Mapping material culture: exploring the interface between museum artefacts and their geographical context

Cowie, Trevor; McKeague, Peter

doi:10.3366/saj.2011.0009

Cited by 5 publications

(5 citation statements)

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“…Essential to our decision to focus Boundary Objects Project work in Scotland was a pilot study undertaken between 2006 and 2007 by NMS and the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS) -the Museum Artefact Geographical Interface project (MAGI) (Cowie & McKeague 2010), together with the enthusiasm and support of current colleagues in these organisations, in regional HERs, and in community groups across the Highlands. With minimal resources, MAGI created an online geographical interface for aligning NMS object records with their equivalent SOCIETY OF ANTIQUARIES OF SCOTLAND 2024 Canmore site records in recognition that 'artefacts in museum collections derive from places in the Scottish landscape; that the removal of an artefact from the ground involves loss of connection with that geography; and that the power of information technology offers possibilities for the virtual reconnection of objects and place' (Cowie & McKeague 2010: 91, original emphasis).…”

Section: Boundary Objects Project In Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Concerns about the future survival of many museums, together with extended museum closures relating to the Covid-19 pandemic, have emphasised the urgent need to improve access to archaeological finds. In this setting, a series of action-oriented initiatives in Scotland and across the UK have sought to promote the huge social value of all heritage collections, to improve the flow of information about archaeological objects from their initial discovery to their arrival in museum stores, to explore methods for (re)connecting separate silos of finds information, and to make fresh opportunities for non-specialist audiences to engage with these objects (Cowie & McKeague 2010;Mann 2020; Towards a National Collection (TaNC)).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Making finds matter

Anderson-Whymark,

Cooper,

Flower

et al. 2024

PSAS

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From enigmatic carved stone balls to the patched breeches of an 18th-century bog body, many archaeological finds from Scotland are, without doubt, fabulous. Through these objects and the practices they embody, we can imagine alternative ways of living and thinking, wonder at past people’s ingenuity and skill, and revisit significant moments in our own lives. Archaeological finds are also often fragile, scattered across diverse locations, and often difficult to access or find out about following their initial discovery. Only very few archaeological objects make it into museum displays where they can be widely enjoyed. In economically and socially challenging times, even these items can be hard to reach. Linking into wider moves to improve access to heritage collections in Scotland and across the UK, the Boundary Objects Project celebrated captivating archaeological objects from Scotland and the diverse sets of people involved in their discovery. Contemporary digital technologies and the goodwill, skills and energy of a wide set of archaeological professionals, students and enthusiasts were harnessed in order to improve access to information to scattered digital records relating to archaeological objects and sites, to raise the prominence of these items in existing community-led heritage initiatives, and to engage diverse audiences in actively enjoying them. This paper summarises work on the Boundary Objects Project – a collaboration between the universities of Reading and Manchester in partnership with Historic Environment Scotland (HES) and National Museums Scotland (NMS) – in the context of wider multi-stranded moves to build a better future for archaeological finds in and well beyond Scotland.

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Section: Boundary Objects Project In Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Making finds matter

Anderson-Whymark,

Cooper,

Flower

et al. 2024

PSAS

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“…Scotland is fortunate with the integration of paper, photographic and digital archives as part of the national record through Canmore but museum collections have long remained separate and serve a separate primary purpose -management of the collection. The relationship and potential for joining between museum resources and Canmore was explored through a pilot study undertaken by National Museums Scotland (NMS) and RCAHMS in 2005 (Cowie and McKeague 2011). The handcrafted approach demonstrated potential but the proposition on a national scale remains daunting.…”

