In a message dated 4/27/2006 10:06:44 A.M. Pacific Daylight Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:
the loss of a substantial archive of Dr. Harry P. Mera, longtime Curator at
the Laboratory of Anthropology. According to today's newspaper, many of his
archaeological records and photographs were consumed in a storage unit fire
in Taos, NM, on Tuesday. John McKendry, great grandson of Dr. Mera and owner
of the collection, stated "I stored a lot of things ...including my
great-grandfather's archaeological papers and photos of Indian culture he had studied
for years, which I had planned to donate to the Laboratory of Anthropology
in Santa Fe that he helped found."
As I noted before, the 2003 Cedar Fire in San Diego burned the late Paul H.
Ezell's life works, field notes, slide, prints, field drawings, and personal
papers. The artifacts survive, but the meaning of the recovery has been lost.
Clearly, we need to do better to store those precious records.
Ron May
Legacy 106, Inc.
The ongoing stream of messages about archiving digital data includes a couple of responses about keeping hard copies in order to outlive the vicissitudes of digital technology. With that in mind, I am forwarding to histarch (read below my "signature") a poignant and hard-learned lesson about hard copies. Clearly, diligence is primary.
Jeff
Jeffrey L. Boyer, RPA
Project Director
Office of Archaeological Studies
mail: P.O. Box 2087, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87504
physical: 407 Galisteo Street, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501
tel: 505.827.6343 fax: 505.827.3904
e-mail: [log in to unmask]
"It might look a bit messy now, but just you come back in 500 years time." --Terry Pratchett
________________________________
From: NMAC-L on behalf of Turnbow, Chris, DCA
Sent: Thu 4/20/2006 12:52 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Sad News about Mera's Collections
[This is a NMAC-L posting, do not simply "Reply" to sender.]
It is with great sadness that I have to report the loss of a substantial archive of Dr. Harry P. Mera, longtime Curator at the Laboratory of Anthropology. According to today's newspaper, many of his archaeological records and photographs were consumed in a storage unit fire in Taos, NM, on Tuesday. John McKendry, great grandson of Dr. Mera and owner of the collection, stated "I stored a lot of things ...including my great-grandfather's archaeological papers and photos of Indian culture he had studied for years, which I had planned to donate to the Laboratory of Anthropology in Santa Fe that he helped found."
I have sent a letter to Mr. McKendry asking if he had an inventory or knew what was among Dr. Mera's archives that burned. The Lab does have large collections of his artifacts and archives but many of his field notes and photographs are missing. Sadly, Dr. Mera's documents that burned in Taos were irreplaceable.
There are two lessons here. Support the Center for New Mexico Archaeology. It will provide safe space for our archaeological legacy. AND don't put off donating items that should be in museums and archives. If you have or know of important archival archaeology documents, please let us know.
Chris Turnbow
Deputy Director
Museum of Indian Arts & Culture
Laboratory of Anthropology
Department of Cultural Affairs
[log in to unmask]
(505) 476-1252
PO Box 2087, Santa Fe, NM 87504-2087 (US Mail Only)
708 Camino Lejo, Santa Fe, NM 87501 (street address for UPS, Fed-ex, etc.)
Confidentiality Notice: This e-mail, including all attachments is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited unless specifically provided under the New Mexico Inspection of Public Records Act. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender and destroy all copies of this message. -- This email has been scanned by the Sybari - Antigen Email System.
Confidentiality Notice: This e-mail, including all attachments is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited unless specifically provided under the New Mexico Inspection of Public Records Act. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender and destroy all copies of this message. -- This email has been scanned by the Sybari - Antigen Email System.
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