Reuniting a Collection: The Ralph S. and Rose L. Solecki Collection Storage Integration

Time has flown by as I have been interning with NMNH Anthropology Collections for the fall 2018 semester. Interning with Molly Kamph on the Ralph S. and Rose L. Solecki Papers and Artifacts Project has been an interesting journey where I have gained hands-on experience with collections integration, moving, storage, and rehousing methods for Archaeobiological and lithic artifacts.

The focus of my internship was integrating artifacts from the Smithsonian’s Museum Support Center’s Archaeobiology Laboratory that were recently acquired from Columbia University with previously acquired items from Ralph S. and Rose L. Solecki that were already stored in one of the Museum Support Center’s storage spaces, called Pods. The Solecki collection was donated to the museum at different stages in their careers, in two separate accessions, or donation events, and some of it has been separated for nearly fifty years. Through this internship, I was able to reunite part of their collection.

A cabinet and drawers within the Smithsonian
Institution Museum Support Center’s Pod 2

Since these objects were originally a complete collection the integration involved reconciling the numbers assigned to the objects during the Soleckis research and assigning a catalog number to each of the artifacts so that the museum can track each of the individual artifacts the museum received from the Soleckis in their centralized database. Once the catalog numbers were assigned to each object we were able to rehouse and label the objects that were recently acquired. Can you believe the artifacts were labeled using a quill and ink! This can be very delicate work since many of the lithics are small and required a little practice. I was able to begin integrating the two accessions and reunite the collection after they had been properly prepared for storage.

Drawer lined with Ethafoam that helps
protect the artifacts in storage

The first step in the integration process was determining the best method for organizing the artifacts; we decided to group the objects by catalog number and sort numerically. Then, we selected a new space in the storage pod to place the collection. This involved determining how many objects would fit in each drawer and how many drawers should be in each cabinet. This proved to be a good exercise regimen for a few days while I rearranged the drawers in the cabinets.

Each drawer in the cabinet was then lined with ethafoam, a thin foam sheet, to provide an inert barrier between the objects and the metal drawer which offered some padding to the artifacts. Then, the artifacts were organized numerically using a list compiled from the collections database, pulling objects from the Archaeobiology Lab, the storage Pod, and by hand sorting each of the artifacts.

Artifacts in the process of being integrated into storage using a spreadsheet for tracking their new locations, 2018. [1]

The artifacts were integrated by catalog number and then were placed in the new cabinets. The final step of the process involved updating the storage locations in each of the artifacts in the collections database to ensure that future staff and researchers could find the collection. Now that these two accessions are reunited the Solecki collection will be better prepared for future research.

Artifacts being arranged in a cabinet drawer, 2018. [1]

For more posts about the Ralph S. and Rose L. Solecki Project, check out Molly Kamph’s post from last week and look for upcoming posts from Solecki Project Interns Matthew Capece and Sophia Carroll. The Ralph S. and Rose L. Solecki Papers and Artifacts Project was made possible by two grants from the Smithsonian Institution’s Collections Care and Preservation Fund.

Tiffany Priest, Intern, Fall 2018
Department of Anthropology, National Museum of Natural History


Sources
[1] Accession 220078, Department of Anthropology, Smithsonian Institution.