Plans and Profiles: Claidhbh Ó Gibne Experimenting with Neolithic Watercraft in Ireland

Claidhbh Ó Gibne

Over the summer I exchanged a few e-mail with a fellow in Ireland named Claidhbh Ó Gibne who researches and builds traditional skin currachs.  He's undertaken an ambitious project to construct a larger ocean going vessel built using the same principles as the smaller currachs.  We know that Ireland's Neolithic inhabitants were part of a larger sphere of contact with Europe, but what do we know about their methods for making sea voyages 5000 years ago?  I asked him about his project:

Plans and Profiles #20. Claidhbh Ó Gibne Experimenting with Neolithic Watercraft in Ireland

1) Tell me a little bit about your project.

The Bovinda on the water

I have always been intrigued with the Stone Age, perhaps its because I have lived in an area where, 5,000 years ago, a great complex of burial chambers was built - known as Newgrange. This neolithic passage tomb culture travelled across from Europe to Ireland before the era of metal. They then continued to voyage northwards, settling in Orkney, north of Scotland where they strove to leave a legacy to their very existence in the form of a great passage tombs. The elephant in the room of course is the sea that lies between all the these countries and as a lure it was just too exciting not to bite. The other aspect of this, is the human story that tells of how we developed as a civilisation once we obtained a manageable food source, namely - the cow, which allowed us expand to the further corners of the world. This is what inspired the Newgrange Currach Project: the construction of a wicker framed, skin-covered boat used by mariners in prehistoric times. We plan to recreate ancient voyages that would have been undertaken by our ancestors over five thousand years ago. This 36 ft leather boat, Bovinda, was built as much as a trophy to salute human endeavour.while at the same time, as an acknowledgement that the cow today, is seen reluctantly as an archaic form of food production. Perhaps it symbolises the end of an era on the human journey and the beginning of this new voyage we seek to begin, that of renewal. (Hope that's not too deep!!)


2) How did you become interested in this particular problem?

The area where I live, along by the river Boyne, was one of the last places where woven skin boats were made to fish salmon, surviving on our river until as late as 1961, so I always had an interest in making these craft and reintroducing them onto the river. The question that all the archaeologists pose when talking about the tomb builders, is: How did our Neolithic ancestors transport such large stones from locations along the coastline which they used to ornate their tombs. When weaving our small traditional river boats, it became obvious to me that any shape or size could be made using this traditional method, and therefore I began to experiment with them.


3) Has your project changed since you began?

Bovinda sea trials

The swings and roundabouts associated with any project like this are so horrendous, that no one would have taken it on if they had known in advance. To answer whether my project has changed, yes...like a contortionist's performance out on stage, but like all good shows it worked its self out in the end. I would have liked to have used more raw hide in the construction and perhaps have had velum for the sails. A lot more experimentation is needed on leather tanning, especially natural sleeves of the lower legs of animals. I would have liked for the boat to have been smaller and lighter but I have had to add in a lot of extra support boughs due to its size. It quickly became apparent that the boat was to be double in size and have half the work force - as I said swings and roundabouts! The project was initially to be a woven imitation of the 36 foot Colmcille that is kept by the Causeway heritage group in Co Antrim. But a film documentary maker's imagination combined with a sailor's appetite always for more saw the project grow incrementally out of all proportion, least to say neither sailor nor film maker were there at the end.


4) If you could ask a Stone Age mariner one question, what would it be?

I would ask him (or her) if they tonged or sewed the leather or skin onto their boats. If they tonged, I would ask if they used bird bone flutes to offer the rawhide thread through the holes? Or if they sewed I would ask what materials and tools was most successful for sewing with and if they ever came across an alternative to black spruce roots, as we don't have that over here! Ooops - think that's more than one question!! Basically, I would quiz them about their sewing techniques....I spent many many months experimenting with different materials and stitching methods before I settled on one!


5) Has your research taught you anything about yourself ?

Yes it has! I realise now how much I love a challenging journey, not too bothered about the destination, just the journey getting there!
Also I learnt that having no money for long stretches of time can hurt the hell out of your dignity, but not your pride!


6) How do you unwind when you need to get away from your research?

I like to unwind by playing music on my fiddle! And as this seems to wind everyone else up in the morning, I normally retire to the out doors with my cup of tea and play to the blackbirds. I like to meet up with friends and have fun on the river in our little leather boats, and the odd evening I get to play music with my sons and daughter who, being very good musicians manage to put up with me...only because I'm their Dad!!
Where I live, there are some beautiful walks at my doorstep and a dog who will always remind you. When the house is quiet, or when I manage to find a little corner for myself away from the busy bustle of the day, I love wood carving and I'm big into cultural heritage so carving Celtic design with knots as deep as I can make them is my favourite. I like to do illustrations and to draw Celtic designs which usually turns into a carving after some time, or yes, you got it, drawing detailed sketches of the boat. I get great enjoyment out of writing too!


