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How to Research a Museum Object

The University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology is currently in the process of publishing detailed guides to all its major collections.

However, until updated guides are published for every gallery the best source of information on objects in the Museum's collections are copies of the Museum's publications. These are The Museum Journal, the University Museum Bulletin and the Museum's ongoing publication Expedition.

Copies of Expedition are available in the Museum Library stacks under the call number GN1 E9.

The Library's copies of both The Museum Journal and the University Museum Bulletin are shelved as Desk Reference Volumes and may be checkout for use inside the library.

Numerous other catalogues, excavation reports, and special publications about the Museum's collection or special exhibits may have information on the artifact you are researching.

Indexes for many of these publications are available from the Reference and Reserve Desk.

Step by Step

How to Find Information on an Artifact

HINT: It is important to keep in mind that not every artifact in the Museum has been formally published. Many have not. The more obscure the object the greater the likelihood that it has not been published.

For example, suppose that you have chosen the Aztec pottery pipe made in the shape of a man in the Museum's Mesoamerican Gallery to study and want to find out more about it.

• First: Go to the Museum Reserves Desk and ask to see the Guide to the University Museum Publications and the latest catalog for the Mesoamerican Gallery.
• Second: In the Guide to the University Museum Publications look up the region of the world from which the pipe came. In this case “Middle America” or “Mesoamerica.”
• Third: Search for articles under this heading that deal with your object. In this case, an article on the pipe was published in the University Museum Bulletin Vol. 6, No. 4 in 1936 under the title “A Mexican Effigy Pipe,” by H.N. Wardle.
• Fourth: Ask to check out a Desk copy of that volume of the University Museum Bulletin.
• What If... there is no article on your artifact listed in the guide, check to see where your artifact was found. It is possible that a published report on the excavation or study of that site and its culture will have the information that you need. If you have any further questions ask the Library staff for assistance.

Happy Researching!