to me next year as I begin law school. This project has definitely helped me to prepare for that experience as well as any future research I undertake.