Institute of Natural Resources, Massey University, PO Box11-222, Palmerston North, New Zealand.
Mol Ecol. 2012 Jul;21(13):3103-9. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-294x.2012.05589.x.
Museum collections are increasingly subjected to scientific scrutiny, including molecular, isotopic and trace-element analyses. Recent advances have extended analyses from natural history specimens to historical artefacts. We highlight three areas of concern that can influence interpretation of data derived from museum collections: sampling issues associated with museum collection use, methods of analysis, and the value of cross-referencing data with historical documents and data sets. We use a case study that focuses on kiwi (Apteryx spp.) feather samples from valuable 19th century Māori cloaks in New Zealand to show how sampling and analysis challenges need to be minimized by careful design. We argue that aligning historical records with scientific data generated from museum collections significantly improves data interpretation.
博物馆藏品越来越多地受到科学的审查，包括分子、同位素和微量元素分析。最近的进展将分析范围从自然历史标本扩展到了历史文物。我们强调了三个可能影响从博物馆藏品中得出的数据解释的关注领域：与使用博物馆藏品相关的采样问题、分析方法以及将数据与历史文献和数据集交叉引用的价值。我们使用了一个案例研究，该研究侧重于新西兰 19 世纪毛利人斗篷中的珍贵几维鸟（Apteryx spp.）羽毛样本，展示了如何通过精心设计将采样和分析挑战降到最低。我们认为，将历史记录与从博物馆藏品中生成的科学数据对齐，可以显著提高数据解释的质量。
