Multi-method analysis of a historic wooden trough from Kentucky, USA: a case study in corroborating artifact oral histories with heritage science

IF 2.6 1区艺术学 Q2 CHEMISTRY, ANALYTICAL

Heritage Science Pub Date : 2023-11-07 DOI:10.1186/s40494-023-01075-3

Katharine G. Napora, George M. Crothers, Carla S. Hadden, Lisa Guerre, Laura J. Waldman, Hugo Reyes-Centeno, James Keppeler, Madeline Imler, Edward Jakaitis, Alexander Metz, Philip B. Mink

引用次数: 0

Abstract

Abstract Oral history indicates that a large wooden trough held in storage at the University of Kentucky’s William S. Webb Museum of Anthropology was a component of the saltpeter mining operation in Mammoth Cave in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, worked largely by enslaved persons. We used multiple heritage science methods, including radiocarbon wiggle-match dating, tree-ring dating, scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM–EDS), and optical scanning, combined with historical research, to examine the trough. Our analysis supports the oral history of the trough as an artifact of the mining system in Mammoth Cave. This case study illustrates how heritage science methods can provide corroboration for the origins and biographies of poorly documented historical artifacts.

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美国肯塔基州历史木槽的多方法分析:用遗产科学确证人工制品口述历史的案例研究

口述历史表明，在18世纪末和19世纪初，肯塔基大学威廉·s·韦伯人类学博物馆的仓库里，有一个大型木槽，它是Mammoth洞穴中盐矿开采作业的一个组成部分，主要由奴隶工作。我们采用放射性碳摆动匹配测年、树木年轮测年、扫描电子显微镜-能量色散x射线能谱(SEM-EDS)和光学扫描等多种遗产科学方法，结合历史研究对槽进行了研究。我们的分析支持口述历史的槽作为一个人工制品在猛犸洞的采矿系统。本案例研究说明了遗产科学方法如何能够为记录不完整的历史文物的起源和传记提供佐证。

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来源期刊

Heritage Science Arts and Humanities-Conservation

CiteScore

4.00

自引率

20.00%

发文量

183

审稿时长

19 weeks

期刊介绍： Heritage Science is an open access journal publishing original peer-reviewed research covering: Understanding of the manufacturing processes, provenances, and environmental contexts of material types, objects, and buildings, of cultural significance including their historical significance. Understanding and prediction of physico-chemical and biological degradation processes of cultural artefacts, including climate change, and predictive heritage studies. Development and application of analytical and imaging methods or equipments for non-invasive, non-destructive or portable analysis of artwork and objects of cultural significance to identify component materials, degradation products and deterioration markers. Development and application of invasive and destructive methods for understanding the provenance of objects of cultural significance. Development and critical assessment of treatment materials and methods for artwork and objects of cultural significance. Development and application of statistical methods and algorithms for data analysis to further understanding of culturally significant objects. Publication of reference and corpus datasets as supplementary information to the statistical and analytical studies above. Description of novel technologies that can assist in the understanding of cultural heritage.