Documenting Your Collections
Info-Muse Network Documentation Guide

Les guides électroniques de la SMQ

Definition of categories and sub-categories

  1. Structures
  Artifacts originally created to define space for human activities or to be used as components of space-defining artifacts.
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 Building
   
  An artifact originally created primarily to provide or define a space with a controllable climate, usually through enclosure, for human activities. This sub-category may include permanent structures, such as garages or office buildings, or portable structures, such as tents. It includes most human-made structures. Houses, barns, warehouses, train stations, and jails are all primarily intended to provide spaces that can be kept warm or cool and dry. Architectural samples integral to buildings, such as wall sections or roof sections, should be catalogued in this sub-category as parts of buildings. Separable, distinct, and interchangeable components, such as doorknobs or window sashes, should be classified as "Building Components".
   
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 Building Component
   
  An artifact originally created as a separate, distinct, and generally interchangeable structural or decorative part of a building (though such artifacts as hinges, for example, can be used on non-building artifacts such as gates or tables). Though building components are distinct objects, they function as parts of larger structures rather than as independent units. This sub-category includes such objects as mantels and window frames, but excludes parts of buildings or other structures that lack distinctiveness or interchangeability, such as roofs, chimneys, or joists. Also excluded from this sub-category are parts of buildings that are not integral parts of a structure, such as furnishings, lighting devices, and plumbing fixtures, all of which are listed in the "Furnishings" category.
   
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 Site Feature
   
  An artifact originally created as a distinct element that is associated with a site, a building, or other structure. Rather than functioning simply as a part of a larger structure, a site feature is an independent entity that complements other structures. This sub-category includes such objects as birdbaths, flagpoles, gates, and fences.
   
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 Other Structure
  An artifact originally created primarily to modify the environment or landscape or to define a space for some reason besides climate control. This sub-category includes dams, mines, and bridges. Structures such as sports complexes that are primarily intended to provide controlled access and convenient seating should be placed in this sub-category. Some other structures may have climate-controlled spaces, such as the space under a dome in a stadium or the generating room of a hydro-electric dam, but these spaces serve a secondary role to the function of the structures.
  2. Furnishings
  Artifacts originally created to facilitate human activity and to meet physical needs of people generally by offering comfort, convenience, or protection. Clothing is excluded from this category as it addresses only the needs of specific individuals. Furnishings are not artifacts used as active agents in other processes such as tools or equipment; they passively enable human activity.
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 Bedding
   
  An artifact originally created to be used on a bed or in association with sleeping, such as blankets, pillows, and sleeping bags.
   
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 Floor Covering
   
  An artifact originally created as a portable or temporary covering for a building floor. This sub-category includes rugs and carpeting, but not permanently attached tile or linoleum, which are included in the "Building Component" sub-category.
   
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 Furniture
   
  An artifact originally created to answer the physical requirements and comforts of people in their living and work spaces. This sub-category includes outdoor furniture, desks, tables, beds, and chairs, but excludes appliances or tools such as washing machines or ladders.
   
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 Household Accessory
   
  An artifact originally created to be placed in or around a building for the convenience of people to enhance, complement, or facilitate the maintenance of their environment. This sub-category includes small furnishings such as soap dishes and spittoons, special household containers such as vases and wastebaskets, and objects such as antimacassars and table covers that protect furniture. The sub-category does not include artifacts with a communication aspect, which are classified as "Decorative Art" or "Original Art" in "Communication Artifacts", nor does it include devices used in productive housekeeping activities such as cooking or maintenance.
   
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 Lighting Device
   
  An artifact originally created to provide illumination. This sub-category includes lighting accessories such as candlesnuffers or wick trimmers, general-purpose portable lighting devices such as kerosene lanterns, and specialized fixtures such as streetlamps, theatre lighting devices, and lighthouse lamp accessories.
   
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 Plumbing Fixture
   
  An artifact originally created to be attached as an integral component to water and sewer lines, often within a building, such as bathtubs and faucets. Portable objects that serve comparable purposes are "Household Accessories". Pipes and pipe fittings are classified as "Building Components", not "Plumbing Fixtures".
   
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 Temperature Control Device
   
  An artifact originally created to enable people to control the temperature of their immediate environment according to their needs. This sub-category includes stoves, woodbins, and ember carriers. It does not include devices to control temperature for purposes other than human comfort, as is the case with bake ovens and kilns, nor does it include relatively permanent structural parts of a building, such as fireplaces or flues.
   
