This study examines and demonstrates the value of a matrix approach in the
discipline of conservation and the concerns specific to the conservation of
archaeological and ethnographic objects. The chapters identify the relevance of
the matrix to current conservation practices through a history of artifact
conservation and a discussion of the factors that compromise the conservators'
role in the study and preservation of material culture. The discussion evaluates
the nature of systematic research collections, the impact of legal issues, and the
ethics of including cultural context as important aspects in the development of
the matrix approach.
The matrix approach provides the conservator with a number of variables or
categories of information that may assist in the determination of an appropriate
conservation process. In this study, the matrix approach was tested on a
number of artifact objects. To provide a common link, all of the objects were
characterized by paint on some form of cellulose (wood or a wood-like
substrate). The object cases were from both ethnographic and archaeological
contexts, and the work involved both laboratory procedures and consideration
of non-laboratory (i.e. legal, cultural, ethical) aspects. The specific objects
included (1) a probable tiponi of archaeological (Anasazi culture) context, (2) a
group of coiled baskets of archaeological (Mogollon culture) context, (3) a
kachina doll of ethnographic (Hopi culture) context, (4) a group of prayer
sticks of archaeological (Puebloan and Tohono O'Odham) context, and (5) a
fiddle of ethnographic (Apache culture) context.
By recognizing the unique and diverse aspects of anthropology collections, the
conservator who uses a matrix approach is better equipped to work with
archaeologists on sites, with curators and exhibit designers in museums, and
with claimants (or the descendants of an object's maker) in carrying out the
multiple activities frequently involved in the conservation of objects as they
exist in an ever broadening and more political context.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/219143 |
| Date | January 1996 |
| Creators | Odegaard, nancy Nell, n/a |
| Publisher | University of Canberra. Applied Science |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | ), Copyright nancy Nell Odegaard |
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