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Figure One - Side A of four-inch-long ultrathin knife form surface found on private land in
Fremont County, Wyoming in 1904. John Bradford Branney Collection.
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The provenance of a prehistoric artifact is just as
important as the artifact itself, maybe more so. A prehistoric artifact without
the detailed information about its discovery is just a pretty rock. A pretty
rock might bring good money at a collectors’ auction, but without the who, what,
when, where, and how; it means very little from a historical perspective. I believe
that as a collector, I am responsibile for documenting my prehistoric artifacts and fossils to the best of my ability. Every artifact in my collection is cataloged with as much detail as I have as to material type, artifact type, county, state, my site description, section, township, range, finder, length, and width.
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| Figure Two – Profile view of four-inch-long ultrathin knife form surface
found on private land in Fremont County, Wyoming in 1904. John Bradford Branney
Collection. |
I started cataloging my finds on
index cards when I was a very young pup in Wyoming and I have done so for the thousands of
artifacts I have found or acquired in the past fifty years. I learned at an
early age that memory is never a substitute for ink. When I became a middle-aged
dog, I transferred all the information from the hundreds of index cards I had to an Access
database where I now have the entire collection doumented. Wherever my complete collection ends
up (which I am currently in the process of deciding), the
database and index cards and all other relevant information goes with it. The
next curator of my collection will have every known detail for every artifact
in my collection. Documentation is the only true scientific and historical value to any
prehistoric artifact collection.
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Figure Three - Side B of four-inch-long ultrathin knife form surface found on private land
in Fremont County, Wyoming in 1904. John Bradford Branney Collection.
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As an example, I acquired this four-inch-long paleo ultrathin
knife form for my collection (figures one through three). I purchased it because its provenance indicated that it came from an area where I was interested. This ultrathin knife form came with a specific and
precise handwritten provenance and I want to preserve the artifact history for eternity. Many times I have seen beautiful artifacts but they lack good information as to the artifacts' provenance.
The finder of this ultrathin knife form (name withheld) surface found this artifact in 1904 in Fremont County, Wyoming. It impressed me that after 116 years this artifact still had its original provenance.
The knife form's provenance is so clear and concise that today I could walk
right up to the discovery location 116 years later. Someday, I
might just do that.
The artifact is aesthetically beautiful, don’t you
think? The true value of this artifact is its provenance. It is up to me to pass on its provenance to the artifact's next curator.
