Animation of the Day: Chunkey Stone from Fort Hill

by Bernard K. Means, Director of the Virtual Curation Laboratory (VCL)

Today’s animation is a chunkey stone that was excavated in 1939 or 1940 as part of work relief archaeology at the Fort Hill site, a Monongahela village in Somerset County, Pennsylvania. It is now within the archaeological collections of The State Museum of Pennsylvania (TSMP). Chunkey stones were used in the game of chunkey, where the goal was for two players to throw sticks close to where they expected the stone to come to rest after it had been rolled down a prepared court, without hitting the stone.  This stone was damaged in play and repaired in the early 1940s for display.  More information on the Work Projects Administration excavations at Fort Hill can be found here.

WPA excavations at Fort Hill. Image courtesy of The State Museum of Pennsylvania.

Animation of the Day: Colonoware Crock Base from Thomas Jefferson’s Poplar Forest

by Bernard K. Means, Director of the Virtual Curation Laboratory

Today’s animation is the base of a colonoware crock base recovered archaeologically at Thomas Jefferson’s Poplar Forest and was scanned in their archaeology laboratory. Colonoware vessels were low-fired earthenwares and were made by the enslaved workers living at this location.

Animation of the Day: Drawer Pull from Ferry Farm

by Bernard K. Means, Director of the Virtual Curation Laboratory

Today’s animation is a drop-style drawer pull recovered archaeologically at George Washington’s Ferry Farm.  This key was scanned on site in the Small Finds Laboratory at Ferry Farm on March 10, 2014 by Digital Curation Specialist Lauren Volkers and Intern Vivian Hite as part of an effort to scan archaeologically recovered furnishings.  Details on this effort can be found here.

Animation of the Day: Crumn Horn Pipe from Swan Cove Site

by Bernard K. Means, Director of the Virtual Curation Laboratory (VCL)

Today’s animation is a Crumn Horn Pipe from the Swan Cove and was excavated by the Lost Towns Project located in Anne Arundel County, Maryland. This unique pipe was made by Emanuel Drue in the mid-17th century AD and was scanned in the Virtual Curation Laboratory on Monday, March 21, 2014, edited and then printed by Digital Curation Specialist Lauren Volkers.

Animation of the Day: Escutcheon from Ferry Farm

by Bernard K. Means, Director of the Virtual Curation Laboratory

 

Today’s animation is an escutcheon recovered archaeologically at George Washington’s Ferry Farm.   The decorative molded design may represent tobacco leaves, a major crop grown at George Washington’s Ferry Farm during the 18th and 19th centuries. This escutcheon was scanned on site in the Small Finds Laboratory at Ferry Farm on March 10, 2014  as part of an effort to scan archaeologically recovered furnishings.  Details on this effort can be found here.

Animation of the Day: Lock Plate from Ferry Farm

by Bernard K. Means, Director of the Virtual Curation Laboratory

Today’s animation is a lock plate recovered archaeologically at George Washington’s Ferry Farm.  This key was scanned on site in the Small Finds Laboratory at Ferry Farm on March 10, 2014 by Digital Curation Specialist Lauren Volkers and Intern Vivian Hite as part of an effort to scan archaeologically recovered furnishings.  Details on this effort can be found here.

Animation of the Day: U.S. Model 1861 Springfield Rifled Musket Lock from Ferry Farm

by Bernard K. Means, Director of the Virtual Curation Laboratory

 

Today’s animation is a U.S. Model 1861 Springfield Rifled Musket lock recovered archaeologically at George Washington’s Ferry Farm and is associated with the Union army’s occupation of this location during the American Civil War. Paul Nasca, who conserved this item, noted that  “failure of the main spring is the reason why the lock was discarded.”

Animated Object of the Day: Mousterian Flake from VMNH

by Bernard K. Means, Director of the Virtual Curation Laboratory

Today ‘s animation is a Mousterian flake from the collections of the  Virginia Museum of Natural History that was found in Germany.  Mousterian flakes are associated with Homo neanderthalensis.

Neanderthal skull from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Homo_sapiens_neanderthalensis.jpg

Animation of the Day: Deformed Musket Ball from Bladensburg Battlefield

By Ashley Perry, Intern with the Virtual Curation Laboratory.

Today’s Animation is a deformed musket ball recovered from the Bladensburg Battlefield site (51NE44) in Washington, D.C. and scanned on January 29th, 2014 by Digital Curation Specialist Lauren Volkers in the Virtual Curation Laboratory. The musket, or more specifically the flintlock, became an increasingly  popular weapon for the military (and general population) in the early 1800’s because of the increase in manufacturing efficiency and uniformity that interchangeable parts provided. Musket balls were commonly made of lead, which is a soft metal and therefore deformed somewhat when being fired and upon contact.

Animation of the Day: Natural Opossum Mummy

by Bernard K. Means, Director of the Virtual Curation Laboratory (VCL)

Today’s animation is a natural opossum mummy.  It was provided to the VCL by young scholar Lowell Nugent, as detailed here. The naturally mummified opossum at first glance resembles a rat, but Digital Curation Supervisor Ashley McCuistion and Digital Zooarchaeologist Mariana Zechini tentatively identified it as a juvenile opossum.  This identification was confirmed on March 19, 2014, by the Virginia Museum of Natural History’s Curator of Archaeology Dr. Elizabeth Moore.  This color animation was created under the direction of Senior Digital Technician Allen Huber.