Week 9

Tuesday, July16, 2013

Today, I inventoried a few Dent Mound boxes from Unit 66.  The first couple of boxes were of reconstructed bowls, which were pretty cool.  The last box I left off on was a box entirely of shell fragments.  Shells were used profusely among the Native Americans of Northeast Florida as a marine resource for food, tools, and adornment.  Their use of shells is evident in the large shell middens they have left behind for archaeologists to find (and then for museum interns to inventory 10 years later).  Although most of the fragments are indiscernible, I tried to identify at least the species of shell or what basic type/shape it was. 

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Today, I came in ready to finish my box of shell fragments, but I got an email from Lenny with attachments to more articles written by Keith Ashley.  Some of the research and information needed for my exhibit research is so new that it is not yet widely available on the internet, so I requested some articles from Dr. Ashley's Curriculum Vitae that I thought would be helpful.  He responded to Lenny this morning with four attached articles, adding that he would send more soon.  So, naturally, with my time at MOSH dwindling, I got straight to researching.  I have much more to get through, and I would like to have it finished and organized by the time I have to leave the museum.

Thursday, July 18, 2013

Today, I continued to research.  I have to admit, I am probably being too thorough, but since the exact direction of each site in the exhibit has not been determined, I find any relevant information too important to miss.  I'm sure only a fraction of all the information I am recording will end up in the exhibit, but since I'm not positive which information, I take ample notes.  I still feel like I have so much to do before my time here ends.  I do feel the research aspect coming to a close since I have done so much, but I feel I have barely made a dent in inventory.  Although, inventory is never finished, so people must always feel this way.  I cannot believe that next week is my last week at MOSH.  I do not want it to end and I now know why so many interns who live in Jacksonville stay on as Collections volunteers after their official internships are over.