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 Window or Door Covering
   
  An artifact originally created to cover or adorn a window, door, or doorway. This sub-category includes curtains, valances, and curtain rings. It does not include relatively permanent structural parts of buildings that are "Building Components," such as doors or window sashes.
  3. Personal Artifacts
  Artifacts originally created to serve an individual's personal needs such as clothing, adornment, body protection, or grooming aids.
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 Adornment
   
  An artifact originally created to be worn on the human body or on clothing for ornamentation, rather than for protection or simply as a body covering. This sub-category includes rings, necklaces, and pendants. Adornment lacks the communicative aspect of objects in the "Personal Symbol" sub-category, and is more decorative than those in the "Personal Gear" sub-category.
   
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 Clothing, Footwear
   
  An artifact originally created as clothing and other protective items to be worn on the feet for protection or cover. This sub-category includes boots, stockings, and gaiters.
   
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 Clothing, Headwear
   
  An artifact originally created as clothing that protects or covers the head. This sub-category includes bonnets, tricorn hats, and turbans.
   
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 Clothing, Outerwear
   
  An artifact originally created as clothing to be worn on the body over undergarments or as an exterior layer of dress. This sub-category includes coats, overcoats, and dresses.
   
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 Clothing, Underwear
   
  An artifact originally created as clothing to be worn beneath outerwear to protect or cover the body. Underwear is the layer of clothing that is closest to the skin. This sub-category includes petticoats and corsets.
   
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 Clothing Accessory
   
  An artifact, such as a belt or cuff link, created originally to be used in association with clothing. Accessories include artifacts that are worn, such as ascots, as well as those that are used for minor care of clothing, such as shoe-polish applicators.
   
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 Personal Gear
   
  An artifact originally created to be used by an individual as a carrying device such as a wallet or a knapsack, as a protective apparatus such as an umbrella or goggles, as a personal or physical aid such as a cane or eyeglasses, or as personal smoking equipment and supplies such as a pipe. This sub-category includes military accoutrements such as canteens and pouches used as personal accessories not directly associated with armament.
   
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 Toilet Article
   
  An artifact originally created to be used for personal care, hygiene, or grooming. This sub-category includes razors, toothbrushes, and cosmetics.
  4. Tools & Equipment for Materials
  Tools, equipment, and supplies originally created to manage, oversee, capture, harvest, or collect resources and to transform or modify particular materials, both raw and processed. These artifacts are normally created in response to problems inherent in the materials themselves. Wood requires certain kinds of cutting devices, fish require certain lures, food requires certain serving utensils.
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 Agricultural T&E
   
  Tools, equipment, and supplies originally created for farming or gardening. This sub-category includes implements used in planting, tending, harvesting, and storing crops and in processing food for animals but not food for humans (see "Food Processing T&E"). This sub-category does not include tools and equipment used in caring for animals (see "Animal Husbandry T&E"), working with forest products (see "Forestry T&E"), or in preparing fibres for textiles from agricultural products (see "Textileworking T&E"). Tools and equipment used in tobacco harvesting are found in this sub-category.
   
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 Animal Husbandry T&E
   
  Tools, equipment, and supplies originally created for the care, breeding, and study of animals. This sub-category includes instruments used in the practice of veterinary medicine, in the psychological study of animals, and in the care of animals, such as the tools a farrier uses to shoe animals. It includes hoof chisels, hobbles, and muzzles. This sub-category excludes equipment used in processing animal products for human use (see "Food Processing T&E" or "Leather, Horn & Shellworking T&E"). Also excluded are the tools of trades related to animal husbandry; these tools are not used directly with animals, such as a farrier's metalworking tools.
   
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 Basket, Broom, Brush Making T&E
   
  Tools, equipment, and supplies for fabricating objects out of fibrous materials that are generally coarser than those used for textiles. This sub-category includes tools used for basket making, broom making, brush making, and thatching.
   
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 Cigar Making T&E
   
  Tools, equipment, and supplies for fabricating non-food products for human consumption out of tobacco and related vegetable products. This sub-category includes tools for handling harvested tobacco and manufacturing tobacco products. Smoking accessories and supplies are under "Personal Gear".
   
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 Fishing & Trapping T&E
   
  Tools, equipment, and supplies originally created for capturing aquatic and terrestrial animals by any means other than weaponry, such as nets, traps, and fishhooks.
   
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 Food Processing T&E
   
  Tools, equipment, and supplies originally created for processing, storing, and preparing food or beverages for human consumption. This sub-category includes measuring cups, appliances such as refrigerators and food processing equipment such as churns. It does not include tools for gathering, producing, or managing food materials.
   