7) What archaeological discovery or project do you wish you could have been part of?

Don't think a leather boat has ever been found but if ever there is such a find, thats where I would like to be, looking for answers to many of my questions, seeing how close I was to the real McCoy! So I would like to be on an Archaeological excavation working on a dig that uncovered a sea-going leather boat somewhere along the coast, in a nomadic settlement along side some middens!


8) What's next for you?

By next March, weather permitting of course, we hope to take Bovinda out again. The leather square sail is at present being improved upon and time permitting I will have a small leather lateen sail to experiment with too.. The oars of alder poles are at the moment being bent in the opposite direction in an attempt to straighten out the kinks. and I've had some time to experiment with two new quarter rudders made of elm and oak. So a lot going on and a lot to do -


9) What books or websites would you recommend if people want to learn more about your area of interest in general? Or your project in particular?

Of course I will recommend my own book for reading about skin currachs (Boyne Currach - from beneath the shadow of Newgrange, published by Fourcourts Press 2012). Other books that I would recommend would be Facing the Ocean by Barry Cunliffe, Sinews of Survival and Bark Canoes and Skin Boats of North America. With website we have a website www.boynecurrach.com and a face book page too! when I was researching about the boat I found that PaleoPlanet was the most helpful forum with many subscribers only to willing to give advise and suggestions.

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Are you part of an archaeological research project or perhaps you know an archaeology student who could use a boost in exposure. I'd love to hear your recommendations for future interviews. elfshot.tim@gmail.com

Photo Credits: 

All photos Claidhbh Gibne
Plans and Profiles Banner, Tim Rast based on a linocut by Lori White

Plans and Profiles: Elaine Anton, Archaeology and Ethnology Collections Manager at The Rooms

Elaine Anton at The Rooms
(photo: Anne Chafe)

Elaine Anton manages the archaeology and ethnology collections stored and displayed at The Rooms here in St. John's.  Her job in the Provincial Museum Division is to keep the collections organized and accessible, which are two essential tasks.  Collections Managers, like Elaine, create the difference between a pile of boxes in a basement and a living collection that is an asset to researchers, students and the community.  Archaeological collections belong to all of us and there's a heavy responsibility to keep them relevant to the people of today, while preserving them for future generations.

Plans and Profiles #19: Elaine Anton, Collections Manager for Archaeology and Ethnology at The Rooms

1) Tell me a little bit about your job.

I’m the Collections Manager for Archaeology and Ethnology at The Rooms in the Provincial Museum Division. A mouthful, but essentially I look after all of the archaeology collections that have been transferred here after being submitted to the province via the Provincial Archaeology Office. I also look after a relatively small Ethnology collection of Innu, Inuit and Mi’kmaq artifacts.

While I've held a number of different positions with the Museum since I started, they've always overlapped in one way or another with collections management. Over the past several years a lot of my work has involved supporting exhibitions here at The Rooms, which means helping to select artifacts and getting them ready to go on display, assisting with text writing and editing, and maintaining the databases that track all of the artifacts used.

Elaine giving a tour of the vaults to researchers attending
a historical archaeology conference in St. John's
(photo: Lori Temple)

Supporting researchers who want to look at the province’s archaeology collection is also a primary function of the position. We've assisted many students from Memorial University as well as hosting researchers from across Canada and beyond. We have a great lab space that allows people to come down and spend a bit of time with the collections.

Finally we also support a number of loans of artifacts for exhibitions throughout the country, and particularly to community museums around the province every summer.


2) How did you become interested in this particular field?

Artifacts in the cabinets

I think I've always enjoyed organizing things and discovering things in boxes. I grew up going to the Royal Ontario Museum and the Ontario Science Centre a lot. I remember really liking the discovery gallery the ROM had in the basement for kids that had all these edukits you could take down and open up. There were animal skeletons, Egyptian hieroglyphics puzzles and other museum behind-the-scenes sort of things. And of course once you were finished you had to pack everything back neatly into the box and return it to the shelves.

As for my adult career path to collections management, I think it started when I took a field school when I was an undergrad at the University of Toronto. I found that I really enjoyed the lab part of archaeology work - cleaning the artifacts, labeling them, organizing them. While there’s something neat about finding that special artifact in the ground, I like being able to see the bigger picture back in the lab. And there’s also discovering artifact gems that didn't make themselves known until they were cleaned.


3) Has your job changed since you originally began working there? How?

