Input on the Tortoise Shell

After viewing the exhibit Joseph M. Murphy of Georgetown University wrote Mark Leone with his comments regarding the tortoise shell artifact on display. With his permission I've included an excerpt from his email below.

"One item grabbed my attention in particular, the carved tortoise shell from Brice House. The plaque explaining it seemed to invite speculation about its meaning, so I thought I would pass on to you an idea of mine for whatever its worth. In the Afro-Cuban Lucumi traditions that I've studied the tortoise "ayapa" is sacred to the orisha Oshun, but also to Shango, the orisha of lightning. The placement of the shell at the base of the lightning rod at Brice House at least suggests the practice of offerings to Shango at lightning-attracting trees such as the araba in Yorubaland and the ceiba and royal palm in Cuba (and Miami). Anything "touched by lightning" in this way would carry Shango's power or "ashe"... I, of course, have no idea if any of the practices by the African Americans in Brice House are specifically Yoruba and we've learned with great profit to seek the African origins of African American practices from the baKongo. Still it's an interesting connection."

Thank you for your interest!

More on the Tortoise Shell

The carved tortoise shell shown below was found in the Brice House yard at the base of a lightning rod, near a downspout. This tortoise shell was part of a compact cache of artifacts intentionally placed in this location. The cache also contained oyster shells, a crystal decanter top, and a pierced coin. Through reading the work of Robert Ferris Thompson of Yale who is a scholar of West African religious traditions, Dr. Mark Leone found that within these traditions spirits are associated with beams of light and reflective objects. In this case, the lightning rod provided a pathway for the spirit, while the crystal held the spirit. Caches were buried in particular places in order to conjure and control spirits for a specific purpose such as curing, protecting or causing harm to another person. Without knowing the complete situation in which the cache was created we can only guess at its intended purpose. While bone and shell are common elements found in caches, carved pieces such as the tortoise shell shown here are less common. Archaeologists are still unclear as to what this carved image may represent. As always we are open to your suggestions!

The above information was taken from Mark Leone's book The Archaeology of Liberty in an American Capital: excavations in Annapolis (University of California Press, 2005).

Tortoise Shell Artifact

Adding on to the “Artifact of the Week” I wanted to highlight a particular artifact that was also found at the Brice House. This carved tortoise shell was found in a cache which was located at the base of a lightning rod in the yard of the Brice House. This cache, like the cosmogram found in the East Wing of the Brice House, is also related to West African spiritual practices.

Thank you!

I agree…the exhibit opening went really well! After all the time and energy spent by everyone on this exhibit it was really satisfying to take a step back and just enjoy the completed result. It was especially interesting to see and hear people’s reactions to the exhibit. It seems like each person sees and understands an exhibit differently. I think everyone was particularly impressed by the African American artifacts on display which were found beneath the floor boards at the Brice House. One of the archaeologists, Matt Cochran who originally excavated these materials attended the opening and was especially excited to see these objects out of storage and on display for the public. My advisor at the University of Maryland, Dr. Stephen Brighton, was impressed by the variety of glass bottles found at the Maynard-Burgess house. He related them to his work involving Irish immigrants and their use of manufactured goods. My 10 year old cousin loved the Reynolds tavern case especially the animal bones on display. He was a little disappointed when he found out they were not dinosaur bones! I overheard one visitor comment about the marbles on display from the Maynard-Burgess House. She was struck by how these simple objects have been around for so long and how they are still being used. Seeing people connect with the artifacts in this way made me realize that our exhibit is a success! The whole idea behind the Seeking Liberty theme is to use archaeology to show how the citizens of Annapolis live together as one community but also as separate communities at the same time. We show how different citizens have fought in different ways to overcome prejudice and to move toward greater equality. When a visitor connects with an artifact and understands how the people who use this object are very different but also the same our message is clear. I hope that our exhibit fosters a sense of curiosity and acceptance for others no matter how different and/or similar they may be.

I want to say thank you to everyone who worked so hard to put this exhibit together. This was the first time I have ever been involved in the development of a museum exhibit and I had a great time. I was lucky to have some really great teachers to work with. Thank you especially to Banneker-Douglass Museum staff Amelia Harris, Genevieve Kaplan and Wendi Perry and to Amelia Chisholm and Dr. Mark Leone from Archaeology in Annapolis who have taught me what goes into developing an exhibit.

Also, thanks to everyone who came out on opening day. We really appreciate your support and would love to hear your comments.

Thank you!

Exhibit Opening-March 4th

Wow...Thanks to everyone who attend the opening on Tuesday night, we had a great turnout. There was a lot of pomp and circumstance, as befitting a project celebrating the 300th year of the Annapolis Royal Charter. We had numerous speakers, from all of our affiliated organizations, and even the the official Annapolis town crier as master of ceremonies (Check out the photo to the right!)

