I conducted an internship in the spring of 2011 for the Texas Historical Commission. The main portion of this internship consisted of placing artifacts in new packaging with its respective label, while updating the database with artifact locations. This insures they will be accounted for when shipped to their final resting place and also helps with finding lost objects. Weighing the artifacts and getting accurate counts of each object is also an important part, it allows for the observation of deterioration and handling management.
The Belle was one of four ships on the expedition to establish a colony near the mouth of the Mississippi River led by Robert Cavelier, sieur de La Salle. He had multiple aims for making this port which included providing a warm-water port to serve the fur trade and a base for invading Mexico. With France at war with Spain, La Salle with the backing of his King, Louis XIV, intended to challenge Spain’s control of the Gulf of Mexico. Some of the artifacts from the La Belle collection I was allowed to handle were: wooden rigging implements, fragments of barrels, rope (lots and lots of rope), ceramics, lead shot, gun power, fragments of a wooden chest and some jewelry. Casts are a major part of the collection since iron does not survive well in salt water; they are able to fill the hollows of secretions and recreate the objects shape. One of the grosses parts of repackaging the artifacts was when I had to place roach eggs and other insect parts into new bags and weigh them. The insects were sifted from the massive amount of rope found on board the ship. They are disgusting, but still considered part of the historic collection.
I’ve also been exposed to artifacts not just from the La Belle, I was given the chance to examine lithics —rocks that have been modified in some fashion by humans to be used as tools, such as arrow heads or points —they were found in East Austin next to the Northern Colorado River and are from a private collection donated by a former THC employee. While sorting I was allowed to directly label the artifact using a special lacquer-acetone mixture; this mixture allows for the artifact number to be applied to the artifact without damaging it. After putting a base coat on a section of the artifact you use a special pen to write the artifact’s site number and specimen number. Lastly you apply a second coat to fix the ink. I know people may read this and think this is a boring task but I found the task of labeling and sorting to be quite relaxing.
Aside from the vast knowledge the THC staff has allowed me to absorb from them I’ve learned some other important things. First bring a sweater —just make sure it’s not white because it will be covered in dirt within an hour. Second, Texas has a lot of random holidays the public is not aware of and those employed by a state agency will receive these holidays off, which is great for interns who need to study for tests. Lastly, excellent field work consisting of labeling artifacts and bagging correctly in the field is a must for the lab to work sufficiently.