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 Food Service T&E
   
  Tools, equipment, and supplies originally created for the service, presentation, or consumption of food or beverages by humans, such as saucers, cups, and silent butlers.
   
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 Forestry T&E
   
  Tools, equipment, and supplies originally created for cutting, handling, or processing timber or for harvesting forest crops such as bark, sap, gum, resin, or rubber. This sub-category includes bark shredders, and felling axes. It does not include equipment for cartage, which is classified under "Transportation Artifacts", or for manufacturing products from wood, which is classified under "Woodworking T&E" or "Papermaking T&E".
   
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 Glass, Plastics, Clay & Waxworking T&E
   
  Tools, equipment, and supplies originally created for fabricating objects from homogenous complex compounds, such as glass, clay, rubber, synthetic resins, plastics, or waxes. This sub-category also includes the tools, equipment, and supplies used for producing such homogenous complex compounds. These compounds differ from other materials because they generally require elaborate processing at some point during their use. As compounds, they differ from other processed materials, such as leather, because they are not discrete units: they differ from aggregate materials, such as masonry, because of their homogeneity and their need for elaborate processing. This sub-category includes candle moulds and glazier points.
   
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 Jewellery T&E
   
  Tools, equipment, and supplies originally created for fabricating jewellery. This sub-category excludes tools and equipment for working with precious stones, which are included in the "Lapidary T&E" sub-category.
   
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 Lapidary T&E
   
  Tools, equipment, and supplies for fabricating objects out of crystalline materials, primarily precious and semi-precious stones. This sub-category includes jeweller's gem-cutting tools, but excludes tools that are used in jewellery manufacture but that are for working non-crystalline materials such as metal, wood, or plastic, which are classified under "Jewellery T&E".
   
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 Leather, Horn & Shellworking T&E
   
  Tools, equipment, and supplies originally created for processing materials that are animal in origin. This classification includes tools and equipment for processing furs or hides, for preparing leather, for fabricating leather products, for working shell, horn, bone and ivory, and tools for making things from quills or feathers. This sub-category also includes artifacts for processing materials that are the products of insects and bacteria. It includes beaming knives, awls, and harness maker's benches.
   
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 Masonry & Stoneworking T&E
   
  Tools, equipment, and supplies originally created for working with natural stone or with aggregate materials such as concrete, mortar, brick, or plaster. These aggregate materials can be of natural or manufactured origin. They differ from materials related to "Glass, Plastics, Clay & Waxworking T&E" because they lack the homogeneity and the need for complex processing of those materials. This sub-category includes bushhammers, zaxes and trowels. It excludes tools and equipment for working with precious or semi-precious stones, which are included in the "Lapidary T&E" sub-category.
   
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 Metalworking T&E
   
  Tools, equipment, and supplies originally created for casting, forging, machining, or fabricating metals or metal products. This sub-category includes anvils, sheet metalworker's snips and vises. It does not include tools, equipment, and supplies used in mining or preliminary ore processing which are classified under "Mining & Mineral Harvesting T&E", or tools and equipment used for making jewellery out of metals, included in the "Jewellery T&E" sub-category.
   
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 Mining & Mineral Harvesting T&E
   
  Tools, equipment, and supplies originally created for extracting materials in solid, liquid, or gaseous state from the natural environment. This sub-category includes equipment used for underground and surface mines, quarries, and oil and water wells, for prospecting, and for supplemental processing operations such as breaking, milling, washing, cleaning, or grading. It also includes tools used for ice and salt harvesting. This sub-category includes ice saws, spoons, and double-pointed picks.
   
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 Painting T&E
   
  Tools, equipment, and supplies originally created for working with materials that mask large surfaces by depositing a residual film, such as a paint film, or by using adhesives to attach a thin covering, such as wallpaper or gold leaf, to a surface. This sub-category includes tools, equipment, and supplies used in decorative, artistic, and protective applications, such as putty knives, palettes, and brushes. Excluded are tools and equipment that are used with thicker coatings, such as wood veneers or plastic laminates, and tools and equipment used for metal plating. Also excluded are tools and equipment, such as ink knives and silk screens, associated with printing processes.
   
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 Papermaking T&E
   
  Tools, equipment, and supplies originally created for manufacturing materials formed from the residue of suspensions or fabricating products made of such materials. Paper, whether made from wood pulp, textile fibres, or plastic fibres, is the principal product that falls in this sub-category. Particles mixed with liquids form suspensions. Though felt is made of materials that are matted like paper, tools and felting fall under "Textileworking T&E" because felt is not formed from a suspension.
   
