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The Story of Ste. Marie II- A Virtual Exhibit

Located along the southern shore of Christian Island, Ste. Marie II was the last Jesuit Mission to the Huron-Wendat Nation in what is now southern Ontario and was a central place in one of the most significant stories in early Canadian history. It is one of struggle, sacrifice and change, all of which left both the Wendat and Jesuits with unexpected consequences.

A google map image showing the site of Ste Marie II. Copyright 2018.

We begin in the early seventeenth century when the French and Wendat thrived alongside one another. By far the most comprehensive records of Wendat life are the annual accounts of the Jesuit priests who lived among the Wendat from 1634 until 1650. These regular reports by those Jesuits who lived among the Wendat are filled with descriptions of Wendat life and society. Jesuit missions in North America began early in the seventeenth century. Christian proselytization was an important component of the Christian church at this time around the world. All of these sources must be employed with caution, however, as they were written by outsiders with their own agendas. Read more

The Making of a Model Dig

Anna Johnstone

This week, we are featuring a story from a local Grade 11 student Anna Johnstone who is taking her passion in archaeology and sharing it with the community.

Hello, my name is Anna and I am a grade 11 student. For my Ancient Civilizations class I had to make what my teacher calls a ‘Passion Project’, which means that each student got to make any kind of project that they wanted as long as the subject related to the curriculum and we could, to quote my teacher, “get it out to the world”. I love to make models and dioramas so as soon as we started brainstorming our projects my mind jumped to a model of a dig site and artifacts that could be found at it. Since it was an Ancient Civilizations class, I decided that a site in Rome would be cool but the model looks as if it could be anywhere, even here in Ontario. Read more

Conservation vs. Preservation: What’s the Difference?

One of the most important roles museums have is to care and maintain artworks and artifacts in their collections. Museums all over the world abide by this to extend the objects life for future education and for general public enjoyment for generations to come. Although museums strive to protect every single object, environmental conditions, storage control, and individual handling all influence the longevity of the artworks and artifacts.

Conservation and preservation are two methods which are used to maintain the state of the object. Conservation is the hands-on act of working directly with the object to preserve its current condition. Such method can be invasive, for example, conservators use restoration treatments to enhance the object to its original state or appearance by removing accumulated layers of dirt and/or adding necessary components that have gone missing.

MOA Conservation Intern Josh cleaning a basket from the ethnographic collection.

Preservation is the non-invasive act of minimizing deterioration and preventing future damage of the object. Some examples are outlined below: Read more

Performing Presence: Pauline Johnson and Her Predecessors

There’s a spirit on the river, there’s a ghost upon the shore,
And they sing of love and loving through the starlight evermore,
As they steal amid the silence,
And the shadows of the shore.
From “Dawendine”

Pauline Johnson (1861-1913) was the best known female Canadian poet of her time. Born on the Six Nations Reserve in Brantford, Ontario, she learned Mohawk stories and traditions from her father, Chief George Johnson. Her mother, an English immigrant, taught her British literature. As an adult, Pauline Johnson drew on both sides of her heritage for her poetry, often writing on indigenous themes within the European poetic style. While many people enjoyed reading her work, Johnson became famous for her public appearances in which she performed in both a “Mohawk princess” costume and in a Victorian evening gown.

These costume changes have fascinated scholars for years. Some believe that Johnson acted as a “cultural mediator,” conveying indigenous culture and concerns such as land rights to her white audiences. Others criticise her praise of British colonial rule, or question whether she played into the common Euro-Canadian opinion that Native culture was on the path to extinction. Johnson’s “Mohawk princess” costume, they argue, was only meant to add exotic appeal.

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What is Thin Sectioning?

Thin-sectioning (also known as, thin-section analysis) is an important technique used in Archaeology for the examination of the composition of various materials. Typically, such materials include ceramics or stone.

Thin-sectioning is the removal of a very thin piece (roughly 0.03 mm) of material from the object in order to be observed under a microscope. The sample needs to be so thin that the details of the material (small internal structures, and crystals) are readily displayed in the microscope in order to undergo proper analysis. This method is crucial in determining the raw material used for the specific object, or in the case of faunal remains, determining how the animal was killed. While we are able to obtain crucial information from thin-sectioning, it has some limitations. For instance, thin-sectioning is an abrasive method which doesn’t align with the archaeological view of limiting destructive analysis techniques on artifacts.

 

Thin sectioning is only done on samples with no accompanying context. Here samples are first coated with epoxy to create pucks that are later cut to a thickness of 30 microns.

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A Look Back: An Unusual Holcombe Point in the Vogt Collection

Originally from the Palisade Post, 1987 Vol 9 no.1

The museum received a donation of artifacts from the Vogt family, obtained from Lambton County. One of the artifacts in this collection is an unusual “Holcombe” point.

Drawing made for the museum by artist Catherine Comrie.

The Holcombe point type was first defined on the basis of specimens recovered on Holcombe Beach in Macomb County Michigan. Often made from Onondaga or Bayport Chert, this lanceolate point with a concave base and fine parallel flaking is confined to the later part of the Paleo Period ca.8000 BCE. Read more

Meet the Staff: Curatorial Intern Amanda

My name is Amanda Futcher and I am a third-year student at Algonquin College taking the Applied Museum Studies program. I have been working as a library/archives assistant doing a lot of work with organizing and cataloging the map collection, assisting in the digitization of photographic slides, as well as doing different odds and ends with other collections and giving a hand to deliver the virtual reality experience offered at the museum. Read more

A Look Back to the Lawson Site Pot

Reconstructed pottery front face.
Front face of the reconstructed Lawson Site pot.

During the 1982 excavations on the Lawson Site, museum archaeologists discovered on of the more interesting deposits of pottery fragments yet encountered on the site. The pot sherds were interesting not only because we have been able to reconstruct them into a very large pot but especially because of the location of the fragments and what they were found with.

The pottery fragments were in the bottom of a large pit found inside the largest house yet uncovered on the site. This pit was located under the south bench row near the east end of the house. In shape, the pit was a flat-bottomed cylinder. During excavation, it was first though that this feature was a deep basin-shaped pit, but it was discovered to have a false bottom like a previous feature uncovered. Read more

MOA Staff Post: Zsofia Agoston

This photo was taken by the forested creek behind MOA!

Hello Everyone! My name is Zsofia Agoston, and I am a third-year student at Western University majoring in Anthropology and Museum/Curatorial Studies. This year I have been working as a Curatorial Assistant doing an array of jobs including cataloguing archaeological donations, overlooking our archaeological inventory, and maintaining our gallery and exhibition spaces. Prior to this role, I volunteered at the MOA since September of 2016. Read more