This year, on September 10th, the Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology will celebrate its 113th anniversary. As we celebrate this milestone, we remember how Phoebe Hearst envisioned this museum: as one of the world's leading research institutions--"a great educator" of the people of California--and the cultural cornerstone of the University of California.  

As momentum continues to grow in our capital campaign, we are excited to announce a NEW matching gift from a group on anonymous donors. From today through July 31, 2014 only, a $70,000 challenge gift will match your donation dollar for dollar! This means your gift DOUBLES its impact! If you are interested in making a gift, click here
 
Wishing you a relaxing summer,

HackTheHearst

 

Michael Black, Head of Research & Information Systems

On September 10th--the 113th anniversary of the founding of the Museum--an unprecedented event will begin at the Hearst Museum. This event, which is dubbed "HackTheHearst," will be the Museum's first-ever hackathon.

 

 

What is a hackathon?

For those unfamiliar with hackathons, the word may evoke images of secretive and criminal individuals trying to exploit weaknesses in computer systems to gain access and wreak havoc. You can thank the mainstream media for this widespread alternate use of the word "hacker."

The original meaning of "hacker," and the one predominantly used by those in the technical and programming communities, is a positive and sought-after label for a person who playfully tinkers with something (usually something technical), exploring its inner workings and finding clever and inventive ways to improve it.

 

A hackathon is an event lasting one or perhaps a few days that brings these playful tinkerers together to collaborate intensively over the short time period of the event to devise, design, and build ingenious creations or solutions to problems. Thousands of hackathons now held annually worldwide.

 

Who is expected to participate in HackTheHearst?

HackTheHearst, following in the footsteps of the Bancroft Library's successful #HackFSM hackathon, is trying to reach out to both traditional hackathon audiences (programmers, graphic designers, user interface designers) as well as to new audiences who are more comfortable with museums and/or the objects they care for than they are with technical subjects. These latter individuals--anthropologists, historians, educators, artists and others--may have never before thought of themselves as hackers, but when they team up with individuals who have more technical expertise than subject area expertise, we're confident that they'll be able to create amazing things together. In fact, this is the premise of the emerging field of digital humanities.

 

HackTheHearst is open to anyone who is interested in participating. We encourage anyone who's interested, curious, or has a tinkering disposition to register for the event at no cost.

 

What will participants be tinkering with?

The Hearst Museum will be making a large subset of its digital collections information and images available to participants through an online API (application programming interface). While we'll be making millions of pieces of information available, we've excluded all types of information that may be sensitive or confidential in nature, or that apply to only small numbers of objects (for instance, the recording speed of our audio tapes).

 

What will participants be creating?

We have no idea--and that's part of what makes HackTheHearst so exciting! We're eagerly looking forward to discovering what tools and apps these teams of creative tinkerers will come up with. The teams will only be limited by their own imaginations. We'll be offering prizes in several categories, including best app for K-12 education, best app for researchers, best app for heritage communities, and best overall app.

 

If you have ideas for a tool or app that you'd like to see built, please share it with us on our HackTheHearst App Ideas page.

 

Are you interested in supporting HackTheHearst?

 

We hope so, as the success of this event depends upon the interest and involvement of organizations and individuals like you.

 

We're looking for both financial sponsors and in kind donations of goods or services. We're seeking support for (or donations of) everything from prizes to food & beverages to event rentals to printing service, advertising and marketing.

 

If you, your company, or your organization would like to sponsor HackTheHearst and receive the benefits that come with that support, please contact [email protected] today!

Focus on the Archaeological Collections: Dirt

Paolo Pellegatti, Research Archaeologist 

Last winter, during the statewide drought, it was common to hear concerns and comments regarding how to deal with the situation and the possible consequences. How many people could be affected? How long will it last? Is this going to alter the way we live? Should we panic?

 

Photo credit: The Guardian.

Hazard Research grew out of similar questions and concerns almost a century ago. Geographical, social and historical data from the recent past have been used to develop an understanding of the variations of human responses to sudden environmental changes like floods or droughts. The goal was to create models and theories that could help coping with future crises.

 

Archaeological research has the potential to add a great deal of data to that understanding by expanding our knowledge base with data from the distant past. Prehistoric people faced similar challenges (e.g., see newsletter June/July 2013) as climatic changes are not a modern phenomenon. California Indians and their contemporaries around the world witnessed the slow rise of the sea level that eventually reclaimed miles of coastland in the early Holocene. Many villages had to be abandoned, relocated or built on higher ground.

Soil sample. CA-Mrn-115, Marin county, CA. Collected by Clement W. Meighan, 1949. PAHMA 1-127843.

 

The global archaeological record is a testament to the changes that humans have undergone, both physically and culturally, throughout history. When those changes were dictated by natural forces, it is important to understand the extent of those forces and their impact on the landscape. A wealth of information about the paleoenvironment is preserved in soil. Pollen, seeds, sand, phytoliths, insects and small animals can be analyzed for that purpose.

