Symbols Fall
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A PUBLICATION OF THE PEABODY MUSEUM AND THE DEPARTMENT OF ANTHROPOLOGY, HARVARD UNIVERSITY • 11 DIVINITY AVENUE CAMBRIDGE, MA 02138
“HUN, KA, OX, LIFT”: A BEHIND THE SCENES LOOK AT REHOUSING 720 PLASTER CASTS Catherine Cezeaux, Director of Finance and Administration
“hun, ka, ox (osh), lift” or, to translate Yucatec Mayan, “1, 2, 3, lift” is often heard in the High Bay area of the 38 Oxford St. facility, a former particle accelerator, and is symbolic of the Peabody’s current undertaking to rehouse our invaluable plaster cast collection of a series of expeditions to Copán and other Mesoamerican sites between 1891 and 1895. During this period, Expedition members made paper molds of dozens of monuments and hieroglyphic inscriptions. These molds were brought to the museum by mule and ferry and were cast in plaster in the 1890s and 1900s. Since then, the
Floor of the High Bay. November 2006, photo Featured in this issue: by Jeffrey Quilter.
casts have been stored in many dif- “hun, ka, ox, lift ”: ABehind the Scenes Look at Rehousing ferent locations, first in the Peabody 720 Plaster Casts Museum and for the past several CATHERINE CEZEAUX page 1 decades, in the aisles of the Museum’s Annex or in a large metal storage struc- Casting New Light on the Origins of Tonina Monument 27 ture in the adjacent 38 Oxford St. facil- MARC ZENDER page 5 ity. The casts preserve many details of the glyphs and carvings that have since Origins and Development of the First Cities in the Ancient eroded or been destroyed by looters or Near East vandals. This summer, Harvard’s JASON UR page 9 Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) began planning a major renovation African Collections at the Peabody Museum for the 38 Oxford St. facility and an MONNI ADAMS page 11 upgrade of the conditions in the Annex. A major “obstacle” to this proj- Scanning History ect was the plaster casts. Could we get ALEXANDRE TOKOVININE and BARBARA FASH page 17 them all out of the way by February 29, 2008. We were thrilled at the possibility cleaning requirements and carefully created individualized future conser- vation plans for each cast. Collections staff photographed, measured, and weighed each cast, while the Corpus Director and other Mesoamerican specialists verified the identity of each cast and ensured that casts and any associated fragments from a given site were stored together. Box builders refined the rehousing process and designed structures for the larger 3D casts. These casts have been used in teaching for over a century and con- tinue to be a precious resource for scholars in this and many other coun- tries. Rehousing casts is very different Bob Ganong building a cast enclosure. Photo by David DeBono Schafer. from protecting a row of books. They could not just be put in moving boxes and be taken away in a moving van. of finally rehousing and conserving could look at the casts from all angles Educating Harvard Human Resources, the casts as well as upgrading the without removing them from their Finance, and FAS Planning was also environmental conditions of the housing. The final criterion was that an important part of the project so Annex, but the deadline was a serious the housing needed to be fast and easy that all parties understood the prob- challenge. to assemble to meet the February 29 lems and issues to ensure appropriate Rehousing the 720 plaster casts has deadline. After many prototypes and staffing and financial resources. The been a project involving much of the many conversations, we found a sys- museum staff also learned about the Museum. Cast project meetings often tem that would work. casts. Curators held information ses- had fifteen or more people around the The project required documenta- sions showing slides of the major sites table, including staff from Conserva- tion of every step. Conservators deter- represented and explaining the geo- tion, Collections, the Corpus of Maya mined immediate stabilization and graphical locations and physical ter- Hieroglyphic Inscriptions, Finance and Administration, Curators, and carpenters, as well as FAS Planning and Project Managers. The first step was to design new housing for the casts that would help to preserve the casts well into the next century. The containers could not be made of wood (potential insect dam- age) or petrochemical products (off gassing). It had to be strong enough to support casts weighing up to 300 lbs., and it had to be rigid, because too much flex could cause the casts to crack when they were picked up. While the goal was for each cast to have its own shelf, the new housing materials also needed to be sturdy enough to stack if necessary. We needed to be able to customize the height to minimize expensive storage Peabody Project Crew (back row, l–r) Jane Rousseau, Judy Jungels, Martha Labell, Scott Fulton, Catherine Cezeaux, Bob Ganong, Barbara Fash, Christie Pohl, Diana Medellin, Lynne Ambrose, space and the sides had to be remov- Stuart Heebner, Marc Zender, and Don Bissex. Kneeling: David DeBono Schafer, Sara Nash, and able so that researchers and students Roosevelt Julien. (Not pictured: T. Rose Holdcraft). Photo by James Rutherford.
2 • Symbols Long view of casts in the High Bay area. Photo by David DeBono Schafer. rain, highlights, carving style, hiero- learned that Uxmal is next to Chichen twisting their tongues, and to glyphic decipherments, and offered a Itzá and their casts should also be count in Mayan as they worked to basic lesson on the pronunciation of next to one another on the shelves, preserve a centuries old culture. Maya names. The cast project team to be able to say Xcalumkin without “Hun, ka, ox, lift”!
These casts have been used in teaching for over a century and continue to be a precious resource for scholars in this and many other countries.
Spring • • 3 I G R G O Q
On July 9, 2007, Sir Ian Graham, founder and former director of the Corpus of Maya Hieroglyphic Inscriptions (CMHI) Project, was awarded the Orden del Quetzal by the Guatemalan government in recognition of his tireless efforts to discover, preserve, record, and publish the hieroglyphic inscriptions of the ancient Maya. The Orden del Quetzal, established in 1973, is the highest honor bestowed by the Guatemalan government upon those individuals or organizations who, through humanitarian, civic, scientific, or artistic efforts, have benefited the nation of Guatemala in such a way as to merit particular acknowledgment. The award was conferred upon Ian by L-r: Robin Graham, Ian Graham, Chancellor Gert Rosenthal, and Anatolio López at the award Chancellor Gert Rosenthal, the minis- ceremony. Photo courtesy of the Guatemalan Ministry of Foreign Affairs Office. Photo by Lucia ter of foreign affairs, at a ceremony Henderson organized by Ian’s long-time friend and benefactor, Douglas Pilling of found the mysterious, block-like Maya Hieroglyphic Inscriptions had Guatemala. Ian was accompanied by designs that accompanied the scenes become a permanent project within his brother Robin Graham of on these sculptures particularly inter- the Peabody Museum. England, Anatolio López, his long- esting. Discovering that these symbols For over 40 years, Ian has worked time field assistant, of Guatemala, represented an as yet undeciphered to preserve Maya hieroglyphic inscrip- and Lucia Henderson (Harvard ’01) writing system, Ian decided there was tions, often under the most trying CMHI associate. a need to draw and disseminate accu- conditions. Because of his careful Ian was born in Campsey Ash, rate reproductions to scholars so they recording of Maya inscriptions, his England in 1923. In 1942 he began might have a better chance at deci- high standards for accuracy, and his studies in physics at Trinity College, pherment. emphasis on the distribution of his Cambridge, leaving in 1943 to join the During the 1960s, Ian roamed drawings, Ian is often credited with Royal Navy. After the War, he returned Central America and Mexico, map- making the decipherment of the Maya to his studies at Trinity College, ping sites and drawing and photo- hieroglyphic system possible. Dublin, earning his bachelor’s degree graphing their monuments. In 1964, Ian has worked in Belize, Mexico, in 1951 and spending the next years as he began work with Gordon Willey and Guatemala, and has been a guid- a professional photographer. of the Peabody Museum, mapping the ing force in the protection and preser- When asked how he became inter- site of Seibal, Guatemala. In 1968, sev- vation of sites and monuments across ested in the Maya culture, Ian usually eral distinguished leaders in the field, the Maya region. To date, the CMHI responds, “It all started with a love Dr. Ignacio Bernal, Mr. Stanton L. has produced eighteen volumes. In affair with a remarkable 1927 Rolls Catlin, Dr. Michael D. Coe, Dr. 2005, Ian retired from the project, Royce.” After purchasing this Rolls Gordon F. Ekholm, Dr. Luis Luján which continues under the direction Royce in England, Ian shipped it to Muñoz, Dr. Floyd Lounsbury, Ms. of Barbara Fash. the United States in 1958, planning to Tatiana Proskouriakoff, Dr. Gordon R. Awarded a MacArthur Foundation sell it in California, where the weather Willey, and Dr. Stephen Williams “genius grant” in 1981 and an hon- was deemed more favorable for Rolls enlisted Ian to initiate a five-year pilot orary doctorate from Tulane Univer- Royce convertibles. Luckily for Maya project to record the inscriptions of sity in 1998, Ian considers the Orden archaeology, on his way through the ancient Maya. The project received del Quetzal the greatest honor he has Texas, Ian took a detour into Mexico. the support of Edgar H. Brenner, a received. As he said in his acceptance In Mexico City, he visited the old Washington, D.C., lawyer of the Stella speech, “I have always loved Guate- Museum of Anthropology, where, for and Charles Guttman Foundation, mala. It was where all my work the first time, he saw monuments and the National Endowment for the began… In my heart, I have always sculpted by the ancient Maya. He Humanities. By 1970, the Corpus of felt like a Petenero, and I have been Continued on page 22 4 • Symbols C N L O T M Marc Zender Research Associate, Peabody Museum of Archaeology & Ethnology
