Provenance on the object, or an account of it in written materials from the same era, an object of study in archaeology or cultural anthropology may have an early provenance – a known history that predates modern research – then a provenience from its modern finding, and finally a continued provenance relating to its handling and storage or display after the modern acquisition. Evidence of provenance in the more general sense can be of importance in archaeology. Fakes are not unknown, and finds are sometimes removed from the context in which they were found without documentation, reducing their value to science.
To be, or not to be vndiſcouered Countrey, from whoſe Borne<br> No Traueller returnes, Puzels the will,<br> And makes vs rather beare those illes we haue,<br> Then flye to others that we know not of.<br> Thus Conſcience does make Cowards of vs all,<br> And thus the Natiue hew of Resolution<br> Is ſicklied o’re, with the pale caſt of Thought,<br> And enterprizes of great pith and moment,<br> With this regard their Currants turne away,<br> And looſe the name of Action. Soft you now,<br> The faire "Ophelia?" Nimph, in thy Orizons<br> Be all my ſinnes remembred. "To be, or not to be" is one of the most widely