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 Soapmaking T&E
   
  Tools, equipment, and supplies, such as a potash caldron or soap stick, used in manufacturing soap from hardwood ash residue.
   
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 Textileworking T&E
   
  Tools, equipment, and supplies originally created for preparing materials made from fibres and preparing woven fabrics, such as sewing needles, embroidery scissors, reels, and spools. Also included in this sub-category are tools, equipment, and supplies used for manufacturing objects from fibres or cloth. This sub-category includes tools, such as hatchels and cotton gins, specific to fibre preparation, but excludes tools, such as sheep shears and cotton balers, that are related to fibre sources.
   
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 Watchmaking T&E
   
  Tools, equipment, and supplies originally created for fabricating clocks and watches. This sub-category does not include watches and clocks themselves; they are included in the "Timekeeping T&E" sub-category.
   
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 Wigmaking T&E
   
  Tools, equipment, and supplies used in fabricating wigs and hair pieces from fibres. This sub-category includes tools for preparing and arranging fibres and for sewing wigs, and special tools for finishing wigs. Excluded are tools that might be generally used for grooming, such as combs and brushes, unless they are specifically designed for wigmaking.
   
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 Woodworking T&E
   
  Tools, equipment, and supplies originally created for fabricating objects from wood. This sub-category includes artifacts used with and to create physically modified wood by-products such as plywood, chipboard, and masonite. Included are clamps, felloe saws, and planes. This sub-category excludes tools and equipment for making objects out of chemically modified wood by-products such as paper, rayon, and rubber.
  5. Tools & Equipment for Science & Technology
  Tools, equipment, and supplies used to observe natural phenomena or to apply knowledge gained from such observation. Tools in this category tend to be made to enlarge or record our understanding of the world or to help express such understanding. Sub-categories in this category are related by virtue of the fact that they contain artifacts created to employ a particular body of knowledge. "Astronomical T&E" covers tools used to examine distant phenomena. "Timekeeping T&E" covers things that people have developed to measure time. "Maintenance T&E" covers tools developed in response to a body of knowledge about how to take care of things. Objects listed in sub-categories referring to armaments are used for hunting, target shooting, warfare, or self-protection. These sub-categories are based on knowledge rather than on materials.
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 Acoustical T&E
   
  Tools, equipment, and supplies originally created for studying sound and its effect upon hearing. This sub-category includes tuning forks and sound-level meters. Artifacts in "Acoustical T&E" differ from those in "Sound Communication Equipment" in that the function of the former is to study sound, not to transmit or receive it. They differ from some related items in "Medical and Psychological T&E" in that the function of items in "Acoustical T&E" is to examine the nature and effects of sound, not to diagnose or treat medical situations.
   
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 Armament T&E, Firearm
   
  Tools, equipment, and supplies originally created to be used as projectile-firing weapons than can be easily deployed by one person. This sub-category includes rifles, guns and grenade launchers. It excludes ammunition, firearm accessories, and crew-served heavy armament.
   
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 Armament T&E, Edged
   
  Tools, equipment, and supplies originally created to be used as armament intended to cut or pierce by cutting. It includes edged weapons such as bayonets that are accessories to firearms and tools such as crossbows that launch edged weapons. This sub-category includes daggers, halberds, and tomahawks.
   
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 Armament T&E, Bludgeon
   
  Tools, equipment, and supplies originally created to be used as armament designed to batter or crush by weight or momentum. It also includes arms such as sling-shots that propel missiles that are neither explosive nor penetrating. It also includes blackjacks and clubs.
   
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 Armament T&E, Artillery
   
  Tools, equipment, and supplies originally created to be used as heavy weapons that employ combustion or explosion to fire a projectile. Artillery may be portable and it may be employed by only one person, but typically it is fired by a crew from a more or less stationary position. This sub-category includes cannons and carronades.
   
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 Armament T&E, Ammunition
   
  Tools, equipment, and supplies originally created to be used as ammunition for armament whether intended for particular weapons, such as BBs or cartridges, or intended to be deployed alone, such as missiles or bombs. This sub-category includes grenades and cannonballs.
   
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 Armament T&E, Body Armour
   
  Tools, equipment, and supplies originally created to be used as clothing worn as defensive armament. It includes the formal parts of a "suit of armour" and protective devices used in combat.
   