Earlier this year, as part of the Museum’s long-term project to com- prehensively catalog, repair, and house its ample collection of Mesoamerican plaster casts and moulds,1 a routine curatorial assessment of the cast of Tonina Monument 27 revealed some interesting and previously unknown details concerning the history of this Figure 1: Cast of Tonina Monument 27, front. important monument (Figure 1). Unlike many of the casts in our collec- continued preservation of plaster casts tions, the original monument remains in museum collections.2 Prisoner of war—The original stone in very good shape, having been pro- The rediscovery of the cast is a brought by Capt. [G. D]upa[ix] tected from erosion, theft, and vandal- story in itself. In 1996, a Harvard from the Ruins of Palenque is now ism in the collections of the Museo research team conducting an initial in the Museo Nacional in the City Nacional de Antropología e Historia inventory of the Museum’s casts dis- of Mexico. Cast from a paper mould in Mexico City since the early nine- covered a handwritten inscription on made with permission of the teenth century. Indeed, in this case, the back of the cast of Tonina Mexican Government by Augtus Le it is actually the cast that has suffered Monument 27 (Figure 2). The lengthy Plongeon. [O]ctber 1880. more damage than the original, a siz- and rather handsomely signed caption able fragment having broken off the proved to have been drafted by The square brackets identify left side (compare Figures 1 and 3). Augustus Le Plongeon (1825–1908), unclear or abraded letters, with the Nevertheless, the cast still preserves an eccentric early explorer of Mexico first two pairs occurring in the proba- numerous glyphic and iconographic and the Yucatan. The intriguing and ble name of Captain Guillermo details that might easily have been lost previously unnoticed inscription was Dupaix,3 who undertook three sepa- forever had the original monument duly recorded in their notes, but its rate research expeditions to Mexico in not been protected in a museum. potential for answering some unre- the years 1805–08. These trips notably Today, the cast arguably plays an even solved questions about Monument included Palenque and Tonina, both more vital role; it provides an invalu- 27’s origins remained unexplored in the modern Mexican state of able record of the discovery and ulti- until quite recently. In early January Chiapas, which he visited in 18084. mate origins of this monument. In of this year, the Cast Rehousing As seen in Figure 2, there is sufficient casting some light on the importance Project kindly brought the inscription space in what survives of Dupaix’s of this object, I hope also to lend sup- to my attention as the cast was being name on the first line to support the port to the numerous excellent argu- cleaned and rehoused. Here is a tran- reconstruction above. ments made by Barbara Fash for the scription of the text: Assuming for the moment that Augustus Le Plongeon was not simply in error with respect to his attribution Figure 2: Cast of Tonina Monument 27, back, showing handwritten caption and signature by of the monument to Guillermo Augustus Le Plongeon, October 1880. Dupaix and the site of Palenque, we would appear to have something of a mystery on our hands, at least inas- much as this block has long been identified as “Tonina Monument 27” and therefore assigned to the archaeo- logical site of Tonina, Chiapas. Before weighing the impact of Le Plongeon’s inscription against this traditional identification, it will be useful to review the known history of the monument. Prior to the discovery of Augustus Le Plongeon’s inscription, the earliest
Spring • • 5 Figure 3: Tonina Monument 27 (CMHI 6:71). Drawing by Ian Graham, courtesy of the Corpus of Maya Hieroglyphic Inscriptions.
secure date that could be associated York. 11 From at least the early 1980s, tinctive, involving a spray of feathers, with Monument 27 was 1865, in then, a Tonina origin of the monu- an encircling diadem, and the charac- which year Léon Méhédin made the ment has been assumed, and its dis- teristic shell circlet or “goggle” of the first known drawing of the monu- covery by Squier has seemed likely, if Central Mexican Storm god Tlaloc. ment.5 Usefully, the drawing is identi- unconfirmed. One of the key insignia of the Classic fied as having been done at the At this point, it should perhaps be Maya priesthood, it probably identi- “Musée de Mexico.” 6 Unfortunately, noted that while Becquelin and fies the captive as a fire priest or the Museo Nacional itself preserves no Baudez12 at one time attributed yajawk’ahk’.17 acquisition record for Monument 27, Monument 27 to the Southwest of The depicted captive’s name is but Méhédin’s drawing at least the main group of Tonina, they were given just above his head as K’awiil informs us that it was in its collections clearly misled by a misplaced caption Mo’ (glyphic K’AWIIL-la mo-o), a by the second half of the nineteenth text in Blom and La Farge’s Tribes and name combining the lightning god, century. How did it come to be there? Temples13 (1926–1927, II: 297) which K’awiil, with the Maya word for And where did it come from? in fact belongs to their discussion of “macaw.” On the captive’s thigh, two In 1925, during their expedition to Monument 22.14 Indeed, as discussed glyphs provide a title and place of ori- Tonina, in Mexico’s Ocosingo Valley, above, the original whereabouts of gin, informing us that he is a ch’ok or Chiapas, Frans Blom and Oliver La Monument 27 remains very much in “nobleman” from an otherwise Farge made the important observation question. unknown locale named Chaklib. The that “all of the monuments from the To return to Le Plongeon’s caption text ends at the captive’s feet with two Ocosingo Valley are cut from a yellow, text, it would seem quite possible that glyphs indicating that he is “the cap- sandy limestone containing great Monument 27 was deposited in the tive of K’inich Baaknal Chahk,” a well- quantities of foraminifera.”7 Because Museo Nacional by Guillermo Dupaix known king of Tonina, who reigned the monument drawn by Méhédin in shortly after his 1808 visit to Chiapas. from A.D. 688 to 715.18 Intriguingly, the Museo Nacional was cut from pre- But what are we to make of Le on another panel recently uncovered cisely this kind of stone, Blom and La Plongeon’s assertion that Dupaix had at Tonina by Juan Yadeun (Figure 4), Farge felt justified in associating it found the stone in “the Ruins of the captive K’awiil Mo’ reappears, his with Tonina, designating it T-27 in Palenque” rather than at Tonina? To name indicated iconically in his head- their tabulation of monuments from answer that question, it will be useful dress and in the third and fourth the site.8 This designation has become to consider some additional evidence glyphs from the top of the left column standard, and the monument is now provided by the text and imagery of (K’AWIIL-la MO’-o). As first recog- generally known as Tonina Monument 27. nized by Simon Martin, this crucial Monument 27. This monument represents the text records the capture of K’awiil Mo’ Given Blom and La Farge’s ration- riser of a hieroglyphic stairway15 and on October 4, A.D. 692 (9.13.0.10.3 3 ale, Eric Taladoire9 has proposed that clearly depicts a tied-up captive wear- Akbal 11 Ceh), the same day that Monument 27 may have been ing a loincloth, paper streamers in his K’inich Baaknal Chahk of Tonina removed from the site of Tonina by earlobes, and an elaborate headdress bested the king of Palenque in bat- Ephraim G. Squier, who is known to (Figure 3). Such imagery (known as tle.19 As also noted by Martin, this have visited the area in 1852.10 Squier “captive stairways”) was common in suggests that K’awiil Mo’, although acquired various Precolumbian objets ancient Mesoamerica, providing a a native of Chaklib, is likely to have d’art in the vicinity of Tonina, includ- perpetual portrait of humiliation been one of the Palenque king’s allies ing the famous ‘Squier jades,’ which he where prisoners of war could be trod- or subjects. eventually donated to the American den upon daily by their captors.16 The So where do these observations Museum of Natural History in New captive’s headdress is particularly dis- leave us in assessing Le Plongeon’s
