Repairs for The Rooms

Earlier this winter I completed a few repairs and replacement pieces of toys and games used in programming at The Rooms.  These pieces included replacement counting sticks and dice for waltes games, new artificial sinew and antler sticks for pin and cup games, and new artificial sinew on 22 rawhide buzzers.  

Wooden waltes discs with ink designs and wood counting sticks with lightly ochre stained ends.  These were replacement pieces from existing sets with missing pieces.  I didn't make the original sets, but I worked from photos and reference pieces to match the intact pieces.

Antler pin and cup games with artificial sinew cords.  The previous antler sticks were broken or lost.

Rawhide buzzers.  I replaced the worn artificial sinew and added the wood sticks to make them easier to pull.

The rawhide is very hard wearing and durable.  I made these quite a few years ago for The Rooms and even though the old cord wore out there is no wear on the discs.

Photo Credits: Tim Rast

ARCH 4153 Field Trip to The Rooms

Touring the Archaeology vault at The Rooms,
with Lori Temple (in green)

I've been teaching ARCH 4153 Lithic Analysis this semester at Memorial University of Newfoundland.  A good part of the course was hands-on flintknapping, especially early in the semester.  In was a fun start to the course and it gave the students first hand experience with working stone.  The latter half of the semester was dedicated to an analysis of lithic debitage collected from the Spearbank Site (DlBk-1) in the community of Cow Head, on Newfoundland's west coast in the mid-1970s.  This is the type site for the Cow Head complex.

One student's flake
sample

This is an important site for the Province and has been periodically re-examined since Jim Tuck first excavated it 40 years ago.  The most recent and systematic work was done by Latonia Hartery as part of her MA research at the University of Calgary in the early 2000s.  However, there are still many, many bags and boxes of debitage that have not been touched.  We tackled one crate of debitage this semester.  Each student was given a sample of around 250 pieces of debitage, made up of flakes, cores, and shatter and they systematically poked, prodded, and measured two dozen attributes on every single fragment.  They put in a tremendous amount of time and effort to study each piece in painstaking detail.

Sifting through the diagnostic artifacts from the Spearbank site at The Rooms

Boxes of artifacts

Earlier in March the class met at The Rooms during our regular class time to tour the Archaeology Lab with Lori Temple, the Archaeology/Ethnology Collections Manager.  We viewed the vaults where the diagnostic artifacts from the Spearbank site are stored and the students sorted through the boxes of artifacts to find examples of diagnostic artifacts from the same levels and units that their flake samples came from.  The idea was to help put the flakes and the site into context by seeing some of the tools that were being made and used at the site.

Archaeology lab space at
The Rooms

There do seem to be patterns emerging in the collection, even in these relatively small samples (the site was a quarry and the total flake count from all of the excavated material must be in the hundreds of thousands).  The students are working on their final papers right now and I'm looking forward to reading all of their results, thoughts, and conclusions.  I've been extremely impressed with the effort and commitment to the course from everyone in the class.  We have one more fun class of flintknapping and hafting stone tools and then the semester is over.  I'll certainly miss hanging out with them every week.

Arch 4153 at The Rooms

A flake attribute analysis is a lot of work.  The payoff for the students is an increased familiarity with the sort of debitage commonly found at any pre-Contact archaeological site.  The benefit to the collection is a high resolution snapshot of the way lithic resources were used.  The cost is time.  A lot of time. 

Photo Credits:
1-3, 5-7: Tim Rast
4: Lori Temple

Dr. Barry Gaulton talks about Ferryland on Youtube

Dr. Barry Gaulton's Coffee and Culture talk entitled George Calvert, David Kirke, and Jim Tuck: three visionaries and their impact on Ferryland, Newfoundland is now on the Newfoundland and Labrador Archaeological Society's YouTube channel.  Thanks to The Rooms for hosting this talk.  You can watch it here.

