Lab Hours

Four to five hours or the past week researching, working on text, and looking at pictures.
2 hours with my group today finalizing the plan.

Group Members, any interpretation of this photo?

 

I can't believe I didn't take notice of this a week ago! This is the cover to "The Last of the Tasmanians", which has provided A LOT of good information about colonization, persecution, and unilineal attitudes. I just noticed WHAT is being depicted on the cover.

 

Could this cover in fact be a direct representation of how the British saw the Tasmanian? In the bottom we see them killing the "savages", then the retaliation (likely a depiction of The Black War), but then in the next panel we see them making peace with the British, followed by Tasmanians dressed in civilized clothing.

Lab Hours

This week was full of research for the group project. I'd say I spent at least six or seven hours rereading notes, spending time in the library looking at information on Tasmanian aboriginals, formulating ideas for our exhibit, and working on the text.

Stuff for Our Wall

 

Since we're running out of time I'm trying to throw together as much as I can to get an idea of how this is going to turn out.

 

• First of all, obviously this doesn't have any of our items, nor does it have photos we've already decided to use, those will fit in when we figure out what we're doing for sure.
• We previously had the section split up into colonialism, unilineal theory, and the world's fair. My idea is just to just have the unilineal section and the museum section.
• The unilineal section would be our SENTIMENT section. We want our audience to understand that this was the way people thought in this era. We want them to see why it was wrong and highlight some of the stuff the people went through.
• The World's Fair section would be our SCIENCE section. World's Fairs were used to celebrate the world, and you can be sure that Tasmania used their show to showcase their growth. Geology was displayed, native flora and fauna, goods, and information about Tasmania were all on display.
• I've neglected to add any of the artifacts to this since it's obviously just a rough display. Jessica has spoken up about taking charge of the artifacts, and I want to deal with the text.

We need to start getting this all put together. Any comments, suggestions? I know Jessica was interested in working a timeline into this.

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Faunal Fun in Tasmania!

So many posts, but I want to keep this all organized. Quick reference for my team is key!

 

Okay, so I've been focusing on the aboriginal population,  but one of the more exciting parts of natural science is the study of faunal specimens.

 

In an earlier post I took a screen capture of a page from the Tasmanian Exhibition that listed some of the island's faunal species. In that post I took note of the amount of marsupials. Not only do they have many marsupials, but it has (or had) two of the world's largest carnivorous marsupials.

 

Probably the most fascinating (to me, at least) species that lived on the island is the (now) extinct Thylacine. If we only incorporate ONE faunal picture into our exhibit, it really should be this guy.

Naturalist George Harris' illustration of two newly described species: The Tasmanian Devil (Sarcophilus harrisii) and Thylacine (Thylacinus cynocephalus).

 

 

Perhaps the last two Thylacine to be photographed.

 

George Harris made the first scientific description of this animal. Extinction of the animal is attributed to overhunting, bounties were originally opposed in 1830. Harris placed the animal into the genus Didelphis, which would place it with Opossums. People today still claim to see Thylacines, but they most likely died out earlier in the 20th century. Part of what makes these guys so interesting is that their extinction was most likely attributed directly to colonialism. They died  off right after this age of discovery, so all of our scientific observations come directly from this romantic era. I wonder if the Beardsleys witnessed this creature?

 

 

 

The Tasmanian devil is well known thanks to the cartoon character who he share's it's name with. Directly AFTER the extinction of the aforementioned Thylacine, the Tasmanian Devil became the world's largest carnivorous marsupial.

 

Our buddy George Harris detailed this little guy as well. And, as with the Thylacine, he tried to place the Tasmanian Devil into the Didelphis genus. He must have had Opposums on the mind!

 

Speaking of George Harris…It turns out he was the "deputy surveyor" of Tasmania from 1803 until his death in 1810. The man surveyed not only fauna but FLORA as well. To top it off, Harris painted what he saw (such as the first Thylacine photo in this post) what he saw. This is getting pretty exciting! I’m going to have to look more into George Harris. It looks like he was one of Tasmania’s earliest naturalists. This could be really good for our exhibit. Here is some of his writing on the two species.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Images and Quotes (about Tasmanians) from "The Last of the Tasmanians"

I've continued digging through books on Tasmania, specifically those dealing with the attitude towards the aboriginals. Many of these images would work great on our wall.

 

This book has a lot of good information about the atrocities carried out on the natives. The book is very sympathetic to the Tasmanians, however, at the same time it shows the local government as being benevolent and TRYING to control it's settlers.

 

 

"We broke up their home circles. We arrested their laughing corrobory. We turned their song into weeping, and their mirth to sadness." - James Bonwick, on the atrocities committed by fellow man.

