Collection in Process: A Poem from the Ralph and Rose Solecki Papers

Archaeological sites are not often fodder for poetic musings, but such musing may at times be revealed by other kinds of “excavations.” In this case, the processing of the Ralph and Rose Solecki Papers at the National Anthropological Archives has unearthed just one such creative inspiration, suggesting that poetry can come from unexpected sources.  Written in 1963 by Rex Barritt, a New York University student of Jacques Bordaz who himself was a former student of Ralph Solecki, the poem highlights a potential outlet for the pre-exam jitters of an Old World Prehistory course [1, 2]. 

“Z.C. Shanidar” by Rex Barritt, 1963. Ralph and Rose Solecki Papers. National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution.

The muses for Barritt’s poem are the northern Iraqi archaeological sites of  Zawi Chemi, or “Z.C.”, Shanidar village and Shanidar Cave, which were excavated by Ralph and Rose Solecki throughout the 1950s and into the early 1960s [2, 3]. Their archaeological work famously uncovered that remains of 10 Neanderthal individuals [2, 4]. The poem references the unhappy fate of some of the Shanidar Neanderthals due to a rock fall in the cave:

In level D it was,

Believe me he’s no classic

That big rock did it,

Popped him right on his [ehassic] [1, 5].

Shanidar Cave is not exclusively a Neanderthal site. The later layers of the site contained a cemetery of twenty six human burials dated to the 9^th millennium BCE, just before the emergence of agriculture in the Near East [2, 3]. 

Photograph of  Ralph and Rose Solecki, 1957. Ralph and Rose Solecki Papers. National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution.

While much of the Ralph and Rose Solecki Papers consist of field notebooks, data sheets, archaeological maps, and photographs, this poem provides a unique glimpse into the variety of interpretations of the Soleckis’ work at the Shanidar sites [2]. Processing of the Ralph and Rose Solecki Papers was made possible by a grant from the Smithsonian Institution’s Collections Care and Preservation Fund, and they will soon be open for research. The National Anthropological Archives wishes to thank Drs. Ralph, Rose, John, and William Solecki and Dr. Melinda Zeder, curator of Old World Archaeology in the NMNH Department of Anthropology, for their diligent work and assistance in bringing this important collection to the NAA. The staff of the NAA also send their warm and belated wishes to Dr. Ralph Solecki for a most happy 100^th birthday.

Molly Kamph, Project Archivist

National Anthropological Archives

Sources

[1] Rex Barritt, “Z.C. Shanidar,” 1963, The Ralph and Rose Solecki Papers, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution.

[2] The Ralph and Rose Solecki Papers, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution.

[3] Ralph S. Solecki, Rose L. Solecki, and Anagnostis P. Agelarakis, The Proto- Neolithic Cemetery in Shanidar Cave (College Station, TX: Texas A&M University Press, 2004).

[4] Libby W. Cowgill, Erik Trinkaus, Melinda A. Zeder, “Shanidar 10: A Middle Paleolithic immature distal lower limb from Shanidar Cave, Iraqi Kurdistan,” 2006, Journal of Human Evolution (53): 213-223.

[5] Author is uncertain of word’s intended spelling from Barritt’s poem.