Provenience Clarification of Peabody Museum Human Osteology Collections

在美国国家科学基金会（National Science Foundation）的支持下，哈佛大学皮博迪博物馆（Peabody Museum）的人类骨学藏品被重新整理并储存在单独的容器中，既保护了标本，又使研究人员随时可以获得它们。还进行了有关证明文件的工作，将这些材料置于有意义的考古背景中。在这项工作的最后阶段，皮博迪小组将继续使这些材料电脑化，使数据库易于查阅。这个骨学收藏是美国最大和最重要的系统收藏之一。它由15 000多人组成，他们来自有充分记录的考古、医学和法医调查。这些收藏为体质人类学的跨文化研究提供了广泛的比较资源。这些材料被研究人员和科学需求广泛使用。不幸的是，缺乏有组织的文档使得它们难以使用，并且给研究人员带来了不可接受的时间负担。这个项目将缓解这种情况。这个项目之所以重要，有几个原因。它将改善获取重要科学数据的途径。它还将促进有助于解释人类对不同环境和文化环境的生物适应的研究。

With National Science Foundation support, the human osteology collection at the Peabody Museum, Harvard University, has been reorganized and stored in individual containers which both protect the specimens and make them readily available to researchers. Work has also been done on the supporting documentation which places these materials into a meaningful archaeological context. In this final stage of the work, the Peabody team will continue the computerization of the materials to make the data base readily accessible. This osteology collection is one of the largest and most important such systematic collections in the United States. It consists of over 15,000 individuals from well documented archaeological, medical and forensic investigations. These collections form a broad comparative resource for cross cultural research in physical anthropology. The materials are widely used by researchers and in scientific demand. Unfortunately lack of organized documentation makes them difficult to use and places an often unacceptable burden in terms of time on the researcher. This project will alleviate the situation. This project is important for several reasons. It will improve access to an important body of scientific data. It will also facilitate research which helps to explain human biological adaptation to varying environmental and cultural environments.