Arrowheadology.com: Arrowheads, Indian Artifacts and Early Man

Arrowheadology Purchased by Smithsonian

Posted on 01. Apr, 2011 by Shannon Graham in Miscellaneous

Your Arrowheadology.com joins the ranks of Farrah Fawcett’s infamous red swimsuit, Eddie Van Halen’s ‘Frank 2′ guitar and the giant squid as part of the latest round of Smithsonian acquisitions.

Yes, you read that correctly. The Smithsonian Institution, an education and research institute and museum complex that has been collecting Native American artifacts since 1904, is now branching out online. The Museum’s bid, submitted in late 2010, was made in keeping with its strong commitment to obtaining historic and culturally significant artifacts on behalf of the American people.

The Smithsonian’s Acquisitions Services Department has been faced with many challenges recently in attempting to grow it’s Native American artifact collection; budget cuts, artifact repatriation issues, and more stringent collecting laws, all of which have made it more difficult to expand their learning center.

Dr. P. Leo Pontze of the Institute’s Acquisition Services Department confessed ‘Acquiring Arrowheadology made great practical sense in that we are able to obtain a vast amount of knowledge and not be burdened with the issues we would encounter if we were purchasing actual artifacts. For instance, the real value of Arrowheadology is the free exchange of information, the community of knowledgeable enthusiasts, expert knappers, authors, and professional scholars. It’s the intangibles that we purchased, not the artifacts. In doing so, we avoid any risk of repatriation, costly storage fees, or potential ownership disputes. Furthermore, we are ensuring that this knowledge pool is available to other research bodies as well. We acquired the rich knowledge of the community rather than the actual artifacts.”

Smithsonian policy has been reviewed and debated for months prior to this move. Rusty Sifter of the Policy Council explained, “The Smithsonian Institution will not acquire objects or specimens which have been unscientifically gathered. Objects with incomplete provenance are only ever acquired when they are of exceptional rarity and when it is reasonably certain that their origin, context, and history can be established through scholarly research. We’re not saying that this is the case here however it was clearly evident to all involved that the acquisition of Arrowheadology would further enhance the quality of the National Ancient American Artifacts Collection. It was an easy decision.”

The Regents of the Smithsonian Institution will not reveal the financial terms of the deal but stated ‘We are fortunate for the endowment funds , contributions, and profits from our retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines to be able to add this gem to our inventory’.

What’s next? The Smithsonian has the National Museum of the American Indian but will operate Arrowheadology.com as a separate entity for now. Spokesperson April Fewell said “We will be careful not to upset the balance that is responsible for making Arrowheadology what it is today. We will observe, study, invest and enrich over time but for now, it will remain as is….a free and great resource of all things ancient from North America. The institution supports the free exchange of information and artifact s which contributes to the advancement of knowledge and promotes international comprehension and goodwill.”

Plans exist to develop a web-based system that will build a database available to researchers and universities who want to research artifacts. There is immediate interest from the Field Museum, Harvard’s Peabody Museum, and Pennsylvania’s University Museum to share information. Look for the Smithsonian magazine to feature Arrowheadology in the April 1, 2012 issue.

And what about those 2,000 plus Arrowheadologists? Well, you are all now ‘Fellows of the Smithsonian’.

UPDATE: Happy April Fool’s Day! Thanks to all who played along.

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