Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-pftt2 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-05-05T01:33:39.427Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Assessing Systematic Bias in Museum Collections

A Case Study of Spindle Whorls

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 January 2017

Angela C. Huster
Angela C. Huster*
Affiliation:
School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, P.O. Box 872402, Tempe, AZ 85287
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Archaeologists often overlook museum collections for research purposes due to concerns about the representativeness of the artifacts in the collection. Such concerns can be addressed by comparing non-scientifically produced collections to collections of known standing, such as those from more modern projects, using the same exploratory data analysis and basic statistical methods that archaeologists use to compare sets of artifacts in other situations. As a case study, this article compares spindle whorls recovered during the 2007 excavations at the Aztec site of Calixtlahuaca with two museum collections of whorls attributed to the site. A variety of metric and non-metric traits were recorded for each item in the three collections and were compared using Kolmogrov-Smirnov, Chi-square, and Fisher's exact tests. Both museum collections show a bias toward more elaborately decorated pieces, but with varying side effects on other attributes of analytical interest.

Muchas veces, los arqueólogos evitan usar las colecciones de museos porque dudan que los artefactos de la colección sean una muestra representativa. Estas dudas se pueden por medio de comparaciones entre las colecciones de museo y las mejor documentadas, usualmente de excavaciones más modernas. Se pueden aplicar los mismos métodos de comparación que los arqueólogos usan para comparar grupos de artefactos en otras situaciones—las exploraciones preliminares de información y las pruebas estadísticas. Como un caso ejemplar, comparo los malacates (husos de volar) recuperados en las excavaciones del sito azteca de Calixtlahuaca en 2007 con dos colecciones de museo atribuidas al sitio. Anoté una variedad de características métricas y no-métricas para cada pieza en las tres colecciones y las comparé por medio de los pruebas Kolmogrov-Smirnov, Chi-cuadrado, and prueba de Fisher’s. Ambas colecciones de museo tienen piezas más decoradas, pero los efectos secundarios en la distribución de otros atributos varían entre las colecciones.

Type
Case Report
Information
Advances in Archaeological Practice , Volume 1 , Issue 2 , November 2013 , pp. 77 - 90
Copyright
Copyright © Society for American Archaeology 2013