The Archaeology and Ethnology lab at The Rooms.
(Don't use the door for scale - its like 10 feet tall)

I began working at the museum in 1998 when we were The Newfoundland Museum and we were in the old museum building on Duckworth St. In 2005 we opened here at The Rooms. The improved space and facilities made the job a lot easier. We no longer had to squeeze researchers into one room shared with cabinets stacked three high. This is good too since over the past ten years there has been an increase in the number of researchers who come down to look at our collections.

Of course with the improved building came also improved exhibition space which means we’ve been able to get a lot more artifacts out and on display since 2005. I would say that the increased involvement of the collections manager in exhibitions is one of the main ways the job has changed.


4) What’s one thing that you wish archaeologists would do to make your job easier?

Be as organized as you possibly can be.

Local and international researchers make use of collections.

This would cover ensuring you’re collecting the right information in the field, making sure your cataloguing is clear and correct and reviewing your collections before you submit them to the Provincial Archaeology Office to ensure all the artifacts are accounted for and the proper documentation accompanies it.

The thing to keep in mind with collections is to think about being someone who opens the boxes of what you have submitted today fifteen years from now. Will it make sense to someone else? Can they read your catalogue numbers? Will they be able to find everything possible about the site? Will they be able to use your work to help answer future questions?

Being as organized as you possibly can be also holds true for coming down to The Rooms to research. Getting in touch with me a week or two at least before you want to do research is good since we do go through busy times when it’s not always possible to arrange something on short notice. As well, the more information you have about what you want to look at, the better I can help get what you need.


5) If you could give your younger self advice at the start of your career, what would it be?

Do what you did.

I was very fortunate to have had the variety of experiences I did. This allowed me to end up with a broad set of skills that lets me do a number of different things easily.


6) Are there skills that you didn't learn in school that are important in your job? What are they?

The Vaults

The training I had as a conservator through my Artifact Conservation Techniques program at Sir Sandford Fleming collage, along with the eight month internship I had at the Newfoundland Museum really provided an excellent foundation for this job. This was further complimented by the work I did for my MA at MUN on Labrador Palaeoeskimo collections.

Beyond what I was taught, I would list being organized and being able to pay attention to detail are what is needed in this position – which often can’t be taught so much but are traits people who do this work have.

Computer applications have changed so much over the years. As such, you need to be computer comfortable and learn new programs as they come along and try be open to change as best as possible.


7) How do you unwind when you need to get away from your job?

Elaine in Spain. (Photo: Lori White)

I really enjoy travel. I find physically removing myself from my day- to-day environment allows me to completely let go of all work thoughts and allows me to relax - which is something everyone should do, despite how busy things may be! And while some museum and archaeology site visits are fun when on holiday, I equally enjoy just roaming around a city or sitting by the pool with a book and a drink.


8) If you had to pick a fictional character to work as your assistant, who would you pick? Why?

Doctor Who for his insatiable curiosity and for the ability to use The Tardis to time travel and maybe go back and figure out just what the heck *that* artifact is! - While any past Doctor would be good the particularly quirky current Matt Smith version would be a fun one.


9) What books or websites would you recommend if people want to learn more about your field of work in general? Or your job in particular?

Researcher space in the Lab

For collections management principles and policies:

Things Great and Small: Collections Management Policies by John E. Simmons, 2005

Collection Conundrums: Solving Collections Management Mysteries, Rebecca Buck and Jean Gilmore Eds., 2007


For basic museum operations and exhibit work:

Museum Basics by Timothy Ambrose and Crispin Paine (Apr 12 2006)

The Manual of Museum Exhibitions By Barry Lord and Gail Dexter Lord, 2002

If you want to view archaeology collections at The Rooms, you can contact me at eanton@therooms.ca

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Do you know someone with an interesting job in archaeology?  Maybe its you?  Let me know: elfshot.tim@gmail.com. 

Photo Credits: 

Elaine Anton, unless otherwise noted in the caption

Plans and Profiles banner: Tim Rast, based on a linocut by Lori White

Plans and Profiles: Kasia Szremski Researching Interactions and Agriculture in Peru

Kasia Szremski Excavating a camelid
mandible (photo: Jordan Farfan Lopez)

Kasia Szremski is an archaeologist completing her PhD research on ancient agricultural societies who lived on the slopes of the Peruvian Andes.  She is studying at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee and as she moves into the final phase of her studies, she has set up a crowdfunding initiative to cover the costs of some important radiocarbon dates and publishing fees.  I asked Kasia about her research, the evolution of her project and crowdfunding...

Plans and Profiles #18: Kasia Szremski, Interaction and Agriculture in the Ancient Andes

1) Tell me a little bit about your project.