Section: Case Study One: Ordnance Survey and Aerial Photographic Mappmentioning

confidence: 99%

Across Space and Time

Fleury¹,

Madeleine²,

Lefèvre

2015

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“…Similarly, the AdLib museum database of National Museums Scotland (which is, however, not publicly available) contains much out of date and incorrect information and cannot be treated as a reliable research resource; furthermore, it does not contain accurate geographical information so cannot be used to create distribution maps. The disjunction between the sites and monuments-based CANMORE database and the artefact-based databases held by museums has long been recognised as a serious problem, and a pilot project, MAGI (Cowie & McKeague 2011), has demonstrated the benefits to be gained from creating an integrated sites-and-finds database as has been developed in Wales. There is a pressing need for a full-scale integration project to be undertaken.…”

Section: Accessibility and Quality Of Existing Information (Ie Dissemination And Awareness Issues)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Neolithic Scotland: ScARF Panel Report

2012

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The main recommendations of the Panel report can be summarised as follows: The Overall Picture: more needs to be understood about the process of acculturation of indigenous communities; about the Atlantic, Breton strand of Neolithisation; about the ‘how and why’ of the spread of Grooved Ware use and its associated practices and traditions; and about reactions to Continental Beaker novelties which appeared from the 25th century. The Detailed Picture: Our understanding of developments in different parts of Scotland is very uneven, with Shetland and the north-west mainland being in particular need of targeted research. Also, here and elsewhere in Scotland, the chronology of developments needs to be clarified, especially as regards developments in the Hebrides. Lifeways and Lifestyles: Research needs to be directed towards filling the substantial gaps in our understanding of: i) subsistence strategies; ii) landscape use (including issues of population size and distribution); iii) environmental change and its consequences – and in particular issues of sea level rise, peat formation and woodland regeneration; and iv) the nature and organisation of the places where people lived; and to track changes over time in all of these. Material Culture and Use of Resources: In addition to fine-tuning our characterisation of material culture and resource use (and its changes over the course of the Neolithic), we need to apply a wider range of analytical approaches in order to discover more about manufacture and use.Some basic questions still need to be addressed (e.g. the chronology of felsite use in Shetland; what kind of pottery was in use, c 3000–2500, in areas where Grooved Ware was not used, etc.) and are outlined in the relevant section of the document. Our knowledge of organic artefacts is very limited, so research in waterlogged contexts is desirable. Identity, Society, Belief Systems: Basic questions about the organisation of society need to be addressed: are we dealing with communities that started out as egalitarian, but (in some regions) became socially differentiated? Can we identify acculturated indigenous people? How much mobility, and what kind of mobility, was there at different times during the Neolithic? And our chronology of certain monument types and key sites (including the Ring of Brodgar, despite its recent excavation) requires to be clarified, especially since we now know that certain types of monument (including Clava cairns) were not built during the Neolithic. The way in which certain types of site (e.g. large palisaded enclosures) were used remains to be clarified. Research and methodological issues: There is still much ignorance of the results of past and current research, so more effective means of dissemination are required. Basic inventory information (e.g. the Scottish Human Remains Database) needs to be compiled, and Canmore and museum database information needs to be updated and expanded – and, where not already available online, placed online, preferably with a Scottish Neolithic e-hub that directs the enquirer to all the available sources of information. The Historic Scotland on-line radiocarbon date inventory needs to be resurrected and kept up to date. Under-used resources, including the rich aerial photography archive in the NMRS, need to have their potential fully exploited. Multi-disciplinary, collaborative research (and the application of GIS modelling to spatial data in order to process the results) is vital if we are to escape from the current ‘silo’ approach and address key research questions from a range of perspectives; and awareness of relevant research outside Scotland is essential if we are to avoid reinventing the wheel. Our perspective needs to encompass multi-scale approaches, so that ScARF Neolithic Panel Report iv developments within Scotland can be understood at a local, regional and wider level. Most importantly, the right questions need to be framed, and the right research strategies need to be developed, in order to extract the maximum amount of information about the Scottish Neolithic.

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Mapping material culture: exploring the interface between museum artefacts and their geographical context

Cited by 5 publications

References 5 publications

Making finds matter

Making finds matter

Across Space and Time

Neolithic Scotland: ScARF Panel Report

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