Glory, Trouble, and Renaissance at the Robert S. Peabody Museum of
Archaeology chronicles the seminal contributions, tumultuous
history, and recent renaissance of the Robert S. Peabody Museum of
Archaeology (RSPM). The only archaeology museum that is part
of an American high school, it also did cutting-edge research from
the 1930s through the 1970s, ultimately returning to its core
mission of teaching and learning in the twenty-first century.
Essays explore the early history and notable contributions of the
museum's directors and curators, including a tour de force chapter
by James Richardson and J. M. Adovasio that interweaves the history
of research at the museum with the intriguing story of the peopling
of the Americas. Other chapters tackle the challenges of the
1990s, including shrinking financial resources, the Native American
Graves Protection and Repatriation Act and relationships with
American Indian tribes, and the need to revisit the original
mission of the museum, namely, to educate high school
students. Like many cultural institutions, the RSPM has faced
a host of challenges throughout its history. The contributors to
this book describe the creative responses to those challenges and
the reinvention of a museum with an unusual past, present, and
future.