Archaeology Bus a Big Hit!

Over 150 people joined us for guided tours of archaeological sites in three different parts of King County in October. The tours were co-sponsored by King County Roads Services Division, which is working with the Burke to help protect archaeological sites (see inside). Sell-out crowds joined us for tours of several archaeological sites, guided by archaeologists, many of whom worked on the original excavations. Tours also included visits to several of the County's unique museums and historical societies. The overwhelming response has inspired us to consider offering tours again next October--call or check our website for details.

Facility at Sand Point will Ease Space Crunch

For several years, the Archaeology Department has been bursting at the seams, limiting our ability to accept new collections. Later this year, however, the Burke Museum will begin leasing space at the retired Naval Air Station at Sand Point to create a new curation facility. The new facility will include space for storage and research, and will allow us to not only move some existing collections out of our cramped building on campus, but to also accept large new collections. The facility is currently being renovated, with a target completion date of September 2002. State and federal laws require excavation of archaeological sites when they face destruction through construction projects, resulting in a steady increase in new archaeological collections. A national shortage of archaeological storage space has meant that many collections are stored in sub-standard conditions, inaccessible to researchers and students. Through agreements with government agencies and private firms, the Archaeology Department will soon be able to ensure proper long-term curation and access at the new facility for these new collections. The Archaeology Department is excited at this opportunity to increase its already active role in preserving the Northwest's cultural heritage.

New Endowment

In March 2001, the University announced the creation of the Harold G. Bergen Endowment for Archaeology Outreach. Dr. Bergen, of Yakima Washington, has had a lifelong interest in archaeology, and has been a supporter of the Burke Archaeology Department for over a decade. Dr. Bergen donated his extensive archaeological collections to the Museum in 1989, and has since provided financial support which has enabled the long-term preservation of his collections of over 14,000 objects, but also many others at the Burke. In 1990, a significant contribution from Dr. Bergen helped establish the first Archaeology Endowment Fund, which now provides permanent support for many archaeology programs. Dr. Bergen has also worked with us to develop our Archaeology Public Outreach Program (APOP), for which this new endowment will eventually provide permanent support.

Mummy Update

Work continues on the conservation of our Egyptian coffin and mummy, "Nellie." Linda Roundhill, the project conservator, finished conserving the coffin lid in July, and is now working on the coffin trough. Linda is carefully cleaning the painted wood surface, which is covered in a fine, sooty residue, crusts from water damage, and grimy deposits from handling without gloves. After cleaning the surface, Linda re-adheres the fragile paint so that it doesn't continue to flake off, using a tiny plastic needle to inject consolidant underneath the paint. The results are dramatic, and restored areas now look more like they would have originally, with deeper color saturation and more visible details. In the process of doing all of this meticulous work, Linda has found a few intriguing clues to Nellie's past. In one place, an eyelash is embedded in the paint, that could have come from the painter or the paintbrush. In another place, you can actually see a portion of the original sketched image that would have been drawn before the paint was applied. Although we knew the coffin was designed for a male (some of the design details suggest that at some point it was "converted" to hold a female), Linda found more clues about when this happened.

Evidently, the lid once included a beard, and we were quite surprised to learn that the wooden hands are not original. The paint is different, the dirt is different, and there are iron nails attaching the hands to the lid! A new sealed display case is in the final design phase, and a newly cleaned and conserved coffin will soon be ready to be seen in public again. The conservation of Nellie will begin this summer.

Does Archaeology Hold Clues to Native American Diabetes Epidemic?

Native Americans develop diabetes two to three times as frequently as non-Native populations in the US. Native Americans are also often diagnosed later, and have a higher risk of complications from the disease than non-Natives. Archaeological data about prehistoric diet has the potential to help us understand why this disease has affected such a disproportionate number of Native Americans, and may also help them fight the disease with a healthier diet based on traditional foods. Working with our partners in King County and the Tulalip, Suquamish and Muckleshoot Tribes, the Archaeology Department is in the preliminary phases of developing a new project using archaeological data and traditional knowledge to research past diet in the Puget Sound area, and to develop educational programs to communicate newly gained knowledge to tribal members. We will work with specialists to analyze the floral and faunal data from previously excavated Puget Sound sites, and provide a nutritional analysis of traditional food resources. The results of the research will provide information for a traveling education kit, building on the popularity of the kits based on West Point Site kit that the Burke developed with King County Landmarks and Heritage Comission and Tribal partners. The Archaeology Department is currently working to secure funding for this project.