Dear All,
Just a word of 'defence' for the thesaurus. In the "Introduction" do
they say:
"The Materials thesaurus was initially compiled from index terms
generated from computer records created using curatorial
documentation and the objects themselves. ... It is stressed that the
final listing is not intended as a scientific classification system,
rather it is a reflection of the terminology, both current and
historical, in use in curatorial departments in The British Museum."
Hence the difficulties identified here.
The use of it outside the BM is purely voluntary, by the request of
an organisation, and by kind their permission and at no cost.
Gordon.
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