provenience
Definitions
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English
- noun Origin; source; place where found or produced; provenance; -- used especially in the fine arts and in archæology.
Examples
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One problem with using a metal detector to identify buried metal artifacts is that when the metal is dug up, the context, or what archaeologists call provenience, is lost.
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The term "well-documented provenance" refers to an object's ownership history and should not be confused with archaeological "provenience," the find-spot of an object.
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The field specimens we catalogue separately, making careful note to document the provenience, or specific place and level associated with discovery.
2009 Field Report 4 « Interactive Dig Johnson's Island – Unlocking a Civil War Prison
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I realize that this relationship had an unusual provenience, but, you know, so what?
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It is recommended that museums and paleontological researchers do not purchase and/or trade fossils lacking clear provenience information.
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As any good archaeologist will tell you, provenience location, context, etc. is often far more valuable a source of information than the piece itself.
Note
The word 'provenience' comes from a Latin word meaning 'to come forth'.