6 • Symbols preted as a Caracol 4. Frans Blom and Oliver La Farge, Tribes and monument that was Temples: A Record of the Expedition to Middle disassembled and America Conducted by the Tulane University of Louisiana in 1925, (New Orleans, 1926–27) relocated to Naranjo 2:260. See also Peter Mathews, Corpus of in Late Classic Maya Hieroglyphic Inscriptions, vol. 6.1: times. At least one Tonina. (Cambridge, Mass., 1983) 8. fragment of this 5. Frédéric Gerber, Christian Nicaise, and stairway may even François Robichon, Un aventurier du Second have ended up at Empire: Léon Méhédin, 1828–1905 (Rouen, the site of Ucanal. 1982), 169, no. 158. As a record of 6. Gerber et al. ibid. Naranjo’s military 7. Blom and La Farge, Tribes, 2:269. defeat, the stairway may have proved an 8. Ibid. 2:296–97, fig. 252. irresistible target for 9. Cited in Ian Graham and Peter Mathews, desecration. Corpus of Maya Hieroglyphic Inscriptions, Similarly, the vol. 6.2: Tonina (Cambridge, Mass., 1996), prominent and dis- 71. respectful display 10. Mathews, Corpus, 6.1:8 of K’awiil Mo’, and 11. Elizabeth K. Easby, “The Squier Jades from perhaps other cap- Toniná, Chiapas,” in Essays in Pre-Columbian tives from or allied Art and Archaeology, S. K. Lothrop et al., eds., to Palenque, may (Cambridge, 1961), 60–80. quite conceivably 12. Pierre Becquelin and Claude F. Baudez, Figure 4: Tonina Monument 172. Drawing by Simon Martin, used have prompted the T onina, une cité Maya du Chiapas (Mexique), with permission. purloining of this parts 1–3. Mission archéologique et éth- block from the site nologique française au Mexique, études Mesoamericaines, vol. 6 (Paris, 1979–82), inscription? To begin with, there can of Tonina. To date, no other pieces of part III, 839. be little doubt that Monument 27 was this erstwhile Tonina stairway have commissioned at Tonina during the come to light, but it will be most 13. Blom and La Farge, Tribes 2:297. reign of K’inich Baaknal Chahk. Not interesting to see where companion 14. Graham and Mathews, Corpus, 6.2: 71. only is the stone local to that area, but pieces are found should they emerge 15. Ibid. the content and style of the inscrip- in the future. tion make it virtually certain that it 16. Martha Cuevas García, in Maya, Peter J. Schmidt, Mercedes de la Garza, and Enrique once pertained to a large group of Acknowledgements Nalda, eds. (New York, 1998), 538. monuments celebrating the military I would like to thank the Cast Rehousing 17. Marc Zender, “A Study of Classic Maya victories of the local dynasty. The Project Team. Their interest and assistance Priesthood.” Ph.D. Thesis, Department of most parsimonious explanation of were invaluable. Archaeology, University of Calgary, 2004, these data is therefore that Le 368–69. Plongeon was correct about Dupaix Notes 18. Simon Martin and Nikolai Grube. Chronicle 1. See Barbara Fash, “Hieroglyphs and Casts on having removed the monument from of the Maya Kings and Queens (London, the Move.” Symbols (2004) 3–6. Chiapas, but incorrect in attributing 2000), 180. it to Palenque rather than Tonina. 2. Barbara Fash, “Cast Aside: Revisiting the 19. Mary Miller and Simon Martin, Courtly Art Plaster Cast Collections from Mesoamerica.” Nonetheless, the possibility that of the Ancient Maya (London, 2004), 185 Monument 27 was indeed found at Visual Resources 20 (2004):3–17. 20. Simon Martin, “At the Periphery: The Palenque should not be completely 3. Guillermo Dupaix, Antiquités Mexicaines: Movement, Modification and Re–Use of relation des trois expéditions du capitaine discarded given what we have recently Early Monuments in the Environs of Tikal,” Dupaix ordonnées en 1805, 1806, et 1807 learned about the movement of mon- in The Sacred and the Profane: Architecture pour la recherche des antiquités du pays, uments in antiquity. As Simon and Identity in the Maya Lowlands,P.Robert notamment celles de Mitla et de Palenque; 20 Colas et al., eds. (Germany, 2000), 57–58. Martin observes, the incomplete accompagnée des dessins de Castañeda, 2 vols., and randomly articulated Naranjo (Paris, 1834). Hieroglyphic Stairway is best inter-
Spring • • 7 NEW IN 2008–2009 S W: M A Opens March 13, 2008
Throughout time and around the world, people have adorned the walls of their homes, palaces, tombs, temples, and government buildings with painted scenes and designs. From cave paintings to the Neolithic shrines of Çatalhüyük, Turkey, to the Sistine Chapel, to the contemporary works of Diego Rivera or graffiti art, artists have transformed blank architectural canvases into engaging, evocative works of art, through the application of color, pattern, and figure. While murals may serve as simple decoration, they are often highly symbolic, making visible a people’s religious, politi- cal, and cultural beliefs, their histories and values. Storied Walls explores the spectacular wall paintings from the ancestral Hopi village kivas of Awatovi in Arizona; San Bartolo and Bonampak in Guatemala and Mexico respectively, and the Moche huacas of northern Peru. The artists and artisans who adorned these walls left stunning visual accounts of some of the most significant and endur- ing stories of their times—stories that insist upon being read, even now, centuries after their creation. The original art works remain for the most part in situ. Storied Walls uses the photographs and drawings of archaeologists and artists, models, and fragments of original murals to examine the meanings and social uses of murals within the Pueblo, Maya, and Moche cultures; the history of their discoveries and investigations by affiliates of the Peabody Museum and others; and ongoing efforts to preserve, restore, and interpret these fragile painted surfaces.
F M:I A C, C, ‒ Opens June 4, 2008
The Peabody Museum recently completed a two-year project of digitizing its collection of over 10,000 nineteenth-century glass-plate negatives. The earliest images in this amazing and unique collection were taken at Copán, Honduras, during the museum’s pioneering archaeological expeditions to the site. The Copán glass-plate images weave together a wealth of archaeological information with a visual narrative about the budding town and archaeologists’ interactions with the local community. As the excavations unfold before our eyes, so too do scenes of the Copán community emerge. Who are the people in these images? To recover what lingering memories survive of the people and places still echoing their names the exhibition’s curator, along with Harvard students, interviewed members of the Copán community to reconnect this lost history with the images. Studying the overlapping events of the expedition fieldwork and the founding of the modern town allow us to reflect on how archaeologists and communities shape each others’ lives. Fragile Memories highlights the changed nature of archaeological practices as well as how the images are utilized to advance ongoing study and recording of the hieroglyphic inscriptions at Copán, especially its world-renowned Hieroglyphic Stairway text.
8 • Symbols T O D F C A N E Jason A. Ur Professor, Department of Anthropology, Harvard University
levels of the city (ca. 4200–3400 B.C.). In these levels, they have recovered all of the signs of social complexity that we associate with early cities: monu- mental architecture, specialized tool- making, mass production of pottery, exotic materials imported from afar, and objects clearly designed to mark their possessor as a socially prestigious individual1. The Harvard component of the Tell Brak project has focused on the ques- tion of the size and population of the ancient city. How large was the city at the time that these signs of social complexity were first appearing? Arriving at an estimate of the spatial extent of an ancient city is impossible To most of us, the dense concentrations of people, eco- through excavation alone. At the typical rate (about 300 m2 nomic goods and services, and power that we term “cities” uncovered per field season), it would take literally thou- seem quite natural, a perfectly logical way of spatially orga- sands of years to excavate the entire site. While traces of nizing ourselves. Even those of us who do not live in a city stone architecture on the surface of some sites—Maya can readily identify with the nearest one, whether it is cities, for example—allow archaeologists to map houses because we read a newspaper printed there or that is where without excavation, the architecture of Brak was entirely we go when we need to fly somewhere, go to a concert, or mud brick and long since eroded into a low-mounded petition the government. Over the long stretch of human surface; detailed mapping is only possible via excavation. existence, however, cities are a recent phenomenon. They My colleague Philip Karsgaard of the University of represent a radical change from our previous existence as Edinburgh and I decided to tackle the distribution of small groups of foragers and hunters, or small villages of the ancient population by mapping something that they subsistence farmers. Cities appear to have developed independently in sev- eral regions of the New and Old Worlds, but their earliest appearance was in the Near East, where archaeologists have given Uruk the title of “world’s first city.” Today, Uruk is an abandoned group of sandy mounds in the deserts of south- ern Iraq (southern Mesopotamia), but around 3100 B.C. it was an enormous city of perhaps as many as 50,000 per- sons, covering 250 hectares (618 acres). From here, the idea of the city spread throughout the Near East and beyond. As a result of its association with the mythical king Gilgamesh and the boastful building inscriptions of later rulers, the creation of Uruk and its successor cities has been attrib- uted, implicitly or explicitly, to the acts of strong-willed and powerful individuals. Recent research in northeastern Syria (northern Mesopotamia) has now challenged this scenario. Tell Brak is a 40 meter high artificial mound in the midst of a vast agricultural plain, its bulk having formed over at least four millennia of continuous settlement. Under the direction of David and Joan Oates, the British School of Archaeology in Archaeologists collecting surface artifacts from Tell Brak’s lower town. The central mound in the background is entirely artificial, the product Iraq has been digging at Tell Brak since 1976, but only in of over 4,000 years of continuous human settlement. Today Brak’s recent years have they reached the deeply buried, earliest outer city hosts agricultural fields and sheep pasturelands.