Photo Credit: Screen Capture from NLAS Arch Youtube Channel

Two NLAS Archaeology Talks at The Rooms This Week

Excavating the Mansion
house at Ferryland

This week, the Newfoundland and Labrador Archaeological Society and The Rooms are proud to present talks by Dr. Oscar Moro Abadia and Dr. Barry Gaulton, both from the Archaeology Department at Memorial University of Newfoundland.  The talks will take place in The Rooms theatre, here in St. John's.

Dr. Oscar Moro Abadia will be speaking as part of The Rooms Engaging Evenings speaker series on Wednesday, April 1st at 7:00 PM.  His talk is titled: One Hundred and Fifty Years of Prehistoric Art: A History of Paleolithic Images. More information is available on the NLAS website. 

Dr. Barry Gaulton will be speaking on Thursday, April 2nd at 2:30 PM during The Rooms Coffee and Culture lectures.  Dr. Gaulton's talk is called: George Calvert, David Kirke, and Jim Tuck: three visionaries and their impact on Ferryland, Newfoundland. More information is available on the NLAS website.

As always, the talks will be live streamed and archived on the NLAS Arch Youtube channel.

Photo Credit: Dr. Barry Gaulton

Elfshot at The Rooms Gift Shop

The Rooms Gift Shop in St. John's currently has the largest inventory of Elfshot jewellery in the Province.  I dropped off a large order of Recent Indian (Beothuk), Dorset Palaeoekimo, and Groswater Palaeoeskimo necklaces, earrings, lapel pins, and tie-tacs late last week.  They should be on the shelves now or very shortly.  I've closed up my studio for the summer as I head into the field today, so I won't be able to restock the shop over the summer, which means that for the best selection, you should visit the shop early.

 Photo Credit: Tim Rast

International Archaeology Day Success!

A glimpse from the Vaults

We had a really great day at The Rooms on Saturday in celebration of International Archaeology Day.  The Rooms organized and advertised the event and provided volunteers and staff to run a sandbox dig for kids as well as give people a glimpse at some of the artifacts that are normally kept behind the scenes in the storage vaults.  The public programming folks with The Rooms also sent out invitations to other archaeology stakeholders in the Province, including the Provincial Archaeology Office, Memorial University of Newfoundland's Archaeology Department, the Shipwreck Preservation Society of Newfoundland and Labrador and the Newfoundland and Labrador Archaeological Society.

Ask the Expert

A representative from the Provincial Archaeology Office brought maps and chatted with people about the work that the PAO does, answered questions, and helped identify artifacts that people brought in.  Archaeologists from MUN set up a Micro-museum to showcase the range of microscopic artifacts and samples that show up on archaeological sites.  It was a bit of a wet, grey day in the city, so I think we benefited from some outdoor event cancellations around town.  I don't know exact numbers, but I'm sure that visitors numbered in the hundreds.

The MUN Archaeology Micro-Museum!

The NLAS corner

This was the first public Newfoundland and Labrador Archaeological Society event, so our goal was to let people know that we exist, promote our upcoming free lecture and AGM on November 4th and begin offering people the chance to become members of the Society.  We had a lot of NLAS volunteers on hand to talk to people, discuss the archaeology of the province, the work we do, and demonstrate flintknapping.  You can see a tonne more photos from the event on the NLAS Facebook Page (as well as find membership information).

The Shipwreck Preservation Society of  Newfoundland
and Labrador

The Shipwreck Preservation Society of Newfoundland and Labrador showcased their recent work identifying three shipwrecks in Conception Harbour.  Through careful investigation of the ships preserved above and below the waterline in the harbour, SPSNL researchers were able to positively identify the three whaling vessels wrecked in the harbour.  Its a very interested story and the SPSNL should be commended for their fantastic contribution to the the history of Conception Harbour and the Province.  You can read about it today's Telegram: New Answers About Sunken Ships.

