Study and Treatment of Coastal Alaskan Native Kayak Models

Abstract

The Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and the Alutiiq Museum and Archaeological Repository in Kodiak, Alaska, recently collaborated to study and conserve several nineteenth-century full-sized skin-covered kayaks and over one hundred Alaska Native ethnographic objects. This two-year project was partially funded through a Federal Save America's Treasures grant, and supported in part a public-interactive conservation workspace located in one of the museum's galleries. The project allowed the rare opportunity to fully study objects from the Alaska Native collections in the Peabody Museum in consultation with Alutiiq colleagues to build knowledge of Alaska Native technologies. Material analysis using X-ray fluorescence (XRF), matrix assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-ToF-MS) and polarized light microscopy contributed to better understanding of the technology of these objects. As part of this project, the museum's collection of twenty small skin-covered kayak models from various Alaska Native groups were studied and conserved. Historical and technical information on the kayak models was gathered through research into the museum's archives, discussion with Alaska Native consultants, a review of current literature, and material analysis. This paper discusses the collection and donor history, cultural affiliation, fabrication technology, and preservation of these kayak models.