From Inside the Vaults: Museum Housekeeping and Gallery Maintenance
From Inside the Vaults is a monthly blog that gives insight into best practices for collections stewardship, curation, and archaeological collecting institutions. What Does Housekeeping Look Like for Museums and Collecting Institutions? How is it different from our typical at-home…
Artifact of the Week: Donut Stones
A very unique object found at La Jolla Tradition sites is donut stones. These are finely crafted tools that must have required hours of work. The exact use of donut stones is unknown. It is thought that these were used…
Artifact of the Week: Grinding Stones
Grinding tools were used to process many materials, not just seeds. The grinding table is called the netherstone, and the tool held in the hand is called the handstone. This netherstone and handstone are examples of ground stone tools. There…
Artifact of the Week: Stone Bowls
These stone bowls were found underwater many miles off shore. Their exact use is not known, but they indicate that the people of the Middle Holocene had ocean going boats. These bowls date to the La Jolla Tradition. During this…
Artifact of the Week: Scrapers and Choppers
During the Middle Holocene, local inhabitants heavily utilized coastal resources. Scrapers and choppers were very useful tools for processing shellfish, cutting wood, and smashing animal bone. Most stone choppers and scrapers from the La Jolla Tradition are made of quartzite.…
Artifact of the Week: Discoidal
These almost perfectly round tools indicate sophisticated technology. The exact use of these tools is unknown, although suggestions have included games, ceremonial uses, and weights. They do not appear to have been used for grinding foodstuffs or other material. They…
