One of the basic tenets of a scientific collection is that the data associated with the specimens is as important as the specimens themselves. Without the “Who, What, Where, When” for a natural history object, it has little research value and becomes a mere curiosity. So we always try to preserve these basic cornerstones of data for each specimen: who collected the object, what is it, and where and when was it collected. These data are entered into our catalog and are recorded on the individual label with each specimen.

Tucked under the scientific name on our standard museum labels is the small heading: “ID by”. This is where we record who originally identified the object. It might not seem terribly important, but it tells us if the specimen was identified by a qualified researcher or not. In short, it informs us how confident we can be that the identification is correct.

When I spent time working in our bird skeletal collection, I started noticing small handwritten labels inserted in the boxes of bird bones. These labels seemed to be mostly in the older boxes of bird bones recovered from archaeological sites, and included the species identification and then the initials “A.W.” I wondered who A.W. was and how they seemed to know so much about bird bones. Not having time to pursue this, I kept the initials in the back of my mind and went about other projects.

Then later when accumulating some articles on bird skeletons I began to see the name Alexander Wetmore. I went back for a more thorough look at our collection, a few other labels had his name spelled out.

He obviously was a specialist in bird bones, but who was he?

Alexander Wetmore studying, what else, bird bones in the National Museum of Natural History, 1976.

• In 1923 and 1924 he was the lead scientist of the Tanager Expedition, a series of five biological surveys to study the flora, fauna and geology in Hawaii and other Pacific islands.
• In 1924 he joined the Smithsonian Institution as the Superintendent of the National Zoo in Washington, D.C.
• In 1925 he was the Assistant Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution.
• From 1945 and 1952 he was appointed as the 6^th Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution.
• He authored numerous publications, including the books A Systematic Classification for the Birds of the World and the 4-volume Birds of the Republic of Panama.
• Many animal species have been named in his honor, as well as the Wetmore Glacier in Antarctica.

So how did Dr. Wetmore come to take an interest in our collections?

When I heard about Dave’s research on Dr. Wetmore one name came to mind: Robert Goslin. Goslin was what archaeologists refer to today as a zooarchaeologist, a person with an interest in animal bones (also known as faunal remains) found at archaeological sites. Goslin authored multiple articles based upon his analysis of faunal remains present at archaeological sites including Evidence of the Occurence of the Rice Rat in Prehistoric Indian Village Sites in Ohio and Food of the Adena People.

Identifying and contextualizing faunal remains is very useful as it can reconstruct the climatic environments of the ancient past, determine if villages were occupied seasonally or year-round, and identify the diet of people inhabiting the site. Sometimes faunal remains were altered in order to create specialized tools like awls to punch leather, beamers to strip the flesh and fat from animal hide, or fish hooks to well… fish. These objects allow archaeologists to further reconstruct the past.

Bone tools found within our Archaeology Collection: an awl made from an animal scapula found at Pearson Village, a beamer made from a deer metatarsal found at Campbell Island, and a fishhook made of animal bone.

It wasn't just Goslin's specialization which made a light bulb go off in my head. Goslin had worked in the Archaeology and Natural History Departments at the Ohio History Connection from the late 1920s through the early 1960s so, naturally, he and Dr. Wetmore were academic peers. I dove into archival research to investigate and discovered numerous letters of correspondence addressed to Goslin from Dr. Wetmore dating between 1941 and 1959.

Letterhead from correspondence to Robert Goslin from Alexander Wetmore, 1948.

Based on Dr. Wetmore's responses, it is apparent that Goslin requested assistance in identifying bird remains from five archaeological sites located in Ohio: