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Passing It On:
Ideas and Tips for Collection Projects & Artifact Documenation

Note: The following outline for collection and documentation of artifacts is taken from Boats and Bivalves, an activity book compiled for New Jersey Folk Arts in the Schools programs.

LANGUAGE

Every group of workers has special words and expressions its members use during their work. These may be familiar words with unfamiliar meanings, such as "Chesapeake turkey," a bean soup; or words we've never heard before, such as "oilskin," a rubber coat. They may be phrases that describe an aspect of their work such as "going up the bay" to indicate dredging for seed oysters.

Instructions: During each of the classes, write down a few of the words and expressions that the craftsmen use and their meanings. If you cannot decide on the meaning from the way the word is used, ask the craftsman to explain it to you.

DOCUMENTATION OF CRAFTSMEN

The craftsmen who will be visiting us have worked at their occupations for many years. Their life histories tell us about the history of South Jersey and the maritime industries on the Delaware Bay.

Instructions: During each class, listen closely and take notes about the life of the craftsman as he is talking. Then, during the scheduled activity time, interview him formally with the following list of topics. Have one member of your group serve as the photographer and take a photograph of the craftsman, preferably with black and white film.

Interview Schedule

1. Name
2. Date and place of birth
3. Father's name and occupation
4. Mother's family name
5. First job in the maritime industries
   Place and date
   Description of job
6. Other jobs over the years
7. Job he considered to be his main occupation
   Places and dates
   Description of job
8. Important changes in his occupation, if any
9. The most important skills for his occupation
10. Some important events in his work life
    (for example, a new boat, an injury)
11. What he likes especially about his occupation
12. What he dislikes or considers troublesome about his occupation
13. The reason he chose his occupation
14. Interviewer's name and date and place of interview

ARTIFACT COLLECTION AND DOCUMENTATION

An artifact is an object that helps us understand the life of a particular group of people. It may be, for example, a tool, a garment, a toy, a vehicle, a piece of furniture, a document, an art object. Eventually, some of these objects disappear from use, so it is important to collect them or to record them visually with photographs or drawings.

Instructions: Every artifact, or picture of one, should be accompanied by the following information:

1. The name that the people who use it have given it
2. The name of the group that uses it
3. A description of it (size and materials)
4. The time and place of its use
5. A description of how it is used

There are two ways of documenting artifacts. Divide your group in half to perform both types.

1. Visual documentation: During each session, draw or photograph at least one artifact that you think helps us to understand the life and work of the watermen. Record the important information about it on the back of the photograph or on the bottom of the drawing.
   
   
2. Collection: Wherever possible, try to find artifacts that may help us to understand the life and work of the watermen. If the artifact belongs to someone, ask if you may borrow it for our display. Then tag it with the name and address of the owner and the important information about it. Bring it to the next class. Be certain to return it to the lender.

DOCUMENTATION OF TEXTS

During the course, we will hear songs, stories, proverbs, sayings about luck, weather, medicine, and the like, and recipes. The written version of each of these we will call a "text." Like artifacts, texts help us to understand the life of a group of people, so it is important to write them down as best we can.

Instructions: During each class, write down at least one text, whether it is a story, saying, song, recipe, or whatever. Use the vocabulary and grammar that the craftsman uses. With each text, write down the following information:

1. Title, if there is one
2. Type of text (song, recipe, etc.)
3. The name of the speaker or performer
4. The person from whom the speaker or performer learned the text (if known)
5. The use of the text (for example, to make work go faster; to entertain at weddings)
6. The meaning of the text, in the speaker's or performer's words
7. The date and place that you recorded the text and your name

LOG OF COURSE

Whenever folklorists do fieldwork, they must keep a log or written record of all their activities. They record important information about their meetings and conversations with their informants (people whose culture they are studying), their visits to special events and places, and their most important findings.

Instructions: During and after each class, record the following information about the session:

1. Date and time
2. Place
3. Purpose of the event
4. Participants in the event
5. Topics discussed
6. Important artifacts seen or performances given or texts heard
7. Fieldworker's response-what you learned and how you felt about the experience

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