Spring • • 9 produced in great quantity, household debris. Throughout Mesopotamian history, house interiors were kept rather spotless, but exterior spaces were considered fair game for dumping the fragments of that broken dish or the remains of last night’s meal. The position of these artifacts then is a general indicator of the location of households. Conven- iently for archaeologists, this debris is often brought to the surface by erosion, wind deflation, and modern agriculture (most of Tell Brak is today beneath wheat and barley fields). Given this situation, Phil and I, along with Fahid Jumaa and Shilan Ramadan of the University of Damascus, made controlled collections of surface artifacts at regular inter- vals across the site but avoiding excavations on the central The outer city at Tell Brak. Broken pottery and other debris from the mound. We were guided by handheld Global Positioning outer city are visible in the bottom of irrigation trenches. System (GPS) receivers to calculate our exact position on the earth’s surface. settlements of 200–300 persons that appeared in a halo Ultimately, we made 963 collections and examined over around the central mound. These satellites were too close 55,000 potsherds. Many of these potsherds are “diagnostic” to be considered separate settlements, but they seem to of a particular chronological period, meaning that some have been placed to maintain spatial separation from the attribute (painted decoration, manufacturing technique, central settlement and from each other. Between 4200 and or rim shape) had a limited chronological lifespan. For 3900 B.C., Brak was a city of 55 hectares (136 acres) and example, at the time of Brak’s maximum urban expansion perhaps 5,000–10,000 persons, a time when few of its (ca. 3900 to 3400 B.C.), its inhabitants used pottery charac- neighbors exceeded 3 hectares. terized by orange-red surfaces, coarse pieces of chaff and Through time, these satellites expanded inward toward sand as tempering material, and the general carelessness of the core, and grew together to form a near-continuous manufacture that comes with mass production (proving corona of settlement. At the same time, the increase in arti- that some aspects of daily life did not improve in an urban fact density suggests that more people were living in even setting). more cramped conditions. By 3400 B.C., Brak had grown By plotting the distribution of diagnostic potsherds on to at least 130 hectares (321 acres) and probably over a map, the spatial patterning of Brak’s urban genesis 20,000 persons. On present evidence, it was the largest set- unfolded2. Prior to 4200 B.C., a village existed under the tlement in the Near East at the time. Brak’s urban institu- central mound. As yet we know nothing of its size and tions continued to develop; around this time, the famous characteristics because it is so deeply buried, but enough Eye Temple was constructed, so named because it con- stray sherds have been found on the site to establish its tained hundreds of tiny alabaster idols with disproportion- presence. Brak’s urban explosion began around 4200 B.C., ately large eyes. but not in the way we anticipated. Rather than expanding At the end of the fourth millennium B.C., perhaps at outward from its pre-urban core, the city produced satellite the same time that Uruk was expanding (around 3100 B.C.), the extensive outer settlement area was abandoned for reasons that remain unknown to us. Those who remained retreated up onto the central mound, which continued to grow upwards into the 40m artificial hill visi- ble today. Brak continued to be settled in later times and was for a time the capital of a large kingdom, but it never regained its great scale. We can derive two major conclusions from Brak’s early urban history. The first concerns the primacy of southern Mesopotamian cities such as Uruk. It is incontrovertible that after 3100 B.C., southern Mesopotamia hosted a dense network of city-states unmatched elsewhere in the Near East; it now appears certain, however, that urbanism devel- oped simultaneously, if not slightly earlier, at Tell Brak in northern Mesopotamia. This conclusion stands on present evidence, because we do not have comparable information The surface of Tell Brak is covered with broken pottery and other debris. Archaeologists use the distribution of surface artifacts to esti- about the earliest history of Uruk and other southern cities. mate the size of the ancient city. The southern cities were ultimately the most durable, but continued on p. 21 10 • Symbols A C P M Monni Adams Associate, African Ethnology, Peabody Museum
The Peabody Museum holds extensive collections from the at Harvard.The Peabody’s efforts to collect directly from African continent, amounting to 31,000 items from West, Africa began in the early twentieth century. The first cura- East, central, and southern Africa. These are divided into tor for Africa, Oric Bates (1914 –d.1918), conducted arche- three categories: archeological finds, 9,000; paper, photo- ological research in North Africa and other regions, and graphic, and film archives, 6,000; and ethnographic objects, donated artifacts from those expeditions to the Museum. 16,000. All these holdings are actively called upon to service He also raised funds from private sources for the acquisi- educational goals for students and researchers, as well as to tion of several African works from W. O. Oldman, a famed capture and sustain public interest in Africa and its diverse London dealer, including examples of now world-famous societies. This essay provides an overview of the largest of cast-bronze heads and plaques from the sixteenth- and sev- the three above categories: ethnographic objects, mainly in enteenth-century Benin court (the Edo people), located at wood, fabric, or metal. present in southern Nigeria (see bottom of page 12). There are many factors that influence a museum’s goals Acquisition Practices for collections. Until the l950s, the curatorial goal for eth- The Peabody Museum was founded by an endowment nological museums was to acquire evidence in objects and from George Peabody, a generous American philanthropist, techniques from people living outside of European tradi- in 1866. Even before there was a building, the Trustees of tions that would illustrate their pre-industrial ways of life. the Museum sought to form collections. Local scientific Peabody collections that resulted from scholarly expedi- societies, such as the Boston Marine Society and the Boston tions to Africa before 1950 include many ceramic pots, Athenaeum among others, responded by presenting many baskets, weapons, musical instruments, and implements for objects in their collections that no longer fit their mission. fishing, hunting, canoeing, making and decorating cloth- The closing of the privately owned Boston Museum ing, divination, and body ornamentation. These materials resulted in another large donation in 1899, including characterize the Peabody’s three largest regional collections: from peoples of the Uganda-Rwanda-Burundi region of East Africa; from several ethnic groups in the Cameroon region bordering central Africa; and from diverse language groups in northeastern Liberia in West Africa. When Arthur Loveridge, a herpetologist from the Museum of Comparative Zoology, adjacent to the Peabody Museum, planned a trip to East Africa in the thir- ties, the Peabody Director Stool for officials in Asante court in Ghana. Boston Museum expressed interest Collection. PM 99-12-50/53332. in “a collection… which represents objects from various regions of Africa. Among the the ordinary day weapons, bead necklaces, and ivory horns, an early Asante to day life and stool 49 cm in height stands out for its elegant woodcarv- customs of the ing. The three posts supporting the curved seat show people.” (Letter carved designs that indicate the rank of the owner in the from D. Scott Asante court bureaucracy. 12/11/33, p. 2). From its founding, the Peabody Museum also sponsored Through scientific expeditions; their findings in photographs and Loveridge’s sev- objects have provided the major part of Peabody’s collec- eral trips, the tions. Peabody acquired Most of the holdings from Africa at the Peabody over 4,000 objects Museum derive from research expeditions sponsored by from the Bantu- Oric Bates, the first curator for African collec- scholars in natural history or anthropology departments speaking peoples tions. PM 2004.24.6803A.