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 Armament T&E, Accessory
   
  Tools, equipment, and supplies originally created to serve as accessories used for hunting, target shooting, warfare, or self-protection. This sub-category includes arms and artillery accessories and personal accoutrements, such as cartridge belts, cartridge boxes, and sword belts, associated with armament. It includes detonators, scabbards, gun covers and game bags.
   
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 Astronomical T&E
   
  Tools, equipment, and supplies originally created to observe, measure, and document objects and events outside the Earth's atmosphere. It includes astrolabes and telescopes. Artifacts within "Astronomical T&E" differ from those within "Optical T&E" in that the former are not intended to address particular problems associated with vision. And they differ from those under "Surveying & Navigational T&E" in that they are concerned with observation rather than with practical uses for such observation.
   
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 Biological T&E
   
  Tools, equipment, and supplies originally created to observe, measure, and document physiological or anatomical aspects of organisms for purposes other than diagnosis or treatment. This sub-category includes clinometers and potometers. Tools for diagnosing and treating people are classified under "Medical & Psychological T&E"; those for animals are under "Animal Husbandry T&E".
   
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 Chemical T&E
   
  Tools, equipment, and supplies originally created for studying or manufacturing substances based upon their molecular composition, structure, and properties. This sub-category includes stills and test tubes. The study of atomic and subatomic particles is classified under "Nuclear Physics T&E"; study of the interaction of physical objects, under "Mechanical T&E".
   
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 Construction T&E
   
  Tools, equipment, and supplies originally created for moving earth and building structures. This sub-category includes paving machines and equipment that modifies by demolition, such as wrecking balls and jackhammers. It also includes tools, such as pile drivers, used for constructing highways and structural facilities. It does not include specialized tools, such as hammers or cement mixers, listed in other sub-categories and used in the construction industries.
   
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 Electrical & Magnetic T&E
   
  Tools, equipment, and supplies originally created to observe, measure, and document electrical and magnetic phenomena. This sub-category also includes tools, equipment, and components, such as electrician's pliers or oscilloscopes, used in the manufacture, installation, and repair of electrical and electronic devices. It includes ammeters, rheostats and fuseboards. It does not include electrical or electronic devices created to serve other specific purposes, such as sound communication or data processing, nor does it include electrical motors or generators, classified under "Energy Production T&E".
   
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 Energy Production T&E
   
  Tools, equipment, and supplies originally created to generate, convert, or distribute energy or power. This sub-category includes switches and generators.
   
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 Geological T&E
   
  Tools, equipment, and supplies originally created to observe, measure, and document geological phenomena. This sub-category includes geologists' picks and seismic measuring devices, but excludes tools used for harvesting or mining rock or mineral materials.
   
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 Maintenance T&E
   
  Tools, equipment, and supplies originally created for cleaning or laundering activities, whether carried on in homes or public buildings, whether performed privately or professionally. This sub-category includes specialized tools used for restoring and conserving objects. It includes brooms, soap and clothes irons.
   
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 Mechanical T&E
   
  Tools, equipment, and supplies originally created for the study, measurement, or utilization of the static and dynamic properties of solids, liquids, and gases. This sub-category includes general-purpose mechanical devices, such as wedges and hoists, and specialized devices, such as tensiometers and pressure gauges, used to measure mechanical properties. It also includes nuts, levers and winches.
   
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 Medical & Psychological T&E
   
  Tools, equipment, and supplies originally created for examining, testing, diagnosing, and treating humans. This sub-category includes dental tools, objects used for testing sight and hearing, and objects used for psychological testing or treatment. It includes splints, forceps, and syringes. It does not include objects used to study physical phenomena, classified under "Optical T&E", "Acoustical T&E", "Biological T&E", and "Chemical T&E", or tools for veterinary medicine, classified under "Animal Husbandry T&E".
   
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 Merchandising T&E
   
  Tools, equipment, and supplies originally created to facilitate or enable the exchange of goods or services. This sub-category includes artifacts used to present goods, such as counters, as well as specific product packages. It also includes barrels, capsules and demijohns. General product packages that are primarily intended for transporting goods rather than for marketing them fall within "Containers" in the "Distribution & Transportation Artifacts" category.
   
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 Meteorological T&E
   
  Tools, equipment, and supplies originally created to observe, measure, and document atmospheric phenomena. This sub-category includes weather vanes and barometers.
   
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 Nuclear Physics T&E
   
  Tools, equipment, and supplies originally created to study atomic structure and elementary particles as well as the physical properties of the universe. This sub-category includes isotrons and cyclotrons.
   