Photo Credits: Lori White

October 19th is International Archaeology Day

Is there an archaeology site in Newfoundland and Labrador that you have always been curious about?  Perhaps there's an artifact in a museum display that you'd like to know the history of?   Have you ever found a rock on the beach that you think might be an artifact? Mark your calendar, because International Archaeology Day is coming to The Rooms in St. John's on October 19th and the place is going to be crawling with archaeologists who'd love to answer your questions.

 International Archaeology Day is the brainchild of the Archaeological Institute of America and they have organized events across North America and around the world with scores of collaborating organizations all with the aim of increasing the public profile of archaeology and the fun side of discovery.  From the AIA's media package:

"International Archaeology Day, being held on October 19 in 2013 but fêted throughout the month of October, is a celebration of archaeology and the thrill of discovery. Every October the Archaeological Institute of America and collaborating archaeological organizations across the United States, Canada, and abroad present archaeological programs and activities for people of all ages and interests."

Storyboards for The Rooms Sandbox
Archaeology Program.

In St. John's, The Rooms stepped forward as a collaborating organization and reached out to archaeologists and archaeological enthusiasts in the community to come together on the afternoon of Saturday, October 19th, for an archaeology fair at The Rooms.  The fair is open to the public and there are events and displays planned for all ages.  The Rooms staff and volunteers will be running sandbox archaeology digs for kids and bringing some cool artifacts up from the vaults - the sorts of things that aren't usually out on display.  Folks from the Provincial Archaeology Office will be there to hear about your discoveries and help identify artifacts that you might have picked up over the years.  I'll be there along with other volunteers from the Newfoundland and Labrador Archaeological Society demonstrating flintknapping and talking about the role that the Society will play in the province and how you can become a member.  I'm sure that I'll have a healthy number of artifact reproductions that you can handle and use.  The Shipwreck Preservation Society of Newfoundland and Labrador will be in attendance to make an important announcement on the identity of the three Conception Harbour whaling shipwrecks.  A faculty member from Memorial University of Newfoundland's Archaeology Department will be there to take you on a tour through a collection of archaeological remains so tiny that you'll need a microscope to see them.  Literally - you get to look through a microscope at stuff - how often do you get to do that?

I'm really looking forward to it.  I hope you can make.  Bring your kids and whatever treasurers you might have in that cigar box in your closet.

Photo Credits:
1: Archaeological Institute of America
2: Tim Rast

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

==============================================

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

Wrapping up at The Rooms

Parents volunteers are awesome

On Tuesday morning, I had my last Open Minds classroom visit of the year at The Rooms and I'm looking forward to next year.  The ground stone or ulu making sessions have been really popular with the kids.  I like doing the flintknapping demonstrations, but there are some real memorable learning opportunities  when the kids get to work with their hands and create something that they can keep.  Its much safer and easier to do that with ground slate instead of knapping stone or glass. We sure get dusty though!

Discussing what they learned.

Photo Credits: Tim Rast

Stone, Culture, and Science in the Classroom

Two of the student's reproductions

During this time of year I do a lot of work with school kids, primarily through the Open Minds program at The Rooms art gallery, museum, and archive here in St. John's.  Sometimes these are talks about archaeology and the pre-contact cultures of Newfoundland and Labrador structured around a flintknapping demonstration.  Lately, I've been doing ground stone tool making with grade 5 students.  We've been making ground slate ulus and men's knives based on Inuit artifacts from Labrador.

One for each student

In one of these workshops, I bring in prepared slate blanks, wood handles and all the grinding, drilling, and tying tools that the kids will need to complete the project.  With a class of around 25 kids and a half dozen adult helpers, we can help each student create their own slate ulu or men's knife in about 2 hours.  Its a satisfying project for everyone involved and the kids learn about Inuit people, archaeology, patience, and perseverance as they work to create their own stone tool artifact reproduction.

Parents and teachers help with the drill

An important part of the process is using traditional tools, like the bow drill, to create their reproductions.  This works especially well in the Open Minds setting at The Rooms because the classroom is set up next door to the Connections Gallery where many of the original artifacts are displayed.  During lunch or recess, the students have the opportunity to visit the Connections Gallery and see first hand the tools that they are using and recreating in the classroom.