Spring • • 11 in the Uganda-Rwanda-Burundi Director Donald Scott, (April 5, 1938), established by Firestone further south. region of East Africa. The second large Schwab identified his recent suppliers Along with that task, Schwab received set of acquisitions came from Dr. as nine Greeks, four Frenchmen, men a research appointment from the George Schwab who began collecting from two English firms, and one Peabody Museum, to seek ethno- in 1918 for the Peabody Museum as a Spaniard. Unfortunately, he reported, graphic information during his student in the Department of Anthro- they could provide no answers to his Liberian travels with the aim of writ- pology and continued with a research questions beyond the basic use of the ing a survey ethnography of the associate appointment from the objects. Altogether, Schwab’s sales and diverse language groups of the north- Museum, while serving as a medical donations up to 1937 amounted to eastern region. missionary in southern Cameroon for 3,436 works, drawn from a dozen eth- On Schwab’s trip, in 1928, he the next twenty years. In 1920, he nic peoples inhabiting the major met another medical missionary, Dr. shipped to the Museum a collection of regions of Cameroon, and included an George Harley, living at Ganta, among 719 pieces and, in 1928, an additional outstanding pair of sculptures from the Mano people in Northeast Liberia. 1,032 objects. In the early days of his neighboring Gabon (bottom of p. 13). At Schwab’s recommendation, the service, he noted that his Presbyterian In 1926, Schwab obtained a leave to Peabody asked Dr. Harley, who had mission was situated in “a most neg- accept a special commission from the studied ethnography as part of his lected corner of the world,” but, by Firestone Rubber Company to assess training, to collect evidence of the the late thirties, numerous European the people of the northeastern interior way of life and rituals in that remote, traders were supplying him with of Liberia as potential labor resources densely forested region. In spite of an materials. In a letter to Peabody for the new rubber plantation being intensely busy schedule serving hun-
Benin Plaque Shoowa Textile Figurative images A small, plush embroidered textile woven of palm-leaf cast onto bronze fiber, approximately 25” x 14,” showing a perfection of rectangular plaques stitching, a balance of light and dark, and a composition decorated the pil- that combines strict structure with free variation in lared passageways design, raises this example to a superb work of art. In through the vast addition to the maker’s fine sense of balance in design, court of the Benin the skillful execution is built on a craft practiced by kingdom. These pic- women of the small Shoowa region, at the northern rim torial plaques pro- of the former Kuba kingdom, near the Kasai River in claimed the riches Central Africa. and powers of the Designs on Shoowa textiles are usually artistic recast- ruling court. At the ings of leopard skin patterns. A visual reference to the same time, the leopard, seen as the most powerful creature of the forest, expensive material, these textiles are worn to indicate prestigious status, over Bronze plaque, Benin. Gift of Oric Bates. elaborate craft and the shoulder or lying in front of an official. Families PM16-43-50/B1481. imposing figures acquire a great stock of them to display at the funeral created an unbridgeable distance between the visiting ceremonies of their distinguished elders, and many viewer and the royals who possessed these remarkable accompany the deceased in the grave to carry his or objects. her high status into the spirit world. The Peabody plaque—approximately 19 x 11 inches and dating from the sixteenth to the early seventeenth century—displays an elaborately outfitted and armed chief flanked by two warrior aides. Above these warriors are sketched the heads of two Portuguese men, referring to the mercenaries hired by Benin rulers to help expand their kingdom. Protection here is promised by both the splendor of the costumes and the abundance of weapons, both material and magical. In addition, pro- ducing the fine visual details in this complex casting technique is an extraordinary artistic achievement. Shoowa textile. Collected by Oric Bates. PM 17-41-50/B2047.
12 • Symbols in the deep forest, Harley agreed, initiation period. Harley’s notes on partly because of his keen interest the objects, and his two essays on the in boys’ initiation rituals among the use of masks, published by the Mano people, which included the use Peabody, provide the basic informa- of masking. With a research appoint- tion about these protracted rituals ment from the Peabody Museum, among the Mano (1941, 1950). His Harley’s collecting efforts from 1930 second essay “Masks as Agents of to 1948 resulted in the third impor- Social Control” (1950) also offered a tant African collection at the Peabody. practical rationale for the deliberately Harley added 2,386 objects mainly frightening role of the masked figures from the Mano, Dan, and Kran peo- during the initiation rituals. On the ples in northern and eastern Liberia. local and international scene, that The unusual aspect of Harley’s col- essay stimulated a great deal of schol- lection is that, along with pottery, bas- arly research into African masking ketry, useful implements, plants, and among other West African peoples, Dr. George Harley in his Ganta workshop. medicines, it includes 414 facemasks, efforts that led to an improved under- PM 2008.1.3. some of frightening aspect, others standing of the interaction between more refined (see below). Only men spiritual and social discipline in small dreds of patients every week, as well as wore these masks in various rituals, autonomous villages. building and managing several clinics mainly during the boys’ multi-year continued on p. 14
the other with more delicate features is said to look “like a woman.” The performers’ behavior accords with their facial appearance: for the masculine character, vigorous danc- ing, display of weapons, and rhetorical speeches; more gentle crowd-control, dancing, and singing by the femi- nine form is less suggestive of forceful action.
Reliquary Figures The pair of male and female figures were protective guardians of a container of ancestral bones among the Fang people in the present state of Gabon. The statues Face masks in the masculine and are approximately 20 inches in height, carved in wood feminine styles. George W. Harley and stained a dense black. Although only the upper collection (1930–1948). PM 37- body remains for both figures, the tension of each pose, 77-50/3013, 2672. the alternating swelling and contraction of the carved limbs, and the Liberian Masks aggressive facial A pair of face masks from northeast Liberia (Figure 8), expressions create are worn by men to manifest spirits of the ancestors and an impressive the forest, the two great sources of fertility. Heads of image of threaten- prosperous kin groups in a village invite these powerful ing, protective spirits into the human community prior to the next powers sought by planting season to participate in festivities honoring the elders. them. Normally invisible, spirits are neuter forces, but, to communicate in the human realm, they take on a visible form. Wearing a bulky fiber costume, they appear different in material and shape from human bodily form, but by adopting a facemask, they project a sem- Male and Female blance of human features. gaurdian figures, Gabon. Collected by Typically, as in these two Liberian masks, one displays George Schwab. PM enlarged, fierce features, considered “masculine” in style; 30-2-50/B4973-B4974.
Spring • • 13 but rather by African art in college courses and focussing on the among the public has inspired schol- social and spiri- ars and students to seek what anthro- tual activities of pologists call “thick description,” to the people with penetrate multiple layers of thought abundant camera and action. For example, it is reward- work. (Laurence ing to explore the careers of artisans K. and Lorna J. and artists, to discover the people’s Marshall Collect- own identification of imagery, and ion, PM 2001.29, to film and record music within per- 2003.36). Their formance contexts. Using multiple expedition results techniques like language learning, were harbingers filming, audio recording, oral history, of the powerful and historical documents, researchers attraction of film strive for a multi-vocal approach to as a detailed and understand what people think about The Marshalls concentrate on their collecting. PM 200l.29.2.99. vivid approach to their products and experiences. documenting the Scholars often collaborate with the Changing Goals lives of people in Africa. Their visual people they study in seeking explana- During the 1950s, African peoples materials added a stimulus to the bur- tions for symbolism in ritual forms, openly struggled toward independ- geoning field of visual anthropology. the role of material objects in healing, ence from colonial authorities and The Marshalls were followed in 1965 how people declare their identity modernization. This larger social by the work of filmmaker Robert through signs and objects, and how and political scene also changed the Gardner among the Fulani nomads the value of objects and ritual action direction of scholarly interest and the in northwestern Nigeria. changes over time or in new contexts. nature of museum collecting. The for- Although the Peabody’s collecting This kind of collaborative research has mation of independent African states interests had been weighted toward enriched our understanding of the led to a shift in scholarly research ethnographic description of other practical and imaginative life of the from preindustrial lifeways to political peoples’ ways of life, some of their peoples whose products are held in and social issues, such as political par- acquisitions included objects that the Peabody Museum. ties and modernization, with a result- became recognized internationally Despite dedicated scholarly atten- ing decline in the collecting of as outstanding works of art. Because tion to African works and culture in material objects from Africa. of their high artistic quality, these the past, many objects in the Independence in the 1960s also objects from Central and West Peabody’s extensive holdings are not coincided with increased public inter- Africa attracted careful research so as yet investigated. The recent variety est in the sculptural and other arts of that much is documented of their of research questions makes the Africa. This is quickly reflected in sub- original use. Peabody’s collections of great interest. sequent Peabody acquisitions of Items that did not produce illumina- wooden sculpture from travelers, for- New Directions tion under earlier dominant methods mer Peace Corps members, or U.S. From this brief overview of the now light up under the new diversity officials with educational or technical Peabody collectors and collections, of interests. A case in point is a large assignments, mainly in Anglophone one readily perceives the kinds of round two-part basket in the areas of Liberia or Nigeria. knowledge scholars have sought: first, Peabody’s collection, from the Nyanja Another powerful factor that con- facing a mass of collected material people, at the southern end of the tributed to a decline in the collecting objects, scholars developed classifica- long Lake Nyasa in Malawi, East of material objects was a radical tions, such as diverse typological series Africa. Acquired from an estate in change in scholarly methods of inves- by form or chronology. A question, the very late Victorian era, each part, tigation. Laurence and Lorna Marshall like Harley’s: “what are the objects upper and lower, measures 21 cm x 47 began a new kind of reportage during for?” led to investigation of usage and cm x 50.1 cm; each half displays on its their Southwest Africa Expedition in function of objects in society, a pro- vertical bark walls a row of incised the 1950s. They and their son John, a ductive approach practiced in anthro- and painted scenes depicting male and filmmaker, sought to document the pological field research until the l950s. female figures clothed in stylish way of life of the nomadic peoples of Since the 1970s, both anthropolo- Victorian-era formal dress, holding Namibia not simply by ethnographic gists and art historians have pursued objects in their hands that look like reports and collecting the few material a number of directions in African fans or African fire fanners, and means used by these hunter-gatherers, research. The increasing popularity of apparently proceeding in a dance line.
