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When Provenience Is Lost: Achievements and Challenges in Preserving the Historical St. John's, Belize, Skeletal Collection

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 March 2019

Hannah Plumer-Moodie ,
Carlos Quiroz ,
Katherine A. Miller Wolf  and
Yasser Musa
Hannah Plumer-Moodie*
Affiliation:
Social Sciences Division, Niagara County Community College, 3111 Saunders Settlement Road, Sanborn, NY 14132, USA
Carlos Quiroz
Affiliation:
History Department, Saint John's College, Princess Margaret Drive, Belize City, Belize, Central America
Katherine A. Miller Wolf
Affiliation:
Anthropology Department, Indiana University East, Chester Blvd, Richmond, IN 47374, USA
Yasser Musa
Affiliation:
History Department, Saint John's College, Princess Margaret Drive, Belize City, Belize, Central America
*
([email protected], corresponding author)
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Abstract

In small developing countries like Belize, lack of funding for archaeological research and post excavation curation remains one of our greatest challenges to preserving our tangible cultural heritage. The state of curation of human remains and artefact collections at St. John's College in Belize City is a perfect example of what can go wrong in the absence of a properly funded and managed curation program both at the national and the institutional level. This article highlights the rediscovery of a historically significant group of over 70 human remains in the biological collection of Friar Deickman, which had been forgotten in an attic after his death in 2003. We outline the process of, and accomplishments in improving the curation conditions of these individuals while uncovering their importance to Belizean history in the eighteenth through twentieth centuries. Preliminary analysis reveals life histories of slavery and indentured servitude of individuals of African, Maya, European, and possible mixed African and European descent. We emphasize the importance of ethical responsibility in properly curating excavated human remains, and the challenges researchers face when poor curation results in lost provenience. We offer suggestions for scientific analysis in recovering information lost as a result of poor excavation or curation methods.

En pequeños países en desarrollo como Belice, el financiamiento de la investigación arqueológica y la conservación posterior a la excavación sigue siendo uno de los mayores desafíos para preservar el patrimonio cultural. El estado de conservación de restos humanos y colecciones de artefactos en St. John's College, en la Ciudad de Belice, es un ejemplo perfecto de lo que puede suceder cuando no se establece un programa de curaduría administrado y financiado adecuadamente a nivel nacional e institucional. Este documento destaca el redescubrimiento de un grupo históricamente significativo de restos humanos que representan más de 70 individuos en la colección biológica de Fray Deickman, que fue olvidada en un ático después de su muerte en 2003. Describimos el proceso y los logros de mejorar las condiciones de conservación de estos individuos, al mismo tiempo descubriendo su contexto e importancia para la historia de Belice en los siglos de dieciocho a veinte. El análisis preliminar revela historias de vida de esclavitud y servidumbre de individuos de ascendencia africana, maya, europea y posiblemente mixta africana y europea. Enfatizamos la importancia de la responsabilidad ética para conservar adecuadamente los restos humanos una vez excavados y los desafíos que enfrentan los investigadores una vez que la mala conservación resulta en la pérdida de información de proveniencia. También proporcionamos sugerencias para el análisis científico y la recuperación de información perdida como resultado de métodos de excavación o curación inadecuados.

Keywords

Belizeosteologybioarchaeologycurationmuseum studiesMoho CayeBelizean historypost-colonialisland archaeology
Type
Articles
Information
Advances in Archaeological Practice , Volume 7 , Special Issue 1: The Practice and Ethics of Skeletal Conservation , February 2019 , pp. 40 - 46
Copyright
Copyright 2019 © Society for American Archaeology 

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