Salitre

My project focuses on understanding the interactions between coastal, highland, and local mid-valley (chaupiyungino) groups who all lived in the Huanangue Valley on the western slopes of the Central Andes during the Late Intermediate Period (1100-1470 CE). Specifically, I am interested in how interactions between these groups affected agricultural production, and vice versa, how agricultural production affected inter-group interactions. I began investigating these matters in 2008 and 2009 by conducting survey in the Huanangue Valley as the valley had not yet been studied archaeologically. During survey, we documented evidence for occupation from the Late Archaic Period (3000 – 1800 BCE) to the Late Horizon (1470 – 1532 CE). Furthermore, for the time period that I am interested in, the Late Intermediate Period, we were able to document the presence of four different groups: the coastal Chancay, probable Atavillos from the highlands, local mid-valley groups, and a fourth group whose cultural affiliation is still unclear. In order to better understand the dynamics of interaction between these groups, I excavated at a site occupied by local mid-valley people (Campo Libre) and a site occupied by the coastal Chancay (Salitre).

2) How did you become interested in this particular problem?

One of the things that I am really interested in is how social identities are formed and maintained/transformed over time. Since Barth, we have known that interaction between groups is an important part of identity formation and there have been several interesting archaeological studies, particularly in the Classical world, looking at how interaction between different groups lead to the formation of Greek and Roman identities (for example, see Knapp and Van Dommelen 2010). The Andes are also a great place to study the impact of intergroup interaction on identity, because it is a region that has extreme ethnic and ecological diversity and many different groups had to interact with each other in order to gain access to different natural resources. However, while many researchers studied interaction between expansive groups such as the Inka or the Wari and the groups that they respectively conquered, less attention has been paid to interaction between small-scale, non-state groups. I feel that studying interaction between these smaller groups is important because it can provide important insight into what local geopolitics were like before expansive groups come into the area as well as to better understand how local geopolitics affected larger regional processes.

Cerro Blanco

I settled on the Huanangue Valley kind of by accident. Originally, I wanted to do my dissertation at a site called San Jose de Cañas, which is a big Chancay administrative center in the lower part of the Huaura Drainage. However, the land that the site is on was illegally sold to the president of a local sugar processing plant and he made it impossible for me to access the site. As such, I bought air photos for the middle part of the Huaura drainage and began exploring the northern branch (also known as the Huaura River). I wasn’t really having any luck with the northern branch, and I starting looking at the small section of the southern branch that appeared in my air photos and saw this huge site (Cerro Blanco- this is where I hope to do my post-doc work) and thought, hmmm, maybe I should go check that valley out.

3) Why did you choose crowdfunding as a means to support your research?

Kasia (right) excavating in a pit near a wall

 (Photo: Luisa Hinostroza)

I chose crowdfunding because, I think that it is an interesting way for scientists and the public to interact. Based on conversations that I have had with people outside of science, it seems clear that the public at large don’t have a clear idea of exactly what it is that scientists do, or how scientists use their grant money. This becomes particularly obvious when one looks at the comment section at the end of articles on scientific discoveries in media, or when one watches Fox News “report” on things like climate change or the infamous duck penis study. Crowdfunding is one way to help bridge this gap by getting the public to be actively involved in scientific research. For example, on Microryza, the crowdfunding platform that I am using, not only do you have to explain your project and justify your budget, but you provide your backers with periodic updates about your research, which gives the donors an insider’s view of how discoveries are actually made. You can see my page here, as an example.  Furthermore, I think that crowdfunding may become an important source of funding for small, seed projects, especially for younger researchers since the competition for traditional grants has become exceptionally fierce.

4) If you could ask the people who lived at your site(s) one question what would it be?

Campo Libre

I would ask the people at Campo Libre why they liked building crooked walls! Mapping that site was so frustrating sometimes because none of the walls are straight, and buildings rarely had walls that met at right angles. Also, when building rooms, they really like to make one long wall that would curve around at the corner in order to form two sides of the room, and then they would build two shorter walls to close off the structure. I really want to know why they did that, because it seems like such an unusual way to build, at least for the region.


5) Why did you choose Vanderbilt University?

After I completed my undergraduate degree at the University of Chicago, I knew that I wanted to pursue a PhD in Andean archaeology but was unsure of where to apply. As much as I loved Chicago, I knew was that I couldn’t stand another Chicago winter! I consulted with one of my professors, and he suggested that I check out Vanderbilt, so I did some online research and was immediately impressed by what the department had to offer and I also really like the theoretical approach taken by many members of the faculty. Overall, my time at Vanderbilt has been great, we have a very small student to faculty ratio and the faculty is very supportive of student research initiatives. We also have a really tight knit graduate community, so overall the experience there has been really great.