14 • Symbols Formerly, visitors seeing it in stor- The study of objects within the age were amused. Even while admir- frames of documentary, historical, ing the lively images, they dismissed and on-site research as ways of under- the object as “inauthentic,” because of standing the lives of others in the the mixture of imagery, and because world has proven illuminating; and large, human figures shown in action it is widely acknowledged that such were not known to occur on East study stimulates also insights into the African containers. At present, the researcher’s own society. Even though, two-part basket, acquired from the following these professional methods, widow of Joseph Ropes in 1917, is an scholars have produced numerous sat- appealing object for research within isfying contributions to this quest for the current fascination with hybridity: understanding, another generation that is, what happens in the close emerges with new questions, or new encounter between two cultures; what ways of analysis that inspire them to Two-part basket from Malawi. Estate of is accepted or rejected; how are forms explore objects and their context Joseph A. Ropes. PM 17-22-50/87259. re-formed in the process, and what afresh. That investigative process is Photo by Mark Craig. was the historical context that fostered one of the fascinating, up-to-date this early hybrid? attractions in studying Peabody col- lections and following Peabody inter- pretive exhibitions.
AFRICAN COLLECTIONS IN THE CLASSROOM
The African collections are among the most heavily used The Peabody also supports internship programs during collections at the Peabody Museum, reflecting their very the academic year and the summer session. In 2007, eleven high quality and research value. As a center for object- Harvard students participated in the summer internship based learning at Harvard, the Peabody Museum partners session. Interns train in curation, registration, conserva- with faculty and students in teaching from its world-class tion, and other specialized fields. When the Peabody is collections. During FY 2007, hundreds of members of the preparing for an exhibition, interns are directly involved Harvard community (including faculty, undergraduate, in research and other tasks. Recently, conservation interns and graduate students) visited the Museum’s African assisted on a Konor cape, masks from the Bayaka and collections, for research or class tours and discussion. Mano peoples, and on plant-fiber basketry hats from The Peabody Museum actively encourages students Central Africa. and faculty to use the collections for teaching and research. Last fall, the Peabody partnered with Suzanne Blier, Faculty select objects for use in the classroom or assign professor of the History of Art and Architecture, to create students a group of objects for research. Similarly, students nine course-based exhibits of African arts in its teaching study objects that relate to their coursework on a wide gallery: Masquerades: Costume, Performance, Dance; Design range of topics. For example, for her 2006 senior thesis, and Domestic Arts; Textiles; Divination; Surface treatment: Anne Austin researched Egyptian mummified animals in Oil, Color, and Decoration; Artists and Art Patronage; Body the Peabody’s archeological holdings. Faculty who focus Arts and Invention: Regalia and Jewelry; Animal Portrayals, on African topics have worked with Peabody curators to and Iconography and Bronze Casting. Each semester brings develop teaching displays composed of African objects new and exciting collaborations with faculty and students that illustrate key points in their courses. Students may across the campus. These partnerships in learning are vital also access collections when preparing for exams. At the to our museum mission. Museum, students can view and study actual objects, rather than rely solely on notes, pictures, and slides.
For information on how to access the collections for teaching or research, please contact: [email protected].
Spring • • 15 “R”: S C E P M
The Peabody Museum of Archaeology and art. His art explores and Ethnology is hosting its first stu- the tension between native dent-curated exhibition this summer identity and modern in conjunction with the student culture. organization Native Americans at Courtney Leonard Harvard College (NAHC) REMIX: (Shinnecock) explores Indigenous Identities in the 21st memory and language Century. through her personal nar- “I’m a sheep in wolf’s clothing, a rative as a woman from the wolf in shepherd’s skin, messaging Shinnecock Indian Nation through smoke signals, satellite, and of Long Island, New York. medicine,” Native American DJ and She believes that tradition rapper Quese IMC comments on the is not stagnant and that the recontextualization of Native past strengthens the pres- American youth identity in the mod- ent. Much of her work ern world. Through words, actions, incorporates the old with and art, the youth of Native America the new and confronts the today must find a balance between old stereotypes and misappro- and new; empowered by influences priations of Indigenous from within their own communities identity by popular media. and the world outside, they have Doug Miles (San Carlos “remixed” their identities to reflect Apache) grew up on the their unique cultural heritage. Modern San Carlos Indian Reser- Native American youth identity is vation, home of Geronimo and the Apache nation. A “I’m a sheep in wolf’s clothing, social worker and a painter, his art fuses these two interests. Most others. He interviews Native a wolf in shepherd’s skin, famous for putting his images on Americans to bring their stories into messaging through smoke skateboards, Miles uses a variety of his music and maintain an oral his- media to convey his message to Native tory of their lives and experiences. signals, satellite, and American youth, dispelling negative His music encourages youth to medicine…”—Quese IMC stereotypes and helping them come recover their native languages. to grips with their heritage. This exhibition was installed in Ryan Red Corn (Osage) spent his conjunction with the Fifth Ivy Native rooted in the past, rather than buried childhood on the Osage Reservation Council Conference, of the same by it. REMIX features the works of and is active in his community, pro- name, which took place at Harvard four visual artists—Doug Miles moting art exhibits and protests that University, April 3–6, 2008. The con- (San Carlos Apache), Ryan Red Corn highlight and explore issues of Native ference explored current conceptions (Osage), Courtney Leonard American identity. He attended the of “being Indian” and what effect (Shinnecock), and Bunky Echo-Hawk University of Kansas and received a “living in two worlds” has on Native (Pawnee and Yakama)—and rapper B.F.A in graphic design and uses American youth today. The exhibition Quese IMC, who have embraced this those skills to create politically was curated by Kelsey Leonard, ethos, transforming traditional mate- charged T-shirts with an unapologetic Tanner Amdur-Clark, LeRenzo rials, ideas and iconography into style, crafted to shatter public percep- Tolbert-Malcom, and Caitlin Young, powerful contemporary art. tion of Native Americans. members of Native Americans at Bunky Echo-Hawk (Pawnee/ Quese IMC (Pawnee/Seminole) Harvard College on behalf of the Ivy Yakama) is a “proACTIVE ARTist,” Marcus “Quese” Frejo grew up listen- Native Council. using his art to address issues facing ing with his brother to rap music. Native American nations and to fund Inspired by such artists as Run DMC Native Americans at Harvard Native American businesses and non- and Public Enemy, he started to College profits. He is the co-founder of a non- develop his own music and perform Native Americans at Harvard College profit group, NVISION, which it at rap battles and concerts and has (NAHC) seeks to provide social, intel- challenges Native youth to develop opened for artists Snoop Dogg, lectual and cultural activities for both leadership skills through multi-media Tyrese, Petey Pablo, Ludacris, and Continued on page 22
16 • Symbols S H: C M Hieroglyphic I T - S F Alexandre Tokovinine Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Anthropology, Harvard University Barbara Fash Director, Corpus of Maya Hieroglyphic Inscriptions Project, Peabody Museum