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

References Cited

Ardren, Traci, Kam Manahan, T., Wesp, Julie Kay, and Alonso, Alejandra 2010 Cloth Production and Economic Intensification in the Area Surrounding Chichén Itzá. Latin American Antiquity 21(3):274–289.Google Scholar
Barker, Alex W. 2003 Archaeological Ethics: Museums and Collections. In Ethical Issues in Archaeology, edited by Zimmerman, L. J., Vitelli, K. D. and Hollowell-Zimmer, J., pp. 71–83. AltaMira Press/Society for American Archaeology, Walnut Creek.Google Scholar
Barker, Alex W. 2010 Exhibiting Archaeology: Archaeology and Museums. Annual Review of Anthropology 39:293–308.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brumfiel, Elizabeth M. 1997 Tribute Cloth Production and Compliance in Aztec and Colonial Mexico. Museum Anthropology 21(2):55–71.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brumfiel, Elizabeth M. 2001 Asking about Aztec Gender: The Historical and Archaeological Evidence. In Gender in Pre-Hispanic America, edited by Klein, C. F., pp. 53–86. Dumbarton Oaks, Washington D.C. Google Scholar
Brumfiel, Elizabeth M. 2006 Cloth, Gender, Continuity, and Change: Fabricating Unity in Anthropology. American Anthropologist 108(4):862–877.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Castiñeira, Carola, Cardillo, Marcelo, Charlin, Judith, and Baeza, Jorge 2011 Análisis de morfometría geométrica en puntas Cola de Pescado del Uruguay. Latin American Antiquity 22(3):335–358.Google Scholar
Fauman-Fichman, Ruth 1999 Postclassic Craft Production in Morelos, Mexico: The Cotton Thread Industry in the Provinces, Ph.D. dissertation, Department of Anthropology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh.Google Scholar
Follensbee, Billie J.A. 2008 Fiber Technology and Weaving in Gulf Coast Cultures. Ancient Mesoamerica 19:87–110.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
García Castro, René 1999 Indios, territorio y poder en la provincia matlatzinca: la negociación del espacio político de los pueblos otomianos, siglos XV–XII. CIESAS, Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, and El Colegio Mexiquense, Mexico City and Toluca.Google Scholar
García Payón, José 1936 La zona arqueológica de Tecaxic-Calixtlahuaca y los matlatzincas: etnología y arqueología (primera parte). Talleres Gráficas de la Nación, Mexico City.Google Scholar
García Payón, José 1941a La cerámica del valle de Toluca. Revista Mexicana de Estudios Antropológicos 5:209–238.Google Scholar
García Payón, José 1941b Manera de disponer de los muertos entre los matlatzincas del Valle de Toluca. Revista Mexicana de Estudios Antropológicos 5:64–78.Google Scholar
García Payón, José 1956/1957 Síntesis de las investigaciones estratigráficas practicadas en Tecaxic-Calixtlahuaca. Revista Mexicana de Estudios Antropológicos 14(2):161–165.Google Scholar
García Payón, José 1979 La zona arqueológica de Tecaxic-Calixtlahuaca y los matlatzincas: etnología y arqueología (textos de la segunda parte), edited by de Magrelli, Wanda Tommasi and Castañeda, Leonardo Manrique. Biblioteca Enciclopédica del Estado de México, vol. 30. Estado de México, Toluca.Google Scholar
Goetze, Christine E., and Mills, Barbara J. 1991 An Assessment of the Research Potential of Museum Collections: the Babbitt Collection at the Museum of Northern Arizona. Kiva 57(1):77–91.Google Scholar
Hernández Alvarez, Héctor, and Peniche, Nancy 2012 Los Malacates Arqueológicos de la Península de Yucatan. Ancient Mesoamerica 23(2):441–459.Google Scholar
Huster, Angela C. 2008 Scraping and Spinning: Maguey Fiber Production at Calixtlahuaca. Paper presented at the 73rd Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, Vancouver.Google Scholar
King, Stacie M. 2011 Thread Production in Early Postclassic Coastal Oaxaca, Mexico: Technology, Intensity, and Gender. Ancient Mesoamerica 22:323–343.Google Scholar
Kintigh, Keith W. 1981 An Outline for a Chronology of Zuni Ruins, Revisited: Sixty-five Years of Repeated Analysis and Collection. Annals of the New York Academy of Science 376:467–489.Google Scholar
Levine, Marc N. 2011 Negotiating Political Economy at Late Postclassic Tututepec (Yucu Dzaa), Oaxaca, Mexico. American Anthropologist 113(1):22–39.Google Scholar
Lugo Ramírez, Monica, and Rivero, José Hernández 2008 Ofrendas mortuorias del Temazcaltepec prehispánico. Iconografía de los malacates de La Peña, Valle de Bravo. In VI Coloquio Internacional sobre Otopames: Homenaje a Noemi Quezada, edited by Kugel, V. and Salazar, A. M., pp. 185–200. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico, Mexico City.Google Scholar
MacNeish, Richard, Nelken-Terner, Antoinette, and de Johnson, Irmgard Weitlaner 1967 The Prehistory of the Tehuacan Valley. Vol 2: The Non-Ceramic Artifacts. University of Texas Press, Austin.Google Scholar
McCafferty, Sharisse D., and McCafferty, Geoffrey G. 1994 Engendering Tomb 7 at Monte Alban: Respinning an Old Yarn. Current Anthropology 35(2):143–166.Google Scholar
McCafferty, Sharisse D., and McCafferty, Geoffrey G. 2000 Textile Production in Postclassic Cholula, Mexico. Ancient Mesoamerica 11:39–54.Google Scholar
Miller, Daniel 1994 Things Ain't What They Used to Be. In Interpreting Objects and Collections, edited by Pearce, S. M., pp. 13–18. Leicester Readers in Museum Studies. Routledge, London.Google Scholar
Nichols, Deborah L., McLaughlin, Mary Jane, and Benton, Mara 2000 Production Intensification and Regional Specialization: Maguey Fibers and Textiles in the Aztec City-state of Otumba. Ancient Mesoamerica 11(2):267–291.Google Scholar
