A small but mighty museum on the tundra

Rick is back in Quinhgak for a couple of weeks:

Early spring and the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta in Alaska is about half thawed. The view today from 2000 feet in a small plane, flying into Quinhagak. The ice-free Bering Sea is in the far background.

The Nunalleq Culture and Archaeology Center in Quinhagak- a small but mighty museum on the tundra.

The conservation lab in the Nunalleq Culture and Archaeology Center, with artifacts fully dried after being removed from their chemical PEG bath and now ready to be repackaged in preparation for cataloging this coming summer. Its great to be back in Quinhagak!

Another view of 2018 season artifacts in the last stages of conservation at the Nunalleq Culture and Archaeology Center. This represents just a fraction of a typical season’s finds. Antler, bone and ivory objects have already been put away. Eight large totes of faunal material have been shipped out for analysis and four totes of basketry and leather have also been sent out for professional conservation that can’t yet be done locally. In another month’s time this room will be the scene of a traditional basket workshop being organized by the Smithsonian Arctic Studies Center, using 400 year old grass basketry from the site.