Cultural Objects worked in Skeletal Hard Tissues

From earliest times, people have used the hard skeletal parts of other animals as a source of raw material, from simple bone tools to subtle and evocative works of art. Worldwide, and throughout the human past, skeletal tissues have been valued for their range of material properties, their appearance and their versatility. Some, such as bone, antler and ivory, are hard, resilient tissues. Others, such as horn, tortoiseshell and baleen, are natural plastics that could be re-shaped by heat and pressure. These materials, and others such as feathers and hoof, were worked into everyday objects, tools and artworks, or symbols of power and affinity. Originally a valuable and sustainable by-product of hunting, some of these materials, such as elephant ivory and rhinoceros horn, have been highly valued, leading to targeted intensive extraction, at a high cost to populations of some species. Even at the beginning of the 20th century, objects such as bone-handled tooth brushes, shoe-horns, tortoiseshell combs, baleen corset stays (confusingly known as 'whalebone' corsets) and bone gaming dice would have been familiar domestic items. Today these materials have been replaced by alloys and synthetic plastics, and animal conservation concerns have made some (ivory, tortoiseshell) unavailable and unacceptable. With the passing of the raw materials, familiarity with their characteristics and properties has been lost, posing a challenge for those who work with historic and prehistoric artefacts made from them.

This research programme aims to advance our knowledge of the use of skeletal hard tissues as raw materials, showing how materials were harvested, selected and worked, by enhancing and validating our confidence in their identification. Although some materials survive burial in a greatly altered state, if at all, items made in skeletal tissues make up a significant proportion of archaeological finds and cultural objects in all kinds of museum collections. Correct and confident identification of raw materials is crucial. The choice of raw materials will reflect their physical properties and their availability, but not all choices will have been strictly utilitarian. Choices can reflect cultural tradition and social identity, belief systems, status, wealth or power, and changes through time can indicate social changes. Correct identification of materials is thus central to artefact research, and a more detailed understanding of the harvesting and use of these materials will shed light on past human impact on some of our most iconic and vulnerable animal species.

The research will be based at the University of Bradford, which has a long record of bringing the study of historic and ancient artefacts together with cutting-edge analytical science. Partnership with The Henry Moseley X-Ray Imaging Facility, University of Manchester, will provide high-resolution 3D imaging. Other project partners include a number of major museums (Leeds, Horniman, Hull Museums, Hawley Collection, York Archaeological Trust) that hold collections rich in hard tissue objects, such as objects from the early days of the Sheffield cutlery industry, objects from the days of whaling, and archaeological objects from times when rare and exotic materials held great significance. Together, Bradford and the project partners bring together an exceptional range of scientific skills and equipment and an unusually diverse range of cultural objects. By allowing the raw material specialist to spend time working in museums alongside curators and conservators, the project will ensure an effective and direct exchange of information and ideas between scientists and practitioners, and that information can then greatly enhance the presentation of these fascinating materials to the public through special presentations permanent exhibitions.

A significant and lasting impact beyond academia is inherent in this project. Heritage practitioners and curators at the project partners and those attending the two workshops will benefit directly from skills and knowledge transfer. Small bursaries will be offered to increase the range of those able to attend. These workshops will be a mix of illustrated lectures and practical sessions with comparandum specimens and objects of known and unknown materials.

As a consequence of work undertaken by the PI during the project, through the proposed publications aimed at conservators and other museum professionals and the enhanced skills of collections curators, accession records and catalogues materials identifications will be updated. This will also improve the information value of display labelling and graphics and communicate enhanced understanding of the collections to the public. In addition this will revise our understanding of the significance of objects or assemblages of objects. These newly revealed aspects of the collections may then inspire new museum displays or entire exhibitions.

The proposed publications and workshops will also be aimed at practitioners working outside academia, such as object handlers and museum assistants, specialists working for antique auction houses, and conservators working in heritage institutions and the private sector. This will have a positive impact on the recognition, authentication, care and curation of cultural objects in both public and private collections.

It is proposed to continue CPD courses beyond the life of the project in conjunction with the University of Bradford and partners such as Leeds Museum Discovery Centre, tailored to the needs of different groups such as Police, furniture restorers, archaeologists, and HM Revenue and Customs. The project will enhance the value of these subsequent CPD courses in the range of materials covered, by improving confidence in the identification criteria and techniques applied and in the applicability and delivery of the courses.

The project will also have impacts on the identification of forensic evidence for UK police forces and the detection of illegally trafficked materials through consultancy services and KT work offered by the University of Bradford, building on work previously undertaken on skeletal hard tissue identifications for West Yorkshire Police in CITES-related cases.

The project also aims to deliver information and ideas directly to the interested public. For example, at Leeds Museum Recourse Centre, a project partner, public access and interaction with the collections are actively encouraged providing the potential for talks both to schools and adult groups and also for providing identifications of objects they bring with them. This will impact on the public's understanding of the past and possible future use of a range of natural materials once commonly used but today so unfamiliar. University Open Days also offer an opportunity to deliver research outcomes directly, and the project will take full advantage of such opportunities as arise. Another valuable means of public impact is the annual Science Festival run by the British Science Association. The PI has previously engaged in this Festival, speaking on the role of radiography in the detection of fake artefacts at the 2009 Festival, and will seek opportunities to present the proposed research in future Festival sessions. Further public impact will be managed through magazine, broadcast media contributions and through the University of Bradford website.