Ostapkowicz, Joanna, and Newsom, Lee 2012 “Gods…Adorned with the Embroiderer's Needle”: The Materials, Making, and Meaning of Taíno Cotton Reliquary. Latin American Antiquity 23(3):300–326.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Otis Charlton, Cynthia L., Charlton, Thomas H., and Nichols, Deborah L. 1993 Aztec Household-Based Craft Production: Archaeological Evidence from the City-state of Otumba, Mexico. In Prehispanic Domestic Units in Western Mesoamerica: Studies of the Household, Compound, and Residence, edited by Santley, R. S. and Hirth, K. G., pp. 147–171. CRC Press, Boca Raton.Google Scholar
Parsons, Jeffery R., and Parsons, Mary H. 1990 Maguey Utilization in Highland Central Mexico: An Archaeological Ethnography. Anthropological Papers 82. Museum of Anthropology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.Google Scholar
Parsons, Mary Hrones 1972 Spindle Whorls from the Teotihuacan Valley, Mexico. In Miscellaneous Studies in Mexican Prehistory, edited by Spence, M. W., Parsons, J. R., and Parsons, M. H., pp. 45–80. Anthropological Papers. Vol. 45. Museum of Anthropology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.Google Scholar
Pearce, Susan M. 1994a Museum Objects. In Interpreting Objects and Collections, edited by Pearce, S. M., pp. 9–11. Leicester Readers in Museum Studies. Routledge, London.Google Scholar
Pearce, Susan M. 1994b Objects as Meaning; or Narrating the Past. In Interpreting Objects and Collections, edited by Pearce, S. M., pp. 19–29. Leicester Readers in Museum Studies. Routledge, London.Google Scholar
Pearce, Susan M. 1995 On Collecting: An Investigation into Collecting in the European Tradition. Routledge, London.Google Scholar
Pearce, Susan M. 1997 Archaeology as Collection. The Museum Archaeologist 22:6–12.Google Scholar
Reinhold, Manfred 1981 Arqueología de Valle de Bravo, México. Biblioteca Enciclopédica del Estado de México, vol. 108. Estado de México, Toluca.Google Scholar
Rothschild, Nan A., and Cantwell, Anne-Marie E. 1981 The Research Potential of Anthropological Collections. Annals of the New York Academy of Science 376:1–6.Google Scholar
Scott, David A 2011 The La Tolita-Tumaco Culture: Master Metalsmiths in Gold and Platinum. Latin American Antiquity 22(1):65–96.Google Scholar
Smith, Michael E. 2003 Postclassic Urbanism at Calixtlahuaca: Reconstructing the Unpublished Excavations of José García Payón. Report to the Foundation for the Advancement of Mesoamerican Studies, Inc. Electronic document, http://www.famsi.org/reports/01024/, accessed July 10, 2013.Google Scholar
Smith, Michael E. 2004 Aztec Materials in Museum Collections: Some Frustrations of a Field Archaeologist. The Nahua Newsletter 38:21–28.Google Scholar
Smith, Michael E., Borejsza, Aleksander, Huster, Angela C., Frederick, Charles D., López, Isabel Rodríguez, and Heath-Smith, Cynthia 2013 Aztec Period Houses and Terraces at Calixtlahuaca: The Changing Morphology of a Mesoamerican Hilltop Urban Center. Journal of Field Archaeology 38(3):225–241.Google Scholar
Smith, Michael E., Novic, Juliana, Huster, Angela C., and Kroefges, Peter C. 2009 Reconocimiento Superficial y Mapeo en Calixtlahuaca en 2006. Expresión Antropológica (Instituto Mexiquense de Cultura) 36:39–55.Google Scholar
Smith, Michael E., Wharton, Jennifer B., and Olson, Jan Marie 2003 Aztec Feasts, Rituals, and Markets: Political Uses of Ceramic Vessels in a Commercial Economy. In The Archaeology and Politics of Food and Feasting in Early States and Empires, edited by Bray, T. L., pp. 235–268. Kluwer Publishers, New York.Google Scholar
Society for American Archaeology Ethics in Archaeology Committee 1996 Principles of Archaeological Ethics. Society for American Archaeology, Washington D.C. Google Scholar
Spier, Leslie 1917 An Outline for a Chronology of Zuni Ruins. Anthropological Papers of the American Museum of Natural History. 18(3):209–331.Google Scholar
Stark, Barbara L., Heller, Lynette, and Ohnersorgen, Michael A. 1998 People with Cloth: Mesoamerican Economic Change from the Perspective of Cotton in South-Central Veracruz. Latin American Antiquity 9(1):7–36.Google Scholar
Tarkanian, Michael J., and Hosler, Dorothy 2011 America's First Polymer Scientists: Rubber Processing, Use, and Transport in Mesoamerica. Latin American Antiquity 22(4):469–486.Google Scholar
Taylor, Matthew, and Creel, Darrell 2012 Biological Relationships between Foragers and Farmers of South-Central North America: Nonmetric Dental Traits. American Antiquity 77(1):99–114.Google Scholar
Tiedemann, E. J., and Jakes, K. A. 2006 An Exploration of Prehistoric Spinning Technology: Spinning Efficiency and Technology Transition. Archaeometry 48(2):293–307.Google Scholar
Tomaszewski, Brian M., and Michael E., Smith 2011 Politics, Territory, and Historical Change in Postclassic Matlatzinco (Toluca Valley, Central Mexico). Journal of Historical Geography 37:22–39.Google Scholar
Tommasi de Magrelli, Wanda 1978 La cerámica funeraria de Teotenango. Biblioteca Enciclopédica del Estado de México vol. 61. Estado de México, Toluca.Google Scholar
Voss, Barbara L. 2012 Curation as Research. A Case Study in Orphaned and Underreported Archaeological Collections. Archaeological Dialogues 19(2):145–169.Google Scholar
Wylie, Alison 1995 Archaeology and the Antiquities Market: The Use of “Looted” Data. In Ethics in American Archaeology: Challenges for the 1990s, edited by Lynott, M. J. and Wylie, A., pp. 17–21. Society for American Archaeology, Washington D.C. Google Scholar
Wylie, Alison 1996 Ethical Dilemmas in Archaeological Practice: Looting, Repatriation, Stewardship, and the (Trans)formation of Disciplinary Identity. Perspectives on Science 4:154–194.Google Scholar