Rehousing Collections of the Museum of Anthropological Archaeology

FAIN: PG-252806-17

Regents of the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1015)
Carla Sinopoli (Project Director: May 2016 to June 2019)

Purchase of preservation supplies to rehouse an international collection of ethnobotanical samples. The collection consists of a total of 30,000 specimens including seeds, leaves, wood, flowers, and roots and associated documentation. Botanical samples from more than 700 archaeological sites provide evidence of domestication of wild species, climate change, and human interactions with the environment over the past 10,000 years. Also included are objects made from plant materials, such as cordage, basketry, and sandals, one of which is estimated to be more than 7,000 years old. The collection is used by students, researchers, and members of source communities.

The University of Michigan Museum of Anthropological Archaeology (UMMAA) houses collections from more than a century of anthropological research in the United States and around the world. The Museum’s ethnobotanical laboratory, the first of its kind in the U.S., curates more than 30,000 specimens—including plant materials from archaeological sites, specimens gathered from ethnographic research on traditional plant use in indigenous communities, comparative specimens, and associated documentation (field notes, photographs and reports). Together, these collections constitute one of the nation’s leading ethnobotanical collections and a site for research and teaching on long term histories of human-environment relations and indigenous plant use. This proposal requests support for supplies necessary to complete a multi-year project to rehouse the collection, enhancing its stability and assuring its access for students, scholars, and members of source communities for generations to come.