HIST 2701 - Levine: Books and Archives

Archives and Museums often have extensive exhibit websites devoted to important items in their collections.  By limiting to site:.org, you can easily locate these treasure troves of information.  For example, if my artifact was the Riha Paten, I could do a search with "Riha Paten" AND museum AND site:.org, and it would take me to the Dumbarton Oaks website.  This website, in addition giving me multiple images of the Riha Paten, also provides context about the time period in which it was made, as well as what its significance tells us about Early Christian Art. 

The UGA Libraries has over 6 million books and eBooks.  You can often find research on your artifact on our shelves!

You can search all of our books, eBooks, and digital videos through our catalog, GIL.  You may find books by searching for the name of your artifact.  If that doesn't bring back useful books, you can also search for historical time periods, cultural names, and artistic techniques.

Academic reference works like encyclopedias, handbooks, and historical dictionaries will help you locate most of the information you would need for your Artifact wiki page.

Locating Reference Materials

Since these books cover broad topics, it is useful to search our catalog for the general subject area of your artifact.  For example, if you're studying the Terracotta Warriors of China, you might use the Encyclopedia of Chinese History to write about the time period when the Terracotta Army was created, and then use the Routledge Encyclopedia of Traditional Chinese Culture to learn about the use of terracotta in the creation of artistic pieces.

Often these materials will give context to your artifact's place in history and society, along with important places, names, and dates related to your artifact.  These books will also link you to related topics.  A search in our catalog for Encyclopedia + your general topic will locate these materials in our catalog.

Some useful Academic Encyclopedias to get you started:

• Encyclopedia of Religion:  Exhaustive look at ancient and modern religious studies.
• Encyclopedia of World Cultures and its Supplement:  Lists and describes more than 1,500 global cultures.
• Human Relations Area Files (eHRAF): Archaeology:  Ethnographic and archaeological studies of world cultures.
• Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Anthropology:  Overview articles on a wide array of specialized Anthropology topics.
• Oxford Art Online (formerly Grove Art Online):  Encyclopedic resource covering art history and artists worldwide.