 

The Hearst Museum curates hundreds of soil samples from all over the world (albeit most are from California and Nevada). Their value for present and future research is immense but it could be easily overlooked by people less familiar with anthropological collections.

 

Among the most valuable are the samples from the Bay Area shell mounds collected by Nels Nelson in the early 20th century as many of these sites are now destroyed, have been contaminated by industrial and agricultural activities, or both.

Focus on the Ethnographic Collections: Tobacco Pipes

 

Ira Jacknis, Research Anthropologist

The tobacco plant, now widely demonized as a threat to health, is one of the best examples of globalization.  Originally domesticated by Native Americans, perhaps as early as 1400 BCE, it was spread throughout the rest of the world soon after European contact.  In each country, tobacco was "indigenized," by the development of specialized and characteristic smoking customs and paraphernalia:  pipes, of course, but also containers, snuff bottles, and flints and other lighters.  In many countries, pipes for tobacco were modified from older forms used for smoking hashish and opium, or for burning incense.

European-style pipe; Transvaal, South Africa; Collected by William A. Setchell before 1935. PAHMA 5-531.

The Hearst Museum has a large collection of "tobacco-iana," especially from its homeland in the Americas, but also from almost every country where it is now consumed.  Because pipes are usually

Pipe; with carving of heraldic crests and deer head; Central Germany; Collected by William A. Setchell in 1903. PAHMA 7-1282.

small and portable and often very attractive, these items are eminently collectable.

 

One of the Museum's largest and most varied collections consists of 344 tobacco pipes and related smoking objects donated by William A. Setchell (1864-1943).  Professor of botany at UC Berkeley from 1895 until his retirement in 1934, Setchell was a botanical generalist.  Although best-known for his research on marine algae, he was also a noted scholar of the genus Nicotiana, comprising over seventy species of tobacco.

 

As an avid smoker of pipes and cigars, Setchell used his botanical training to determine the geographic origin of tobacco.  A particularly avid traveler, he spent much of the 1920s in the Pacific, Australasia, Africa, and Europe.  Wherever he went, he collected pipes (given to the Hearst Museum), plants (the Botanical Garden and University Herbarium), and books about tobacco (the Bancroft Library).

 

For a classic article about Aboriginal tobaccos, published in American Anthropologist in 1921, he sought out his Berkeley anthropological colleagues:  Pliny Goddard, Samuel Barrett, Robert Lowie, Edward Gifford, and Alfred Kroeber (who sent him some seeds from Zuni).

 

Water pipe; with Buddhist designs; China; collected in Chinatown, San Francisco by William A. Setchell in 1905. PAHMA 9-598.

Setchell's collection, donated from 1930 through 1935, was incredibly diverse.  Its sources included several regions of Native America, Guatemala, Ecuador, Peru, Brazil, Ireland, Holland, France, Italy, Germany, Austria, Yugoslavia, Russia, Egypt, South Africa, Syria, Turkestan, India, Burma, China, Korea, Japan, and the Philippines.  From studying the Setchell collection one can see that forms are regionally distinct:  European bowls tend to be much larger than Japanese and Chinese examples, used for inhaling milder varieties of tobacco.  The materials are similarly diverse:  briar root, cherry wood, horn, gourd, bamboo, brass and other metals, meerschaum mineral, and clay.  As in pipes generally, the bowl, stem, and mouthpiece are often made of different materials.  While Setchell's collection focuses on tobacco pipes, it also includes items associated with opium and hashish.  The botanist was also eager to acquire smoking sets, with pouches for the pipe, tobacco, and lighter.

 

Despite our current feelings about tobacco, these examples of human artistry and cultural practice have much to tell us about ways of being human.

Member Events @ the Hearst

 

Jessica Horowitz, Development and Interpretation Coordinator

Join or renew today as a member and enjoy exclusive events and behind-the-scenes access during the Museum's move and gallery renovations. 

  

From July 17 to July 31 , members will receive free admission to the UC Botanical Garden. Don't miss this rare opportunity to see the blooming Puya raimondii or Queen of the Andes. For more information, click here

 

The details of our August event are being finalized--check your email for an updated invite!

 
In September, we invite members to join us at our first annual hackathon, HacktheHearst.  Observe the opening or closing events and be the first to see the projects created by participants. 
 

If you would like to participate in future member events, please consider joining today. Any gift, including membership, is 100% tax deductible. Not sure if your membership has expired? For more information, or to renew over the phone, you can reach me at 510-643-2776 or by email at [email protected].


 Click here to become a member! 

View the collections online
As always, you can view the objects in the Museum's collection, and those highlighted in this newsletter, using our online collections browser:

Like us on Facebook    Find us on Pinterest     Follow us on Twitter    Visit our blog