Students and scholars of the Maya same monument at different angles plaster casts have to be stored and civilization have always been in a race cannot capture all the details of these maintained. The experience of the against time to record, study, and pre- complex sculptures from all angles Peabody and other museums with serve the incredibly rich material her- under all lighting conditions. The large collections of molds and casts itage of the Ancient Maya culture CMHI partially overcame this prob- suggests that proper storage and con- that once thrived in the lowlands of lem by relying on as many stereo pairs servation of these large, fragile, and Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, and and photographs as possible to create bulky objects poses a huge challenge. Honduras; a history that impresses Looking always to new technolo- and fascinates scholars, amateurs, gies for potential solutions to these and general public alike. Elaborately problems, in 1998, the Peabody carved monuments and building Museum tested a 3-D laser scanning façades in particular are increasingly system on a section of the Hiero- vulnerable to the deteriorating envi- glyphic Stairway on exhibit at the ronmental conditions, neglect, vandal- museum. The tests were part of a col- ism, and looting. With so many laborative effort with the Honduran factors contributing to the ongoing government to find a solution for destruction of ancient Maya art, replicating the Hieroglyphic Stairway researchers must seek out the most at the UNESO archaeological site of advanced and efficient recording and Copán, Honduras. The Stairway, a conservation techniques to aid them 64-step monument with the longest to preserve both information and inscription in the New World has been artifact. deteriorating at an alarming rate. As The Peabody Museum of Harvard soon as digital three-dimensional University is one of several institu- scanning technology became available tions leading such efforts for the to cultural heritage application, the ancient Maya heritage. For more Peabody Museum was keen to test it than four decades, the Corpus of A 3-D scan of Lintel 29, Yaxchilan. for applicability to problems of Maya Maya Hieroglyphic Inscriptions monument preservation. Digital (CMHI) has set the standard for pho- final line drawings. As accurate and scanning has several advantages over tographing, drawing, and publishing professional they might be, the creating plaster replicas: the recording Maya monuments. The Museum also Corpus line drawings are only process does not require direct contact houses extensive archives of earlier informed interpretations of the with the object, therefore avoiding photographs and drawings including original objects. further damage; it is easier and Teobert Maler’s glass-plate negatives, The only certain solution to cheaper to store, move, share, and Carnegie Institution files, and hun- preserving all the three-dimensional study digital data; and it is still possi- dreds of plaster casts of carved Maya information of a piece has been to ble to make a full physical replica stelae, altars, lintels, and panels. Such make a mold and, from that, a cast. from the digital model, if desired. copies, made decades ago, preserve a The method poses several problems: The first trials of digital scanning record of objects that have since been the process of making a mold can equipment in the Peabody Museum in lost or damaged. damage the surface of the original, late 1990s, however, showed that the Preserving a record of ancient and, once made, the molds and the scanning process was very slow and all Maya sculpture has posed a special challenge. Photography and drawing have been the methods of choice. Staff from the Harvard News Office accompanied Museum researchers to Both, however, are inherently limited Yaxchilan and prepared multiple reports from the field published in the Harvard in their ability to record and (re)pres- Gazette and available online at http://www.hno.harvard.edu/multimedia/ ent three-dimensional objects. Even multiple stereo photographs of the specials/yaxchilan/index.html.
Spring • • 17 but impossible under field conditions. The equipment was considering several 3-D scanners using different technolo- expensive and bulky, and the processing of the raw digital gies and software, the CMHI chose the optical digitizing data was incredibly complicated. system triTOS made by Breuckmann, GmbH (Germany) Nearly ten years after those first trials, the CMHI as the most viable option: it was portable and could be decided to find out if 3-D scanning hardware and software powered by a generator; it could scan an area of 600 mm in had improved enough to make scanning Maya monuments diagonal at one time, and individual scans were assembled a viable alternative to plaster casts and photographs. After in real time. In addition to the 3-D topographical data, triTOS recorded the color of the scanned surface, The principal challenge proved to be another point in daylight. …On a bright, sunny day, its favor. And finally, the system outside of shaded areas, the scanner had already suc- became “blind,” and shading had to cessfully com- pleted one field be improvised. test. The Smith- sonian Conser-vation Institute had used triTOS in the field in a project documenting Mongolian “Deer stones” (http://www.si.edu/mci/english/research/conservation/deer _stones.html). The Peabody performed a preliminary test in February 2007, using the Smithsonian’s equipment, on a plaster cast of a Classic Maya panel from Palenque stored at the Smithsonian Conservation Institute with good results and determined to test the equipment in the field. In April 2007, a multinational team led by Barbara Fash, CMHI director, embarked on a five-day scanning trip to the ancient Maya site of Yaxchilan, Mexico, with equipment loaned by the Breuckmann company. Yaxchilan was chosen for its remote location, complex topography, hot and humid climate, and the presence of a variety of monu- ment types, including stelae, altars, ball court markers,
Top left: Alex Tokovinine and Albert Daveltshin carrying the equipment to the top of Structure 33. Top right: Alex Tokovinine scanning Stela 11. Above: Alvin Powell and Reina Flores helping out with tarps for scanning Lintel 29. Photos by Justin Ide, courtesy Harvard News Office.
18 • Symbols hieroglyphic steps, lintels, statues, and carved and painted and shading had to be improvised. Scanning at night would stuccoes. It was an ideal place to determine if the equip- have been ideal, but the logistics and provisions needed for ment could cope with rough environmental conditions and an overnight stay at an archaeological site, poses a different hard-to-scan objects. The team scanned the accessible sec- set of challenges and was not attempted on this short trip. tions of Stela 11, one of the ball court markers, one of the A second problem was the alignment of successive area lintels of Structure 10, part of ‘stalagmite’ Stela 31, Step VII scans of large objects. Alignment of the scanned sections of the Hieroglyphic Stairway 2, and carved stucco decora- became progressively more time-consuming because of the tion from the interior of Structure 21. increasing size of the data set. The test was highly successful overall. The triTOS pro- The success of the Yaxchilan field test opens the possi- duced high-resolution 3-D models of monuments, which bility of acquiring triTOS or a similar scanner and begin- could be seen in either grayscale or color. The effort was ning a long-term scanning project as part of the CMHI not without its challenges, however. The principal challenge effort to record and preserve the ancient Maya cultural proved to be daylight. The triTOS projector was designed heritage. If the scanning project is able to move forward, to work with a 100-watt halogen lamp. On a bright, sunny the CMHI hopes to begin scanning the Hieroglyphic day, outside of shaded areas, the scanner became “blind,” Stairway at Copán in August 2008.
Top left: A test scan on the hieroglyphic stairway at Copán. Photo by William Fash. Top right: Final product on a screen after processing by Vicky Karas. Above Vicky Karas, Citali Coronel, and Barbara Fash discussing a scan.
Spring • • 19 O M, N M: A S O S V
The new 3-D scanning technology cost-effective way to record a monu- naked eye and in compromised field adds another method to the two tradi- ment and its carvings. Drawings (b) conditions. The resulting virtual tional recording methods of Maya clarify details obscured by lighting or model can also be reproduced as a monuments. Shown here is Step VII the condition of the monument. The solid replica. of Structure 33 at Yaxchilan as a stan- new 3-D technologies (c) allow for a While all these technologies are dard photograph (Ian Graham), a detailed photographic record, but also valuable tools for researchers, they line drawing (Ian Graham), and a the manipulation of the lighting still do not replace the need for field 3-D scan (Alexandre Tokovinine and direction on the object. This raking checks and the tactile interaction with Vicky Karas). light enables epigraphers to see details the carvings. Conventional photographs (a) of the glyphs on the computer screen remain the fastest, easiest, and most that may be difficult to see with the
a.
b.
c.
