When do historians use museums for research purposes?
Answers
Answer:Museums are actually key to research in a variety of disciplines in the humanities and humanistic social sciences. It sounds like a lot of what you’re talking about falls more in the domain of history of art and architecture (statues) and archaeology/physical anthropology (artifacts), though none of these are exclusive. An archaeologist may be interested in an artifact itself while an art historian may be interested designs on it and a historian may be interested in using either or both of these things in contextualizing literary or other evidence (using a very broad and siloed lens).
Explanation:
Museums are actually key to research in a variety of disciplines in the humanities and humanistic social sciences. It sounds like a lot of what you’re talking about falls more in the domain of history of art and architecture (statues) and archaeology/physical anthropology (artifacts), though none of these are exclusive. An archaeologist may be interested in an artifact itself while an art historian may be interested designs on it and a historian may be interested in using either or both of these things in contextualizing literary or other evidence (using a very broad and siloed lens).
I can give you two examples from my own research which focus on the Roman world. One of the main types of evidence I work with are inscriptions - writing on stone, metal, bone, etc. I was working on a project on migration in the Roman Empire and I spent a lot of time digging through records of inscriptions, some of which I had to go and look at myself for a variety of reasons such as incomplete or date information. One that I’ll always remember was a burial marker for an infant who died somewhere on a journey her family made from the Danube to the Adriatic - somewhere between 450 and 750 km, depending on which route you take and how you feel about climbing mountains.
Another type of evidence I work on that is often held in museums is ancient coinage. Again, a lot of this information is available in books, but if you’re undertaking certain types of work it can really help to see the coins up close, particularly if you need to take measurements, weigh the coins, photograph them, etc. Another piece I’ll never forget is a commemorative medallion made by the Emperor Diocletian and his fellow emperors, the Tetrarchs. To really feel this, see how big it really was and think about its value helped me appreciate things better, even if it doesn’t translate well into publications.
Hope this helps! Unfortunately there isn’t really a good introduction to epigraphy (inscriptions) of which I’m aware, but I highly recommend Howgego’s 1995 “Ancient History from Coins” if you’re interested in ancient numismatics.