Archaeological and ethnographic painted wood artifacts from the North American southwest: the case study of a matrix approach for the conservation of cultural materials

This study examines and demonstrates the value of a matrix approach in the discipline of conservation and the concerns specific to the conservation of archaeological and ethnographic objects. The chapters identify the relevance of the matrix to current conservation practices through a history of artifact conservation and a discussion of the factors that compromise the conservators' role in the study and preservation of material culture. The discussion evaluates the nature of systematic research collections, the impact of legal issues, and the ethics of including cultural context as important aspects in the development of the matrix approach. The matrix approach provides the conservator with a number of variables or categories of information that may assist in the determination of an appropriate conservation process. In this study, the matrix approach was tested on a number of artifact objects. To provide a common link, all of the objects were characterized by paint on some form of cellulose (wood or a wood-like substrate). The object cases were from both ethnographic and archaeological contexts, and the work involved both laboratory procedures and consideration of non-laboratory (i.e. legal, cultural, ethical) aspects. The specific objects included (1) a probable tiponi of archaeological (Anasazi culture) context, (2) a group of coiled baskets of archaeological (Mogollon culture) context, (3) a kachina doll of ethnographic (Hopi culture) context, (4) a group of prayer sticks of archaeological (Puebloan and Tohono O'Odham) context, and (5) a fiddle of ethnographic (Apache culture) context. By recognizing the unique and diverse aspects of anthropology collections, the conservator who uses a matrix approach is better equipped to work with archaeologists on sites, with curators and exhibit designers in museums, and with claimants (or the descendants of an object's maker) in carrying out the multiple activities frequently involved in the conservation of objects as they exist in an ever broadening and more political context.