S I 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 • Symbo ls 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.