I'd especially like to thank Dr. Mark Leone, Mayor Ellen Moyer, and Director Wendi Perry for making this opportunity possible, it has been great working on this project. I'd also like to thank the entire staff of the Banneker-Douglass Museum for their work on the exhibit, most especially Amelia Harris, exhibits specialist, because without her vision we would be looking at blank walls in that exhibit gallery! I would also like to congratulate everyone on a job well done, this has been a long 4 months, and for some of us a long 18 months, and I am really appreciative. (In the photo: staff of the museum, Archaeology in Annapolis, and Mayor Moyer, who all collaborated on "Seeking Liberty.")

Lastly, I'd like to thank everyone who came to the opening to see our work, I am very proud of what we have done, and I am glad it garnered such interest. I would particularly like to thank my friends and colleagues at the University of Maryland, College Park for their attendance in number! (see photo to the right)

Thanks again!

(All photographs were taken by Matthew Palus)

Cell phone tour

How many times have you walked into an exhibition and wanted to learn more about the objects on display but didn't want to pay the fee or deal with the bulky hardware of a wand-based tour? Have you ever wanted to hear from the exhibition designers and curators about why they included certain objects in an exhibit or what they believe are the most interesting objects and stories?

One of the new and truly unique components of the Seeking Liberty exhibition is the free cell phone tour. This tour has been generating quite a bit of buzz from anyone who has heard about it and people are very intrigued as to what it is. The cell phone tour is the first of its kind in Annapolis and one of a small but growing number in Maryland.

The cell phone tour works just like a wand-based tour with the benefits of not needing to rent equipment or training on how to use the hardware. Users simply call the exhibition's cell phone number and then enter the stop number they would like to listen to. Users also have the capability to provide their feedback on the cell phone tour. The tour is free of charge to visitors with the exception of however many minutes they use up on their cell phone plan.

Cell phone tours were introduced in museums a few years ago and have been quickly increasing in number. Visitors find them easy to use and as most people have cell phones there is no need to provide the necessary equipment.

The tour will be tested throughout the next few weeks to see how users respond to it and to find out what they would like to learn more about. After we evaluate the feedback from the testing phase, we will record several additional stops to include commentary from the exhibit guest curator, Dr. Mark Leone of the University of Maryland's Archaeology in Annapolis program, as well as other exhibition team members. As the exhibition expands to include interpretive panels at each of the five sites featured in the tour, the cell phone tour will add stops to incorporated each of these buildings as well.

We invite you to come and try the cell phone tour for yourself and let us know what you think. We are very interested in learning about what objects and subjects you would like to see featured on the tour.

Another great feature of this tour is that people can leave their cell phone number in the feedback section and be signed up to receive text messages with information on upcoming events or to have the exhibition website and blog addresses. Visitors will soon have the ability to download the cell tour as a podcast as well.

The Seeking Liberty exhibition cell phone tour was funded in part by a generous grant from the Four Rivers Heritage Area. The cell phone tour is distributed by Guide by Cell.

Links to more information on cell phone tours:

USA Today - This article highlights cell phone tours as city walking guides.

Washington Post - This article highlights cell phone tours at the Baltimore Museum of Contemporary Art.

Other local cell phone tours:

Baltimore
Baltimore Museum of Art
Jewish Community Center of Greater Baltimore
Museum of Contemporary Art

Washington DC
Congressional Cemetery Walking Tour
Corcoran Gallery of Art
Decatur House
Folger Shakespeare Library
Library of Congress
Lincoln Memorial
National Arboretum
National Gallery of Art
National Museum of Women in the Arts
Phillips Collection
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Woodrow Wilson House

Opening Day!

Seeking Liberty officially opens today with a reception from 4-7 pm at the museum. Attendees will be treated to several opportunities to explore the exhibit and the various technology-based components attached to the exhibition.

The Seeking Liberty website will go live today, allowing people to explore the exhibit and its objects even if they can not make it to the museum. The website will also feature an "Artifact of the Week" segment which will highlight a different object in the exhibit every week. The current object of discussion is the Hand of Fatima found at the Governor Calvert House. This feature will also be posted to the blog to allow for your feedback and observations. To see the exhibit website, follow the link below.

http://www.bsos.umd.edu/anth/aia/seeking_liberty/

Please let us know what you think about this blog and what you would like to see posted on it throughout the year. We are always looking for guest authors to give us a post!

Press Day at the Museum

In the week leading up to the opening of Seeking Liberty, we have had several reporters in the museum. Below are links to articles appearing in newspapers throughout the area.

Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/01/AR2008030101672.html

The Capital
http://www.hometownannapolis.com/cgi-bin/read/2008/03_01-02/NBH

Capital News Service as picked up by WTOP radio
http://www.wtopnews.com/index.php?nid=25&sid=1355301