6) How do you unwind when you need to get away from your research?

I am an avid runner and find that running is the best way to unwind and relax after a long day. While we were excavating, I became really well known in Sayan, where our field house was, because I would run every evening after getting back from the field. This proved to be quite the attraction for the local kids, who would track me down every afternoon in order to find out what time I was planning to run that day so that they could join me. Since starting grad school, I have competed in 5 marathons, and right now am getting ready for my 6th!

7) If you could give your younger self advice at the start of your career, what would it be?

I think I would tell my younger self to slow down and relax a little bit and not to worry so much about the little stuff.


8) What archaeological discovery or project do you wish you could have been part of?

Oh, there are so many! I have always been fascinated by Egyptian archaeology and I think it would have been amazing to have worked on some of the early expeditions in the 20’s and 30’s. In terms of more modern projects, I would love the chance to work at Cahokia or at Teotihuacan, which are my two favorite non-Andean sites. I finally got the chance to visit Cahokia last year and it was amazing. I hope to make it to Teotihuacan soon.

9) What books or websites would you recommend if people want to learn more about your area of interest in general? Or your project in particular?

Unfortunately, the region where I work is badly understudied and there aren’t very many publications, yet. However, there are a bunch of projects that have started in the Huaura drainage over the last 5 years, so hopefully this will change soon! The best source of information about the Chancay culture is Estudios sobre la Cultural Chancay, edited by Andrej Kranowski. Also, Maria Rostworowski’s Señorios Indigenas de Lima y Canta has some interesting information about the political organization of Huaura valley groups during the early part of the Colonial Period. The literature on Interaction Theory is extensive, but I think that Bernard Knapp gives a good overview of the dominate themes in Prehistoric and Protohistoric Cyprus.

You can follow and support Kasia's research on the crowdfunding website Microryza: How did feasting promote cooperation between cultures in the ancient Andes?

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Do you have a research project that you would like to see profiled here or know of a student, colleague or mentor whose work should be highlighted? Drop me a note and let me know: elfshot.tim@gmail.com

Photo Credits:
Kasia Szremski, unless otherwise noted in the captions
Plans and Profiles Banner, Tim Rast based on a linocut by Lori White

Plans and Profiles: Latonia Hartery Researching Plant Remains at Palaeoeskimo Sites

Latonia Hartery, in a snowstorm,
 80 degrees north at Fort Conger,
 Ellesmere Island.

Latonia Hartery is an archaeologist from Newfoundland, who completed an MA and PhD at the University of Calgary, before returning to Memorial University of Newfoundland to work on a Post-Doc.  I've known Latonia and had the opportunity to work with her off and on for the past fifteen years.  She keeps an exhausting schedule and when she's not researching microscopic plant residues on Palaeoeskimo artifacts, she's leading tours of archaeological sites in Greenland and the Canadian Arctic, travelling, writing, and producing documentaries.  Her research into plant stones and starches was just beginning as our time working together on Newfoundland's northern peninsula drew to a close, so I asked her about where that line of inquiry has taken her...

Plans and Profiles #17: Latonia Hartery, Microscopic Plant Remains from Palaeoeskimo Sites and Artifacts 

1) Tell me a little bit about your project.

Well, let’s see. Generally speaking, and since 1998, I have been working in Bird Cove-Plum Point, on Newfoundland’s Northern Peninsula. There are 36 archaeological sites in the area that date from about 5000 years ago to the historic period. I have worked with a number of wonderful scholars namely David Reader, Stephen Hull, Miki Lee and of course, you. It’s one of the biggest joys of my life, working with that community. It’s also the place where I collected my PhD data, at a Dorset Paleoeskimo site called Peat Garden North. Recently, I have taken a break from research there to edit/work on a book which summarizes the results from the main sites excavated so far. I’m nearing the end now. Thank heavens!

More specifically, I am SSHRC Post-Doctoral Fellow at Memorial University, searching for microscopic phytoliths and starch on Paleoeskimo stone tools and in soil samples. Mike Deal is my supervisor. Both phytoliths and starch have unique shapes and features, particular to species, that help us identify which plant they belong to.

Town of Bird Cove looking west. (Photo: Dennis Minty)

2) How did you become interested in this particular problem?

