The Missouri Archaeological Society spring meeting of 2018 will be held April 6-8, 2018, at the Oasis Hotel and Convention Center, Springfield, MO. Listed below are some details of the convention.

Saturday, April 7th: Poster Session: “Art and Artifacts: Conservation and Research”

This poster session features research and conservation by six students from the ART/MST 488: Basic Conservation of Art and Artifacts class of Fall 2017: Macaylah Gant Hodge, Emily McClain, Katelyn Hageman, Robin Slusher, Nicole Paden, and Brittaney London, all with minors in Museum Studies. In this Citizenship and Service-Learning Integrated course, the students receive training in basic preservation, cleaning, stabilization, exhibition, and storage of art and artifacts, as well as limited training in repair and restoration. The students base their posters on the research and conservation of their course final projects, for which they analyze and conserve objects provided to us by a number of different Community Partners. Poster Session Organizer and Chair: Dr. Billie Follensbee (Professor, Missouri State University)

Poster Session—Poster Titles and Abstracts:

“Conservation of Mimbres Pottery Reproductions” by Macaylah Gant Hodge

The Mimbres, a sub-culture of the Mogollon peoples of the ancient American Southwest, made pottery for everyday use, but they created special decorated bowls for use as funerary goods. These vessels were painted white and decorated with black geometric or figural designs on the inside of the bowl. Each vessel was ritually punctured through the bottom of the vessel during funerary rites and placed over the face of the deceased. In this conservation project, I cleaned the broken potsherds and reassembled two vessels. Then I restored missing areas and tinted them to blend with the original pottery.

“Conservation and Restoration of Five Gravestones in the Union Campground Cemetery” by Katelyn Hageman

The graves of J.E. Davis, Zadie Winton, George Gimlin, and Mary E. Sage are late 19th/early 20th century burials located in the Union Campground Cemetery. The gravestone materials range from concrete, which was often used for lower-income persons, to a large limestone ledger stone, to an imported marble gravestone with a sculpted image. Each of these markers also includes an epitaph. In this conservation project, I carefully cleaned the gravestones and I reconstructed and reset the gravestones as needed. I also used raking light to read and record each epitaph and researched their origins and meanings.

“Conservation of a Great Plains Saddlebag” by Brittaney London

Although styles of saddlebags varied among the Native American cultures of the Great Plains, traditional saddlebags were made of brain-tanned hides, decorated with beadwork or quillwork, and often had metal tinkler cones with horsehair inserts. Native Americans used saddlebags as they traversed the Plains to carry items such as blankets, clothing, or cooking tools. In this conservation project, I cleaned the hide and beadwork of the bag, reattached tinkler cones, and conditioned the leather.

“Conservation of Cast Iron Stove Parts,” by Emily McClain

Cast iron stoves were a staple in early 20th-century American and European homes before the adoption of central heating and of gas and electric cooking stoves. The main purposes of cast iron stoves were to heat the room they occupied and to provide an oven and hot stove top for food preparation. The size, shape, and design of the cast iron stoves mirrored the tastes of the era when they were produced, as these stove parts illustrate organic, Art Nouveau-style designs. In this conservation project, I removed loose debris and surface rust from the cast iron stove parts, halted the rusting process, and sealed the pieces from further damage with a protective coating.

“Conservation of a Fijian Sleeping Mat,” by Nicole Paden

Woven mats made of pandanus leaves are an important part of Fijian society. Traditional Fijian homes are covered in woven mats and Fijians sleep on decorative mats, which are typically given as gifts at weddings. The most decorative mats were fringed with tropical bird feathers, but today brightly colored yarn often replaces the feathers. For this conservation project, I cleaned the mat, I stabilized the fragile yarn fringe, and I restored some of the broken fringe.

“Conservation and Restoration of Five African-American Gravestones,” by Robyn Slusher

The Union Campground Cemetery in Springfield, Missouri, is unusual in being an integrated cemetery dating back to the 1840s. The late 19th/early 20th century graves of African Americans Mary A. Looney, Zadie Winton, and Carie Looney have decorated headstones and footstones made of marble, showing a strong level of prosperity. For this conservation project, I restored a broken headstone, I re-set a footstone, and I cleaned the gravestones of dirt, lichens, and algae.

This year’s poster session is open to all registered participants in the Missouri Archaeological Society annual conference. For more information on the session, click here, or contact Dr. Billie Follensbee at BillieFollensbee@MissouriState.edu