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The bone display at the Field Museum in Chicago made me rethink how we show ancient tools to the public
I took my niece to the Field Museum in Chicago two weeks ago and spent most of the time in the ancient Egypt hall. What got me was not the mummies, it was a case of 4,000 year old flint knives laid out in a perfect row with spotless labels. Here is my problem. A knife that somebody actually used has chips, wear, and a story in the damage, but the display hides all of that behind glass and neat lighting. I think we do visitors a disservice when we make ancient people look like tidy museum pieces instead of messy humans who broke things and fixed things. Let people see the mistakes and the repairs, not just the pretty finished object. Am I alone in thinking this, or have others noticed the same thing at a site or museum they visited?
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nelson.cameron20d ago
tidy museum pieces" hits hard lol, I dust my place once a month too
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