This film is the first in a planned series on problems in curation aimed at graduate students in archaeology and related fields. It tells the story of human remains from California which became the subject of research nearly a century after their donation to a small English civic museum. Questions about how they came to be there, who and where they came from, and what information on provenience and provenance there is for the collection and the general historical context for early relic hunting in American Indian graves are answered with the collaboration of a group of curators and descendants. As it turns out, the story of these remains is also entwined with that of the family that donated them to the museum and their descendants changing lives. These connected stories are explored, and we look at what be gleaned from the available historical records and through non-destructive examination to support curatorial decisions about the future of such collections in an international context. The full film, together with teaching notes is now in distribution internationally through the Royal Anthropological Institute.
- Trailer coming soon
- 2015-16 public screenings held in:
- Edinburgh UK (RAI International Ethnographic Film Festival at Edinburgh University)
- Bristol UK
- Bath UK (American Museum in Britain)
- Los Angeles California (RAI International Ethnographic Festival at USC)
- San Diego California (Southwest Anthropology Association Conference)
- Santa Ana California (Pacific Coast Archaeological Society Conference)
- Rincon California (Rincon Museum screening)
- Eugene Oregon (The Archaeology Channel Film Festival and Conference)