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 Optical T&E
   
  Tools, equipment, and supplies originally created to observe, measure, and record light. This sub-category includes commonly used equipment, such as binoculars and microscopes. It also includes magnifying glasses and spectrographs. It excludes specialized artifacts created for other scientific observation, such as visual-acuity charts and telescopes that are used particularly for astronomy.
   
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 Regulative & Protective T&E
   
  Tools, equipment, and supplies originally created for controlling the behaviour of people, providing security or protection for property, and carrying out non-ceremonial activities of governmental organizations (including fire protection, police protection, and voting). This sub-category includes handcuffs, whips, and shackles.
   
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 Surveying & Navigational T&E
   
  Tools, equipment, and supplies originally created to determine the position of an observer relative to known reference points or to indicate the form and extent of a region, such as land surface. This sub-category includes instruments for taking linear and angular measurements, such as sextants and theodolites. It excludes devices for making calculations, classified under "Data Processing T&E", or for recording data graphically, classified under "Drafting T&E". This sub-category differs from "Astronomical T&E" in that the objects in this sub-category are used for applied purposes, not for scientific study.
   
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 Thermal T&E
   
  Tools, equipment, and supplies originally created to observe, measure, and document heat and its effects, such as recording thermometers and bolometers. Specialized artifacts created to serve specific purposes, such as a meteorological thermometer, are excluded from this sub-category.
   
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 Timekeeping T&E
   
  Tools, equipment, and supplies originally created for recording and measuring time. This sub-category includes clocks, sundials and pendulums. It does not include timekeeping artifacts created for specialized purposes, such as chronometers, or instruments used in watchmaking, which are included in the "Watchmaking T&E" sub-category.
   
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 Weights & Measures T&E
   
  Tools, equipment, and supplies originally created to observe, record, and measure mass (weight) or physical dimensions such as length, area, and volume. This sub-category includes general-purpose measuring devices such as precision balances or folding rules. Similarly, it includes compasses, dividers and gauges. It excludes artifacts created to measure time and to measure particular scientific data. Also excluded are specialized measuring devices and gauges such as sextants or carpenters' squares.
   
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 Other T&E for Science & Technology
   
  A tool, equipment or supplies created for any other science or technology.
  6. Tools & Equipment for Communication
  Tools, equipment, and supplies used to enable communication. This category includes those sub-categories for literal and abstract communication, "Printing T&E" and "Musical T&E". This category does not include things produced as communication, such as works of art and documents. These are the artifacts created by the tools of this category, and they are listed in Category 8, "Communication Artifacts".
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 Data Processing T&E
   
  Tools, equipment, and supplies originally created for processing data by manual, mechanical, or electronic means. This sub-category includes numerical and word-processing devices such as abacuses and digital computers, process-control devices such as analog computers, and learning devices such as teaching machines.
   
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 Drafting T&E
   
  Tools, equipment, and supplies, such as T-squares or drafting tables, originally created to be used for precision drawing. This sub-category includes instruments used to record surveying and navigational observations. It does not include general-purpose writing or lettering tools.
   
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 Musical T&E
   
  Tools, equipment, and supplies originally created to produce musical sounds. This sub-category includes devices actively employed in musical performance, such as pianos, saxophones and violins. It excludes equipment that simply transmits sound, as well as acoustical tools and equipment for studying sound.
   
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 Photographic T&E
   
  Tools, equipment, and supplies, such as cameras, film-processing tanks, or enlargers, originally created to capture permanent visual images by optical and chemical means.
   
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 Printing T&E
   
  Tools, equipment, and supplies originally created to reproduce written, photographic, or artistic material. This sub-category includes specialized tools such as handpresses, engraver's blocks, and photocopiers that are used for bookbinding, engraving, etching, lithography, and silk-screening.
   
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 Sound Communication T&E
   
  Tools, equipment, and supplies originally created to amplify or store music, spoken words, or other sounds that are meaningful for human communication. This sub-category includes chimes, microphones and megaphones.
   
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 Telecommunication T&E
   
  Tools, equipment, and supplies originally created to facilitate communicating at a distance, usually by means of electronic equipment. This sub-category includes the telephone, telegraph, radio, and television. It also includes cables, transmitters, and antennas.
   
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 Visual Communication T&E
   
  Tools, equipment, and supplies originally created to be used as visual signs or signalling devices or as means of viewing photographic or other visual images. This sub-category includes railroad lanterns, signal flags, and motion-picture and slide projectors.
   