A finished ulu - great work!

Yesterday, during the review at the end of the session, the instructor asked the grade fives what words they would use to describe Inuit people after their experience with making and using the traditional tools and the kids replied with; "Hard-working, Strong, Independent, and Patient".

"Hard-working, Strong, Independent, and Patient" 

Photo Credits: Tim Rast

Flintknapping Demonstration Notes

Dorset knife on the tarp

I did the first Open Minds flintknapping demonstration of the season yesterday at The Rooms.  It was for grade five students who are spending the school week in a classroom in The Rooms, getting a behind the scenes look at the Provincial Art Gallery, Archives, and Museum.  For today, I'm going to pretend that no one reads this diary and make a few notes for myself for future demonstrations.

The toughest question that I got was; "Why do you knap on your lap instead of a table?"

I always work on my lap.

I don't think I've ever had that question before and the short answer is "Because that's how I was taught."  There are knappers who do amazing work using benches or tables as support.  It seems especially well suited for pressure and punch knapping.  I do want to practice more with punches, so maybe I should try working on benches from time to time.  I use small wooden anvils in the workshop that I do punch work on, so maybe I should bring one along to the next demo to show that there are different ways to work stone tools.  Just because I'm comfortable working one way doesn't mean that's the way everyone did it in the past.

I usually use obsidian in classroom demonstrations.  Its not local, but its more predictable than the Newfoundland chert that I use when making artifact reproductions.

The best new addition to the demo is the "Caribou hunt" detachable foreshaft demonstration.

Interchangeable foreshafts

I stumbled on this last spring and need to remember to make time for it in each demo because it really gets the kids on board.  I have one Maritime Archaic spear shaft and five matching foreshafts with stone points.  To demonstrate one reason why people would make composite tools with detachable foreshafts, I tell the kids that they are a caribou herd and I'm a hunter.  With one spear and a bag of five foreshafts I can take down many caribou at one time.  With the first foreshaft hafted in the spear, I pick a kid/caribou to "stab" - they hold on to the foreshaft and I pull away the main shaft, refit it with another foreshaft and pick another kid/caribou.  The most important thing is to slaughter the kids equally, I stabbed a row of boys the first time, and the girls complained it wasn't fair until I stabbed them as well.  Once the kids understand that people made complex, composite tools with interchangeable parts many new avenues of discussion open up.

Lots of reproductions on the tarp help generate discussion during the demonstration.  Passing them around keeps kids engaged.

The wobbliest point is talking about the rocks before the demo starts.  

Reproductions and raw materials

I need to talk about the rocks a bit to set things up, but kids don't really get drawn in until the first flake gets knocked off with the hammerstone.  Maybe I need to do that right away, right after "Hello, my name is..." crack off a big flake and then talk about rocks and what the demo is going to be about.  That would probably get their attention earlier and hold it longer.

The best advice I ever received on giving flintknapping demos was not to expect to do your best work.  Save that for your workshop and bring those examples along, but in a demonstration, its ok to lower your expectations.  You don't have the time to set-up every platform and plan every flake like you do at home, so don't expect the same results.   

Photo Credits:
1,2,4-7: Tim Rast
3: Michael Burzynski

Soapstone Polar Bears

I made all these little soapstone bears for The Rooms.  They are included in education kits sent to classrooms around the Province.

This is the original artifact that they are all based on.  Its  a Dorset Palaeoeskimo artifact  from northern Labrador. You can see it on display in the Connections Gallery in The Rooms in St. John's.

The 20 little bears were just the right size to be delivered in an egg carton.

All of the soapstone that I used for the bears came from highway roadcuts on Newfoundland's Baie Verte Peninsula.

Did they all catch the sent of something? I would not want to be downwind of this many curious bears.

I don't think I realized it when I carved them, but with his nose lifted and his mouth open, the posture of the little Dorset bear looks like a bear sniffing the air.

Photo Credits: Tim Rast