Question about where old bones and tools should end up

I see debates on whether stuff dug up should stay local or go to big museums far away. Local folks say it's their history, but museums argue more people can learn from it. What do you guys think?

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4 Comments

miasanchez6mo ago

Look at it from the other side though. If every little town kept every single bone and tool, most of that history would just sit in a dusty back room where nobody ever sees it. Big museums have the money and space to actually study and display things properly, so the whole story gets told. Sending things away means experts can work on them and way more people, from all over, get to learn something new. It stops history from being just a local secret and turns it into something everyone can share.

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elliotshah7mo ago

My friend's grandpa found tools stayed in town.

7

grace_knight197mo ago

So weird, did they still work? My buddy's dad once pulled a whole set of blacksmith tongs and a hammer from the rafters in an old barn he bought. They were all rusty but you could see the local maker's mark on them, like they'd never left the property. Makes you wonder how many old tools are just waiting in the same place they were left fifty years ago.

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jake_patel7mo ago

Last summer, I pulled a vise from under my porch that was there since the 70s. If the rust isn't too deep, a wire brush and some oil can bring most old tools back to life. Sometimes the old stuff is just waiting for someone to bother with it.

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