Corn starch grain (photo: Brian Kooyman)

I first began investigating phytoliths and starch at Peat Garden North (PGN). It’s a special site, in the sense that it has multiple lines of evidence indicating it was occupied in the late spring and summer. It has two lightly constructed houses, a shellfish midden (scallops and mussels), and more migratory bird remains than seal (about 63% birds). We don’t have a lot of data here in Newfoundland for this time of year. After testing PGN soil for macrobotanical plant remains, the results were nil, except for a couple of raspberry seeds, and spruce needles. It didn’t make sense, however, that there were no plant remains, given the warm season of occupation. I was doing my PhD at the University of Calgary, where people were working on phytoliths and starch research for sites associated with agricultural/complex societies. I thought it might be a long shot to use this mode of inquiry for Arctic hunter-gatherers, but it worked out in the end. By testing soils, and residues on the edges of stone tools, I was able to determine that the people who lived there used at least 26 species of plants. That’s a big jump from two.


3) Has your project changed since you originally began working on it? How?

Potato Starch Grain (Photo: Brian Kooyman)

It’s changed quite a bit - it is no longer site specific. I am now testing other Paleoeskimo sites in Bird Cove. I’m also attempting to make cross-cultural and geographic comparisons/observations about plant use. For example, I recently went to Copenhagen to work with Bjarne Grønnow and Jens Fog Jensen on two Greenland collections. I’m also working with Priscilla Renouf and her team to test artifacts and soils from Phillip’s Garden, and will experiment with Paleoeskimo sites from the Arctic Archipelago. I am currently working with Mike and Vaughan Grimes to extract calculus from teeth of a British Naval Cemetery population dated to 1725-1825. Because hygiene was different in the past, phytoliths and starch were often trapped in calculus deposits. We have found lots of starch, much of which seems to be potato, and I am sure this surprises no one. But, the important thing is we know our method works because in a month, we will sample calculus from Dorset Paleoeskimo teeth as well. We’re also working together to test the interior of Woodland Period ceramic pots from Nova Scotia. So as you can see, phytolith and starch studies have a wide application. My favourite studies have been about a) phytoliths from dinosaur coprolites in India, which help determine their habitat and diet, b) starch grains from the calculus on Neanderthal teeth to show they were consuming wheat, barley, legumes, and date palm fruit, and c) phytoliths from 4000 year old noodles in Laijia, China which showed they were made from millet. Unbelievable!


4) If you could ask the people who lived at your site(s) one question what would it be?

The chert bear from Peat Garden North
(Photo: Latonia Hartery)

I’d probably ask so much at once, it would come out as a garbled mess. I think that while there is much to learn, we’ve made some pretty good in-roads on things like settlement, subsistence and site locations. So, I’d likely ask something related to ideology and art. At Peat Garden North, we once found a polar bear in an outstretched-flying shape, flintknapped in chert. I’d love to ask the maker why it was made, and what does it mean, or perhaps a question about why art is created in general. These are simple questions, but the answers I am sure, much more complicated.


5) Was there something that you believed or expected to be true at the start of this research that you’ve since disproven?

I guess it’s that plants were more important to Paleoeskimo people, and Arctic people in general, than we realize. While they may not make up as much of the diet as sea mammals, they were still consumed, provided much-needed nutrients, and had many uses such as for baskets, floor coverings (they used grass at Peat Garden North for this purpose), clothing, fuel, tools - the list goes on. In many early ethnographies, and 5th Thule monographs for example, observations on plant use were rarely reported. So, I suppose we haven’t been as inclined to study it archaeologically. But when you dig deeper, develop ways to research it, and pose the questions, a new world of information opens up.


6) If you had to pick one artifact or feature that encapsulates your research what would it be? Can you describe it?

Great question. It’s a little soapstone pot you and I found at Peat Garden North. Not more than the size of the palm of your hand, it was located in the middle of a house, on an axial passage. It was stained on the inside, from what we assumed must simply be oil, since the vessel was likely a lamp or pot. However, once I tested the interior of the pot for starch and phytoliths, a number of different, extremely large starch grains belonging to the roots of several plant species, were recovered. It’s not moss, certainly, because moss doesn’t contain starch. It was eye-opening in terms of understanding its function, and I have recently sampled residues from a pot at Phillip’s Garden to see if it contains multiple plant species also. So at the end of the day, the vessel and its contents are metaphorical for the research I’m doing in general, because I first thought something that was a standard way of thinking, which was eventually disproven.

Soapstone pot from Peat Garden North, and an example of some of the starch grains found inside. Top Right is starch grain, Left is cross polarized image of the starch showing birefringence. (Photo: Latonia Hartery)

7) How do you unwind when you need to get away from your research?

When I’m not doing research, I’m usually making documentaries or fictional films. In the past few years, I’ve made a few short films, as well as written and directed a couple of documentaries for the CBC called The Last Sardine Outpost and Rum Running. I’ve also production managed 8 documentaries for that broadcaster. It’s not exactly resting, but it’s pretty incredible what a change in activities can do. I like watching movies as well, especially foreign films, The Lives of Others – A German film by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, is one of the best movies I’ve ever seen. I don’t watch lots of TV but I did watch Vikings on HBO. It wasn’t bad! The opening credit sequence and music is quite good, that’s reason enough to watch it.


