Dear Mathew,
things are quite simple. Of course it might be that you and others never came across the terms naturafact, artefact or mentefact (for search have a careful look at the right spelling, there is no mentifact or naturofact!), just for two reasons:
1) In most cases people from US museums do not care about museological literature written in other continents. Everything has to be published in English, should avoid a deeper philosophical background, should have US authors with respective practizism, hence most
literature tips come from GB, Canada or the US. My remarks on these terms were clearly referred to a famous French author, H.R. Revière, who influenced the European museology in parts. In this particular matter, all remarkable museologists here in Europe use these terms because they are quite useful: They divide all classes of objects imaginable and associate them with all existing forms of collecting institutions (and private collections). So, these terms are basic theoretical museological terms.
2) museum professionals without any theoretical museological background - in most cases activists or specialized scientists - mostly do not refer to museological terms. They use their own language. So, for instance, the US term "specimen" has been mentioned. But this refers NOT TO A SPECIFIC CLASS OF OBJECTS, it refers to a specific system. The terms I mentioned are meta terms, and the different systems exist on a lower level. So, for example, all plants belonging to the botanic system, are naturafacts. All tools or works of art are artefacts.
If you want to see some Google results of "Naturafakt", "artefact"/"artefakt" or "mentefact"/"mentefact" - just read what this machine offers.
With regard to the term "ecofact" I have to repeat that under museological view, there is no need to use it. Especially, if it only used in one particular field, in archaeology, and all found ecofacts are naturafacts in contrary to found artefacts. A 1982 German Translation of Sara Champion's "Dictionary of terms and techniques in Archaeology" (Phaidon Press, Oxford 1980) says s.v. "Oekofakt":
"Alles tierische und pflanzliche Material an einer archäologischen Stätte, soweit es nicht als -> Artefakt gilt und Rückschlüsse auf die Umweltbedingungen gestattet...Bisweilen verschwimmen allerdings die Grenzen zum Artefakt hin..." (i.e. a found object may be both). You see, this British dictionary knows also artefacts. But by mixing a meta level (artefact) with a sub level (Ecofacts are all naturafacts), there is not the clarity in scientific language usage needed.
This *has* to puzzle you: an object found during an excavation is called "Ecofact"/"Ökofakt", but the same object in a private collection is adressed as "naturafakt". As, as I explained earlier, the term Ecofact (derived from ecology) is more confusing than self-explaining.
But, on the other hand, if archaelogists are used to "ecofacts", of course nobody can forbid them to go ahead.
Speaking on museology, I will continue to use meta terms. For museology, that is sufficient. Speaking on palaeontology or art history, I will deal on the sub levels. That`s it.
Best regards
Christian
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Verlag Dr. Christian Mueller-Straten / Museums Agentur
Inh. Dr. Christian Müller-Straten
Kunzweg 23, D-81243 Muenchen Germany
T. +49-(0)89-839 690 43, Fax T. +49-(0)89-839 690 44
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------
--
Verlag Dr. Christian Mueller-Straten / Museums Agentur
Inh. Dr. Christian Müller-Straten
Kunzweg 23, D-81243 Muenchen Germany
T. +49-(0)89-839 690 43, Fax T. +49-(0)89-839 690 44
[log in to unmask]
www.museum-aktuell.de: The European portal to the museum world and heritage, scientists, open positions, suppliers, sponsors, with museum stock exchange and life long learning...
Hier auch weitere Firmenangaben. Treffen Sie uns auf der EXPONATEC COLOGNE 2007!
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