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 Written Communication T&E
   
  Tools, equipment, and supplies originally created to facilitate communication between people by means of written documents. This sub-category includes tools and supplies used for writing, such as pens, ink, and paper. It also includes agendas, spike files and desk blotters. Excluded are artifacts produced by writing, such as letters, and artifacts that are written upon but that were created for another purpose, such as postcards. These particular exclusions are both "Documentary Artifacts".
   
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 Other T&E for Communication
   
  Tool, equipment or supplies created for any other kind of communication.
  7. Distribution & Transportation Artifacts
  Artifacts originally created to transport or distribute animate and inanimate things. This category also includes artifacts originally created to facilitate such transportation or as an adjunct to such transportation. This category includes propelled vehicles such as automobiles and wheelbarrows as well as containers that facilitate distribution. Because transportation equipment is complex and parts are often collected independently, sub-categories for accessories are offered.
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 Container
   
  Artifacts originally created for packing, shipping, or holding goods and commodities. This sub-category includes bottles, baskets, and cases. Containers created for particular products and used for marketing and merchandising products are listed in "Merchandising T&E".
   
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 Aerospace Transportation Equipment
   
  An artifact originally created to transport people or goods above the surface of the earth, such as airplanes.
   
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 Aerospace Transportation Accessory
   
  An artifact originally created as an accessory to be used in conjunction with the transportation of people or goods above the surface of the earth. This sub-category includes engines and propellers.
   
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 Land Transportation, Animal Powered
   
  An artifact, powered by animal energy, originally created to transport people or goods on land without restriction to a fixed route determined by a track or other guidance device. This sub-category includes dogcarts, carts, stagecoaches and sleds.
   
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 Land Transportation, Human Powered
   
  An artifact, powered by human energy alone, originally created to transport people or goods on land without restriction to a fixed route determined by a track or other guidance device. This sub-category includes stretchers, bicycles, and snowshoes.
   
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 Land Transportation, Motorized
   
  An artifact, powered by some kind of self-acting mechanism such as a motor, originally created to transport people or goods on land without restriction to a fixed route determined by a track or other guidance device. This sub-category includes automobiles and snowmobiles.
   
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 Land Transportation Accessory
   
  An artifact originally created as an accessory used in the transportation of people or goods on land without restriction to a fixed route determined by a track or other guidance device. This sub-category includes hames, wheel chocks, and riding crops.
   
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 Rail Transportation Equipment
   
  An artifact originally created to transport people or goods on or along a fixed route determined by a track or some similar device. This sub-category includes railway cars, carriages and locomotives.
   
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 Rail Transportation Accessory
   
  An artifact originally created as an accessory to the transportation of people or goods on or along a fixed route determined by a track or some similar device. This sub-category includes railway spikes and ties.
   
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 Water Transportation Equipment
   
  An artifact originally created to transport people or goods on or under water. This sub-category includes canoes, scows and submarines.
   
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 Water Transportation Accessory
   
  An artifact originally created as an accessory for the transportation of people or goods on or under water. This sub-category includes rigging, capstans, paddles and pumps.
  8. Communication Artifacts
  Artifacts originally created as expressions of human thought. "Communication Artifacts" comment on, interpret, or enhance people's environments. "Communication Artifacts" can function symbolically or literally. This category excludes the tools and equipment used to create communication artifacts.
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 Advertising Medium
   
  An artifact originally created to call public attention to a product, service, or event and to elicit a specific response in regard to products, services, or events. Generally the intended response is to urge people to acquire, use, or participate in the product, service, or event that is being advertised. This sub-category includes banners and catalogues.
   
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 Decorative Art
   
  An artifact originally created for expressing and communicating ideas, values or attitudes through images, symbols and abstractions. The "Decorative Art" sub-category includes objects produced in commercial quantities for use as non-utilitarian home decoration, such as ceramic knick-knacks and statuettes.
   
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 Original Art, Painting
   
  An artifact originally created for expressing and communicating ideas, values or attitudes through images, symbols and abstractions. A "painting" is an original work of art produced by applying one or more liquid media to a canvas or canvases or a two-dimensional support other than paper. Watercolours are not included in this sub-category, for they are generally done on paper.
   
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 Original Art, Sculpture
   
  An artifact originally created for expressing and communicating ideas, values or attitudes through images, symbols and abstractions. A "sculpture" is an original three-dimensional work of art suggesting shapes, representations or volumes in space.
   
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 Original Art, Work on Paper
   
  An artifact originally created for expressing and communicating ideas, values or attitudes through images, symbols and abstractions. The "Original Art, Work on Paper" sub-category includes two-dimensional works created on a paper support, using a dry or wet medium or by printing. Watercolours are included in this sub-category, for they are generally done on paper.
   