8) There’s a lot of travelling and writing in archaeology. Any tips in either category?

Latonia and Aaju Peter (Inuit Lawyer, Designer, Singer, 

Sealing Activist) singing “Return of the Sun” song on 

top of a fjord (Photo: Dennis Minty)

I’ll take the travelling one. In the past two years alone, for Arctic research and for filmmaking, I travelled almost 450 000km. Don’t rely on these to save your life, but just to up the joy factor of your trip. 1) Only take what you need. Nothing worse than lugging around a bunch of things you never end up using. Sometimes I pack, then force myself to get rid of 30-40% of it. 2) Where ever you go, take a few minutes to learn words in that language such as hello, thank you, I am XYZ, you’re country is nice, the beer here is tasty - anything really. Once people realize you have made this effort, a bond is automatically formed. 3) Lots of places I go are cold, so I try to find out how local people keep warm, and then I do the same. While, I have some ‘high tech’ gear, I have hand-made parkas, seal-skin boots and mitts, and even made myself an amauti. It’s a bit of work to get/make but I don’t remember the last time I was cold in the north. But do remember having to share my clothes with people dressed in gortex, etc 4) Bring small gifts for people. Bring them for people you know, and for people you haven’t even met yet. Chances are, someone, somewhere, will do something nice for you along the way 5) Here’s my fave, learn a song from your home, something with a fast tune. Music is universal and makes everyone’s life better. It’s side-splitting to be in a place where you can’t speak the same language, but can sing a song with gusto while people laugh/listen and try to join in. I taught a few Greenlanders in Sisimiut how to sing I’se the B’y once -then promptly found myself in their house eating halibut and drinking tea.


9) What books or websites would you recommend if people want to learn more about your area of interest in general? Or your project in particular? 

Yes, well Elfshot and Steve Hull’s are among the best, but I suspect your readers know those already. Here’s the site for my non-profit org (www.aminainc.org), and the Bird Cove area (www.bigdroke.ca). Superstar phytolith and starch researcher Delores Piperno has a home page and a link to all her stellar publications here: http://anthropology.si.edu/archaeobio/piperno.html.

For books, try Ancient Starch Research, edited by Torrence and Barton, and Phytoliths: A Comprehensive Guide for Archaeologists and Paleoecologists by Piperno. Some of my early results are in the Bar Series 2006 with Rankin and Ramsden as editors, and there is my PhD, but a shortened form of those results will appear in our book soon.

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Would you like to see your work profiled here? Or perhaps that of a student or colleague?  Send me a note, I'd love to hear from you: elfshot.tim@gmail.com

Photo Credits: 

As indicated in the photo captions.
Plans and Profiles Banner, Tim Rast based on a linocut by Lori White

Plans and Profiles: Ryan Howell Researching Fur Trade Era Sites in Wisconsin

Ryan Howell at Roman baths in England

Ryan Howell is a professional archaeologist with Southern Minnesota Archaeological Consulting, Inc (SMAC) who makes his living in Cultural Resource Management.  Laws can vary between different countries, states, and provinces, but generally if a development is going to take place that impacts the land, then an archaeological assessment is required to determine what cultural resources may lie in its path.  Consulting archaeologists like Ryan find ways to lessen the impact on the sites by advising the developers to avoid or protect archaeological resources where possible and by scientifically recording or excavating them if they can't be avoided.  Sometimes you choose the research project and sometimes the research project chooses you.

Plans and Profiles #16. Ryan Howell, Multi-cultural Fur Trade Era Sites of Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin

1) Tell me a little bit about your project.

Ryan exploring an early 1810 French
cabin foundation

Well, as a CRM (cultural resource management) or "salvage" archaeologist I work throughout the United States on projects of almost every archaeological period, description and region. I then take research questions that I encounter in the field an make them my own particular research interests. Probably my favorite research project currently is working on the 1680-1820 Fur Trade era sites of Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin USA. I find the social dynamics of this period fascinating, as it was a period of great cultural admixing and socio-cultural diversity. You had a mix of French Creoles, Metis, Scots, English, Spanish, Yankee-Americans, Free African Americans, and Native Americans (who then still held significant to dominant military, economic and political power in the region) all living and working together in relative harmony.

French-Fox 18th Century Composite Map (Click to Enlarge)

2) How did you become interested in this particular problem?

