BENCHMARKS
A Museum Perspective on Internationalization at Penn
by Jeremy A. Sabloff and Joyce White
Long before "globalization" became a buzz word of the late
20th century, the 110-year old University of Pennsylvania Museum, now one
of the leading archaeology/anthropology museums in the world, formed partnerships
with host countries in the exploration of humanity's past. Take Thailand
as an example. Over the past three decades archaeologists of the Museum
and Thailand's Fine Arts Department (FAD) have excavated twelve prehistoric
sites. Six Thai archaeologists (and 10 students from other Southeast Asian
countries) have come to Penn and, after graduating with masters of science
or doctorates, have gone on to prominent positions in their country's archaeological
establishment.
One of the Penn/FAD joint excavations in Thailand has had particular
renown. In 1992 Ban Chiang was inscribed by UNESCO (United Nations Educational,
Scientific, and Cultural Organization) as a World Heritage Site, eighteen
years after its excavation in 1974-75. This site is now mentioned in most
introductory world prehistory texts, and a Smithsonian-produced exhibition
on the research traveled internationally before being permanently installed
in a specially built museum in Ban Chiang village in the northeastern part
of the country.
The Museum celebrated this long-term collaboration in October, when
His Excellency, Nitya Pibulsonggram, Ambassador of Thailand to the United
States, President Rodin, and Dr. Jeremy Sabloff co-hosted a festive event
honoring Ban Chiang and the continuing relationship between our Museum
and Thailand. Incense, Thai food contributed by many local Thai restaurants,
and enchanting Thai music filled the Museum's Rotunda. With more than 350
guests in attendance, approximately 40% of whom were Thai or Thai-American,
and an atmosphere of multi-cultural warmth and conviviality, one had to
feel that goodwill and spirit of cooperation boded well for continued future
partnership between Penn and Thailand.
Cross-cultural partnerships are not easily established or maintained.
Negotiating the intricacies of relating to many countries at one time (the
Museum sponsored archaeological and anthropological research projects in
eighteen different countries this past year alone), each with different
bureaucracies, antiquities laws, and histories with the West and with Penn
is fraught with challenges and periodic tempests. Holding to an ethical
course while still carrying on our mission to investigate human diversity
through time also requires considerable thoughtful effort and ongoing case
by case reassessment. Over the decades, perspectives on research and collecting
have changed radically.
In 1970, the UNESCO convention on the acquisition of antiquities changed
forever the way that the University of Pennsylvania Museum--and museums
everywhere--would think about collecting. Artifacts without clear provenance
(information about their past), black market artifacts, artifacts host
governments did not want removed-were not to be acquired by museums if
they had left their country of origin after the convention had been ratified.
The University of Pennsylvania Museum was an early supporter of the convention
and a leader among museums in trying to stem the acquisition of looted
antiquities.
By the time of the UNESCO convention, the world, and the nature of archaeology,
had changed much. With renewed interest in cultural heritage in countries
around the world, the days when archaeologists could negotiate a simple
permit to excavate ancient treasures and carry them back to museums had
long passed. Now the "treasure" that Museum researchers would
bring home would be knowledge about our shared human past, while the obligations
to publish--and further share the wealth--would grow. Over the years, the
Museum had made a fundamental shift in priorities--from the acquisition
of objects, to the acquisition and dissemination of knowledge. Maintaining
true to the letter and the spirit of the UNESCO convention has helped us
to establish useful cooperative partnerships with other countries.
Successful multi-national efforts require sustained devotion of both
individuals and institutions as well as sustained infusion of resources.
In the current economic climate, finding ongoing sources of funding for
archaeological work is not straightforward. For example, the Museum is
particularly pleased at the plural sources of funding that have supported
the Thai research and its publication thus far. The National Science Foundation,
National Geographic Society, American Philosophical Society and the Ford
Foundation, among others, have provided funding for the Museum's research
programs in Thailand. Private sources of funding have also been essential.
For instance, at the October 25th Thai celebration, a $300,000 challenge
grant was announced with the anonymous donor offering $100,000 to match
$200,000 to be raised. The challenge grant will be used to support many
aspects of analysis and publication. Important funding has also been contributed
from Thai sources. The government of Thailand contributed to the excavation
at Ban Chiang, and more recently, Thailand's John F. Kennedy Foundation
has given a major grant to support the publications of the Ban Chiang monograph
series. Sharing the financial burden can only strengthen the long-term
partnership.
Similarly in Turkey, to cite another example, the Museum has forged
an excellent working relationship with the government, corporations, and
private citizens. The Museum has been working on and off at the great archaeological
site of Gordion, home of the legendary King Midas, since 1950 and currently
is cooperating with the Turkish government to conserve the site and promote
tourism. A non-profit Gordion Foundation also has been established in Turkey
to raise funds from the private sector in Turkey to support this work.
The Museum's ongoing research at the famous Maya site of Copán,
Honduras, provides another good example of productive, cooperative research.
Our Museum has joined forces with the Peabody Museum, Harvard University,
the Middle American Research Institute, Tulane University, and the Honduran
government to undertake a pioneering project inside Copán's great
Acropolis. Supported in part by funding from the Inter-American Bank, this
fieldwork is successfully helping to create an important tourist destination
in Honduras, while revolutionizing scholarly understanding of ancient Maya
civilization.
The Museum, through its own research, through the field training of
large numbers of graduate and undergraduate students in numerous foreign
countries, through the many visits of foreign scholars to work with our
extensive, world-wide collections, and through the loans of our objects
for exhibition all over the globe, lives and breathes inter-nationalism
on a daily basis. We are proud to contribute to the Uni-versity's visibility
throughout the world and are delighted with the emphasis on internationalism
in the Agenda
for Excellence.
Dr. Sabloff is the Charles K. Williams II Director of the University
of Pennsylvania Museum and Dr. White is a Senior Research Scientist in
the Asian Section of the Museum.