It was limiting for him to collect, classify, display and display objects based solely on their seemingly singular functional purpose. For example, consider a rattle made by an individual from a Native American tribe. For Pitt-Rivers, the object would be classified only by its function as a device used to make noise when shaken, and could be compared to visually comparable rattles from the same tribe and others. From these comparisons one could establish a continuum showing the progression of similar rattles from simple to complex and, for Pitt-Rivers, effectively present the evolution of an aspect of human culture. For Boas, his studies would reveal more meaning in the rattle as an individual and unique object. Not only does the rattle have a functional purpose, but behind that purpose lie deeper meanings. Some rattles may be religious or ceremonial in their creation, as some noises may ward off evil spirits. Others were perhaps used for recreational purposes by children who appreciated the noise produced by the rattle. In a Boasian tribal arrangement, that deeper function would be made apparent to the museum visitor, probably revealing more about the particular rattle in question than about a typological sequence of