Fur Trade Goods

I was aware of the Prairie du Chien area's rich history and its general lack of Early Historic-era archaeological research previous to working in the field and had began to make contacts with local historians, artifact collectors and advocational archaeologists while working for the Mississippi Valley Archaeology Center (MVAC) out of the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. My interest grew as I worked on several projects in the area, including a large highway survey for MVAC that went close to several important Fur Trade era sites including a lost 1750's stockaded French-era "fort" in 2002-2003.

3) Has your project changed since you originally began working on it? How?

Yes, the work is on-going and like most research topics has branched out in many tangents. Prairie du Chien played a part in the War of 1812 and many of the Fur Trade era sights saw use during a battle of that war in the area, the history of Native American settlement and eventual abandonment of the area is also a fascinating topic. Right now I am focused more on protecting the remaining period sites than I am in digging them professionally. I am also focused on trying to involve local school groups and other local citizens in learning about and protecting the history that exists under their homes and sidewalks.

Prairie du Chien 1830. Lewis colour litho-edited

4) If you could ask the people who lived at your site(s) one question what would it be?

Fur Trade. Indians Bartering Coke Smyth 1842

What was it like to live in such a multi-cultural society in an era when stereo-types, a strict social-hierarchy and racism were not only common place, but almost universally excepted and encouraged? Was the relative peace and harmony of the area merely a result of the need for economic cooperation or was there a level of tolerance and mutual respect that developed between the local people(s) themselves? These are questions and problems we still grapple with in the 21st century, maybe the people of the 17th-19th centuries have lessons to teach us....


5) Why did you choose a career in Cultural Resource Management?

I always enjoyed the fieldwork side of archaeology, and wanted a career where I would be digging more that I would be teaching or working in a museum. I also enjoy the challenge of needing to adapt to new sites, periods and regional research issues "on the fly". Never knowing what kind of sites you might encounter from week to week keeps the work ever challenging and exciting. There was also the reality (and I became aware of this very early in my undergraduate years) that in the US about 90-95% of the available archaeological jobs are CRM-related and if you want to get paid to do what you love in the US, CRM is the place you are going to do it.

1825 Treaty at Prairie du Chien

6) If you could give your younger self advice at the start of your career, what would it be?

I was very focused on working constantly, year-round and always seeking management opportunities and achieving advancement goals in my early CRM career. I passed up a lot of great volunteer opportunities to work abroad and thereby get to work with a more diverse group of archaeologists with very different methodological and theoretical perspectives. I do this as much as I can now, but it is a lot more difficult to do so the later you get on in life and your career. If I could do it over again I would spend less focus and energy on "climbing the ladder" and more on broadening my perspective.


7) How do you unwind when you need to get away from your research?

Fox - French Portraits

I like to hunt and fish, since most of the people I study were hunter/gathers I think a knowledge of how to live and subsist on the landscape my "study group" lived in/on is essential and has made me a better archaeologist. I also flintknapp, but again it makes me better at understanding and "reading" stone tools. I also enjoy reading, but what do I read for fun- archaeology and history books of course. The reality of it is that if you really enjoy archaeology it can become a bit obsessive. Like the old saying goes "If you love what you do for a living, you never "work" a day in your life". 

Prairie du Chien French Areas

8) What is one thing that you can’t imagine doing fieldwork without?

A map. Or nowadays a GPS overlay. When I started, projects were often planned out on bar napkins, sadly those days are long gone....probably for the best.

9) What books or websites would you recommend if people want to learn more about your area of interest in general? Or your project in particular?

The Mississippi Valley Archaeology Center has a great regional archaeological website and offers a bunch of educational, field and lab opportunities for both non-professional adults and students. (http://www.uwlax.edu/mvac/)

Grignons: Green Bay Fur Traders

As for Prairie du Chien history, the Fort Crawford Museum (http://www.fortcrawfordmuseum.com/) has a nice series of displays on historic sites in the area and on recent archaeological excavations in the city. Its a great starting place for those with local historical interest and the staff there are always friendly and willing to help anyone interested in the area learn more.

As for books "Prairie du Chien: French, British, American" from 1937 by Dr. Peter Scanlan remains the seminal, if dated, text for a sub-regional focus. A new book on Prairie du Chien history and archaeology is sorely needed, but is probably not quite possible at this time.

"The Middle Ground; Indians, Empires and Republics in the Great Lakes Region, 1650-1815" ca. 1991 by Richard White is a highly accessible and thorough study of the cultural and historical dynamics of the period and region and is one of my favorites.

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Would you like to see your work profiled here? Or perhaps you know a deserving student or colleague whose research deserves some attention.  Please get in touch elfshot.tim@gmail.com.

Photo Credits:
Ryan Howell or Open Source
Plans and Profiles Banner, Tim Rast based on a linocut by Lori White