From the Ground to the Lab

Once artifacts have been discovered and removed from the ground, they are cleaned, numbered and packed in the laboratory. The location of each object and all the information gathered about it during the excavations must be recorded: the stratigraphic layer in which the object was found, the type of object concerned and the material culture associated with it. Depending on its importance and place of discovery, an object may undergo various analyses to identify its characteristics and situate it in its context.

In Odanak, for example, zooarchaeologists studied all of the animal bones found in the pits located inside the palisade, the longhouse and the chapel. This enabled them to identify what animal species were eaten by the fort’s inhabitants.

In addition, the archaeologists studied the location of craft working areas in the village as a whole and in the longhouse they had discovered. They were thus able to understand how these areas were distributed on the site and to determine how the objects found in them were made.

Certain artifacts underwent specialized physicochemical analyses to determine the composition of their constituent materials, identify where they came from and learn what techniques were used to make them and how they were used.

Once the analyses were completed, the objects that were most representative of life at Fort Odanak and whose state of preservation was good enough were sent to the Centre de conservation du Québec (CCQ) to be restored. They were then returned to the Musée des Abénakis so that they can be exhibited.

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At the Menu

Genevieve Treyvaud
Archaeologist, Ph.D.
INRS Eau Terre Environnement

At the end of each field season at the Abenaki fort site, all of the animal bones are brought here, to Université Laval’s archaeology lab, for further study. This is the place where specialists will discover what kinds of animals were eaten on the site and whether they were domestic or wild. They will also discover whether the cuts visible on the animal bones were made with stone or iron tools. Zooarchaeological research has been very useful during the Fort Odanak project, for it has shown that two types of diet were present on the site. One was associated with the Jesuits, who ate meat from mainly domesticated animals, such as chicken and sheep, while the other was associated with the Abenakis, who preferred wild meat and fish. To become a zooarchaeologist, you have to study archaeology, of course, but you also have to be very interested in animals and learn all about their anatomy.

Université Laval
Thank you to
Laboratories of Archaeology, Université Laval
Laboratory prehistory and bioarchaeology: James Woollett

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Get in Shape

Genevieve Treyvaud
Archaeologist, Ph.D.
INRS Eau Terre Environnement

Once objects have been studied, they are taken to the restoration and conservation laboratory to prepare them for exhibitions. After being removed from the ground, artifacts have to be preserved and restored, but they mainly require cleaning. The treatments applied to objects in the lab depend on the materials the objects were made from. Not all of the artifacts in the archaeological collection will be conserved and restored. We will treat only those that will be part of the exhibition at the Musée des Abénakis. To become a conservator-restorer, you do not have to study archaeology, but physics and chemistry and do a master’s in the conservation and restoration of objects.

Université Laval
Thank you to
Laboratories of Archaeology, Université Laval
Laboratory convervation and restoration: Lise Jodoin, responsible

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Under the Magnifying Glass

Tomography and scanning are used to understand how objects were made and to identify the characteristics of all the materials they were made from. They also make it possible to see all the little marks left on objects by various types of tools and to understand how objects were used; for example, whether they were used to scrape hides, make nails or arrowheads, and so forth. These analysis tools generate thousands of pieces of data, including chemical and physical data, by providing a view of every side of an object as well as the interior. Tomography and scanning are thus important tools for archaeologists as they enable them to discover how objects were made and used.

INRS Lab CT Scan
Thank you to
Person responsible for the laboration: Pierre Francus
Research technician elaboration of CT: Louis-Frederic Daigle