2.6 Collections

By the end of this section, you will be able to:

• Identify and explain the issues and needs of archival collections.
• Identify and explain the issues and needs of three-dimensional collections.
• Describe current controversies regarding ownership of anthropological artifacts and human remains.
• Recall two pieces of legislature pertaining to questions of ownership.
• Define provenance and describe its importance in anthropology.

Not all anthropological research is done in the field. There is much to be learned from the collections of manuscripts and artifacts housed in universities and museums. These collections make it possible for anthropologists to study human cultures within the setting of special research laboratories that have been designed to preserve and organize materials collected and perhaps interpreted by scholars of the past.