20 • Symbols MUSEUM AND DEPARTMENT OF ANTHROPOLOGY N ews and Notes
Asad Ali Ahmed has been appointed and “Contingencies of Illness: the of the University. Kleinman co-edited assistant professor in the Department Cultural Politics of Sickle Cell Trait a special issue of the J ournal of of Anthropology. He received the Suffering in Senegal” in La drépanocy- Infectious Disease on Pandemic Flu; Ph.D. in sociocultural anthropology in tose: Regards croisés sur une maladie and his essay on “Catastrophe and 2005 from the University of Chicago. orpheline, Agnès Lainé, ed., Paris: Caregiving,” which inaugurated a new Ahmed’s current research centers on Karthala, 2004. series on the medical humanities, was secularism and religion, language and Kelly Askwe, Melissa Caldwell, featured on the cover of The Lancet. the law, colonial and post-colonial and Yuson Jung organized a double Kleinman was appointed a member of studies, ethnography of the state, panel at the 2007 AAA meetings in the Council at the National Institutes identities and surveillance, and Washington, D.C., titled “Intimate of Health, Bethesda, Maryland. South Asia. Engagements with Difference, Karen Kramer has been appointed Peter Ellison, John Cowles (In)equality, and Justice: Working associate professor in the Department Professor of Anthropology, was through the Looking Glass of Michael of Anthropology. She received her awarded the distinction of Fellow Herzfeld's Contributions to Critical Ph.D. in anthropology from the by the American Association for the Ethnography.” University of New Mexico, Advancement of Science Arthur Kleinman, who is on leave Albuquerque (1998). Before coming Duana Fullwiley has been in the 2007–2008 academic year, deliv- to Harvard, Kramer was an assistant appointed assistant professor in the ered the S. C. Fan Memorial Lecture professor at Stony Brook University. Department of Anthropology. to the Faculty of Social Sciences, Her current research centers on com- Fullwiley received her Ph.D. from the University of Hong Kong and was a parative demography, health, ecology University of California, Berkeley and keynote lecturer at the celebration of and economy among foragers and the University of California, San the 80th anniversary of the Shanghai agriculturalists. Kramer’s publications Francisco in 2002 with a joint degree Medical University. Also in October. include Karen Kramer and Garnett in medical anthropology. Her current Kleinman was made an honorary McMillan, “The Effect of Labor- research is based on multi-sited professor at Fudan University Saving Technology on Longitudinal ethnography, on how global and (Shanghai) and co-director of the Fertility Changes,” Current historical notions of health, disease, Harvard-Fudan/Fudan-Harvard Anthropology 47. 1 (2006) 165–72; race, and power yield biological con- Medical Anthropology Collaborative “Children’s Help and the Pace of sequences that bear present defini- Research Center. In early November, Reproduction: Cooperative Breeding tions of what it means to be human. he participated in a conference organ- in Humans,” Evolutionary Anthro- Fullwiley’s geographical areas of inter- ized at the University of Stockholm on pology 14.6 (2006) 224–37; and Maya est include France, Senegal, and the European responses to his work on Children: Helpers at the Farm, Harvard U.S. Fullwiley’s publications include social suffering; and later in University Press: Cambridge, 2005. “From Discriminate Biopower to November he became Cleveringa J ason Ur c onducted a pilot Everyday Biopolitics: Views on Sickle Professor at University of Leiden (The field survey season on the banks of Cell Testing in Dakar,” Medical Netherlands) for 2007, and presented the Tigris River near Diyarbakir, Anthropology 23.22 (2004) 157–94; the Cleveringa Address to the faculty Continued on page 23
FIRST CITIES continued from p. 10 we must consider urbanism to have idea that early cities were the product sion-making, urbanism might have had multiple centers of initial devel- of powerful men and coercive political been the unintentional outcome of opment within the Near East. power, this spatial pattern suggests many hundreds of individuals and Our second conclusion concerns to us that Brak emerged though a families deciding for their own the social and political processes bottom-up process. Immigrants may reasons that Brak was where they underlying Brak’s growth. The careful have flocked into Brak’s satellites for should be. maintenance of space between the their own reasons, perhaps because References: early satellites and the city’s central the growing city offered economic 1. See J. Oates, A. McMahon, P. Karsgaard, mound suggests to us a corresponding advantages, or maybe for less func- S. al-Quntar, and J. Ur. “Early Mesopotamian Urbanism: A New View from the North,” social space, and probably the deliber- tional, more ideological reasons Antiquity 81 (2007): 585–600. ate expression of autonomy through related to the growth of temple insti- distance. Yet at the same time, the tutions such as the one seen later at 2. See J. Ur, P. Karsgaard, and J. Oates, “Urban Development in the Ancient Near East,” inhabitants of the satellites were the Eye Temple. Far from being the Science 317 (2007): 1188. clearly part of Brak. Contrary to the intentional result of centralized deci-
Spring • • 21 IAN GRAHAM continued from p. 4 most fortunate, in my life, to have worked with such hon- Chancellor Rosenthal so aptly put it, Ian’s life and work orable and intelligent people.” We, in turn, have been very have not only benefited Guatemala, but have improved fortunate to have Ian—a gentleman, a scholar, an adven- the world at large. turer, and a perfectionist—working in our midst. As Contributed by Lucia Henderson and Barbara Fash.
“REMIX” continued from p. 16 Native students at Harvard and for other interested mem- culturally relevant curricula; establishing a support system bers of the Harvard community. NAHC works to educate for Native American students in Ivy universities; and pro- the Harvard campus about Native issues and debunk popu- viding organization members with information for scholar- lar misconceptions of Natives through our activities and ships, internships, and career opportunities. In events. Native Americans at Harvard College is the only collaboration with the Harvard University Peabody Native American undergraduate club at Harvard. NAHC Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology as well as Native has existed under several names, and is one of the six oldest Americans at Harvard College this exhibition commemo- ethnic/cultural organizations at Harvard College. rates and celebrates the 5th Annual Ivy Native Council Conference, “REMIX: Indigenous Identities in the 21st Ivy Native Council Century.” REMIX is installed in conjunction with the Fifth The Ivy Native Council (INC) is a student organization Ivy Native Council Conference being held at Harvard comprising Native American representatives from the Ivy University, April 3–6, 2008. The conference will explore League and numerous other institutions of higher learning. current day conceptions of “being Indian” and what effect INC is an opportunity for Native American undergraduates “living in two worlds” and graduates in the Ivy League to network as well as to has on Native American youth today. The primary goal of garner broad-based and consistent institutional support the conference is to facilitate discussions leading to produc- for all INC member student organizations across their tive collaborative efforts among INC student leaders across diverse campuses. INC is dedicated to: raising awareness their respective various schools and disciplines, Native and discussing Native American issues in its collegiate and American program staff, local Native nation delegates, local communities; recognizing, supporting, and instituting as well as Harvard Community members.
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22 • Symbols PEABODY MUSEUM PRESS
Peabody Press Rockefeller Volume Nominated for Book Prize Michael Rockefeller New Guinea Photographs, 1961 by Kevin Bubriski with a Forward by Robert Gardner is a finalist in ForeWard Magazine’s Book of the Year Award for 2007. Nearly 1,600 books were entered in 61 cate- gories. ForeWord Magazine’s Book of the Year Awards were established to bring increased attention from librari- ans and booksellers to the literary achievements of independent publish- ers and their authors. Gold, Silver, and Bronze winners, as well as Editor's Choice Prizes for Fiction and Nonfiction will be announced at a special program at BookExpo America at the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles on May 30.
NEWS AND NOTES continued from p. 21 southeastern Turkey, with the goal of mapping agricultural David Maybury-Lewis , Henderson Professor of Anthro- settlement and pastoral nomad land use since the Neo- pology Emeritus at Harvard University, died on December lithic. The team identified twenty-seven places of interest, 2, 2007 at the age of 78. Maybury-Lewis was an eminent from the upper Paleolithic to the Medieval period. A larger scholar of Amazonia, an enthusiastic teacher and mentor to team of Harvard faculty and students from Anthropology generations of students, and an untiring advocate for and Classics will return this June. indigenous peoples around the world. In 1972 he founded Cultural Survival, an international organization to support Obituaries and promote the voices and rights of indigenous groups. Hillel S. Burger, head of the Photographic Studios of the He received his Ph.D. from Oxford in 1956, joined the Peabody Museum from 1971 to 2003 (?) died on October Harvard faculty in 1960, and served several terms as 20, 2007. Major Peabody publications featuring Hillel Chair of the Department of Anthropology between 1971 Burger photographs include Hall of the North American and 1981. Indian, Encounters with the Americas, The Glass Flowers at Harvard, and most recently A Noble Pursuit: The Duchess of Stine Rossel, a graduate student in the Department of Mecklenburg’s Collection from Iron Age Slovenia and Feeding Anthropology at Harvard, died in an accident while on a the Ancestors: Tlingit Carved Horn Spoons. hike with her husband Brian Wood on October 21, 2007. Rossel, 32, died a month short of when she was due to receive her doctorate in archaeology. She had been working as an assistant professor at the University of Copenhagen in her native Denmark.
Spring • • 23 Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology NONPROFIT ORG. Harvard University U.S. POSTAGE 11 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138 PAID CAMBRIDGE, MA PERMIT NO. 54565
CLOSING JULY 15, 2008
From Nation to Nation: Examining Lewis and Clark’s Indian Collection
Closing September 5, 2008
Feeding the Ancestors: Tlingit Carved Horn Spoons from the Northwest
COMING 2009
Wiyopiyata: Lakota Images of the Contested West