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 Original Art, Other
   
  An artifact originally created for expressing and communicating ideas, values or attitudes through images, symbols and abstractions. The "Original Art, Other" sub-category includes original works of art not included in the "Original Art, Painting," "Original Art, Sculpture" and "Original Art, Work on Paper" sub-categories.
   
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 Ceremonial Artifact
   
  Artifacts originally created for carrying on governmental, fraternal, religious, or other organized and sanctioned societal activities. These artifacts are intended to evoke, symbolize, or express certain aspects of the traditions or heritage of a community or group of people. Usually they are associated with rituals or ceremonies. This sub-category includes: (1) any religious artifact, such as ciboriums and altar pieces (note, though, that personal devotional objects such as religious medals and talismans are classified under "Personal Symbol"); (2) any object used in a ceremony concerned with major personal events or crises, such as birth, puberty, sickness, or death, such as liturgical robes, wedding gowns and baptism sets, or concerned with community events or crises, such as harvest festivals or the need for rain; and (3) any object, such as a Girl Guide troop pennant, used in the ceremonial activities of a fraternity, lodge, club, governmental, or military organization.
   
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 Documentary Artifact
   
  An artifact originally created to communicate information to people. Unlike "Advertising Medium", "Documentary Artifacts" are not generally intended to elicit specific responses in regard to products, services, or events. Instead, they present points of view, images, or sets of ideas, often with the aim of enlightening or swaying people's attitudes. This sub-category includes documents and also artifacts displaying commemorative information on materials other than paper, such as commemorative coins and souvenir plates. It also includes patents, maps, books, plans and microfilms.
   
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 Exchange Medium
   
  An artifact originally created to be used as a medium of exchange, such as coins, currency, or shell money, or as a means of obtaining specific services, such as postage stamps or transportation tokens. Aboriginal trading goods are included in this sub-category.
   
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 Personal Symbol
   
  An artifact originally created to communicate a particular personal belief, achievement, status, or membership. This sub-category includes articles of adornment or clothing worn primarily for their symbolism, such as fraternal rings, academic gowns, or crowns. Shako plates and insignia are part of this sub-category, as are ceremonial vestments and objects, amulets, cockades and scalps. "Personal Symbols" differ from "Ceremonial Artifacts" in that they express individual ideas, not the ideas of a group.
  9. Recreational Artifacts
  Artifacts originally created to be used as toys or to carry on the activities of sports, games, gambling, or public entertainment.
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 Game
   
  An artifact originally created for a competitive activity based upon chance, problem solving, or calculation rather than physical effort and conducted according to stated rules. This sub-category also includes all forms of gambling devices, dominoes, marbles, and card decks.
   
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 Public Entertainment Device
   
  An artifact originally created for the production of non-competitive spectator entertainment. This sub-category includes trapezes and masks.
   
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 Recreational Device
   
  An artifact originally created for a participatory, usually non-competitive, recreational activity other than an athletic game or exercise. This sub-category includes entertainment equipment such as a carousel, a pinball machine, a swing, or a slide, whether such equipment is publicly or privately owned and whether or not charges are associated with its use.
   
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 Sports Equipment
   
  An artifact originally created for a physical activity that is often competitive. This sub-category includes equipment used in all forms of athletic games and exercises, including individual and team sports. It includes dumbbells, ice skates and bowling pins.
   
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 Toy
   
  An artifact originally created as a plaything. Toys often represent functional objects, such as toy hammers and toy ships, or living things, such as baby dolls and stuffed animals. Toys also include objects developed primarily for play, such as balls, tops, and kites, as well as ring-and-pin games, blocks and hoops.
  10. Unclassifiable Artifacts
  Artifacts originally created to serve purposes that cannot be identified at the time the objects are catalogued.
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 Artifact Remnant
   
  A segment or incomplete part of an artifact originally created to fulfill a purpose that cannot be determined or inferred from the fragment. This sub-category includes wood fragments and potsherds.
   
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 Function Unknown
   
  An artifact originally created to serve an unknown purpose.
   
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 Multiple Use Artifact
   
  An artifact originally created to serve a variety of purposes that extend beyond the range of two sub-categories. Tools that have multiple attachments that enable them to serve a range of functions fall into this sub-category, as do hybrid tools that are made of several disparate parts that are used together to perform a particular function, such as fence mending. This sub-category includes rings, waxed paper and clamps.
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