"Collections-based research has many benefits compared to field research. The collections that are under the care of museums allow researchers to better contextualize field data from recent excavations, enable comparisons of broader sets of objects
than can be obtained from excavations alone, and provide the opportunity to study rare objects that are encountered infrequently during field work. Research on collections generates object biographies that include provenance, manufacture, use, repairs, and detection of outright forgeries. This edited volume contributes a comprehensive approach to collections-based research using anthropological collections housed at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of the American Indian and National Museum of Natural History, Department of Anthropology. Additionally, the volume will serve as a pedagogical manual for conducting collections-based research within current museum milieus"--
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