 

"They lied like beasts of the forest, in roving parties, without arts of any kind, sleeping in summer like dogs, under the hollow sides of trees…" - Captain James Cook

 

 

 

 

 

A couple of items for our group

Lyre Bird Feathers
Grass Skirt made of Flax

Tasmania 1803 to 1830 notes

Many thanks to Dr. Castaneda for posting the link to this video on her blog. It provided a lot of details about the affects of colonization on the Tasmanian people. It's baffling to see how little some people's lives were regarded by those in power.

8 Tasmanian Nations

- Peerapper

- Tommeginne

- Pyemmairrener

- Tyerrernotepanner

- Leirmairrener

- Paredarerme

- Toogee

- Nuenonne

 

1828 - British land grant in Australia decrees that colonial land owners have the right to shoot and kill any Tasmanians who are found trespassing on their land.

- Bounties are placed on the heads of children and adults.

- The Black War took place between European Settlers and Australian Aboriginals due to the British Land Grant of 1830. The land grant made it possible for settlers to set up farm land. Those who inhabited the land before were not seen by the British government as having true ownership were seen as trespassers. Naturally, the aboriginals were not very pleased with people coming onto their own land, and rebelled against this occupation with guerilla war tactics.

 

- Missions were established which protected the Australians.

- George Augustus Robinson is interested in "civilizing" the Aboriginal people.

- European diseases decimate the population at Robinson's mission.

- As Aboriginals were bringing the price of land down, targets were basically painted on the backs of the Aboriginals.

 

- The Tasmanian coastline was a prime area for people to hunt for seal and whale. Men from around the world came for these prized mammals, but it is revealed that the men also took Tasmanian women. The men would rape the women. Disgusting.

- In one descriptive account, the whalers took men and women out to sea in their vessel. The sailors cut the men's hands off and threw them overboard. As they had no hands, the men (must have been in absolute agony) could not swim back and save the women

- Colonial men never saw the women as a threat. Due to this, they were known to move in-between groups, the Aboriginals and settlers.

 

- I found this direct quote from the film to be very interesting: "Much of the official government history of Australia purports that Australia was settled peacefully. It purports that the Australian constitution was the only Constitution in the world developed in a time of peace. Australia had no revolutions or wars."

- George Robinson tries to teach the Aboriginals to be white. The main goal was always to create "civilized", Christian people.

- A large amount of Aboriginals are basically removed from the mainland and sent to live on Flinders Island. The settlers were free to make a profit on their land without any interference.

- "30 years is a short period in which to have banished the last Aboriginal from his native land. Some even think the race will soon become extinct". Charles Darwin.

 

Science and the Tasmanians

- "There's an enormous trade in Aboriginal human remains that go to museums literally all over Europe, North America. And to own an artifact from the most primitive people on earth becomes a trophy."

- Remains were dug up, body parts were stolen right after death, etc.

Lab Hours

Overall, I spent around five to six hours doing research for my group's museum exhibit. This mostly consisted of digging through relevant texts, looking for helpful information.

Resources Found in Tasmania (From "Tasmania Internation Exposition") + Morgan's Theory

What's so great about Tasmania, anyways? Resources, which means money! This was a land was ripe for British exploitation. What did it have?

 

Floral Species

 

 

 

It was a land of beasts! Especially marsupials...

 

 

And the real money maker...

 

As for the exhibition itself, the large mineral diversity was showcased in it's own section...

 

 

Also, for the rest of my group. At the suggestion of Dr. Castaneda I went into Lewis Henry Morgan's "Ancient Society" and grabbed his classification of human stages...

Naturally, there is a ton of quotes that can explain each one of these.

 



From Barbarism to "Polite Arts"

I've been reading through Amiria Henare's "Museums, Anthropology and Imperial Exchange" (thanks for the heads up, Dr. Castaneda!), and am coming across some really interesting stuff pertaining to colonialism.

Captain Cook's second voyage featured naturalists who were looking for natural resources to exploit in far off lands. After landing in Tamatea, the crew did their part in clearing a little more than an acre of forest. The assistant naturalist on board, George Forster had this to say about the natives they encountered in New Zealand.

"The superiority of a state of civilization over that of barbarism could not be more clearly stated, than by the alterations and improvements we had made in this place."

As he watches the crew transform this little plot of land, he takes note that his fellow Englishmen had done in the course of a few days what the New Zealanders (with their "tools of stone") couldn't have done "over the course of three months".

However, it's the following passes that really caught my eye.

"Already the polite arts began to flourish in this new settlement; the various tribes of animals and vegetables, which dwelt in the unfrequented woods, were imitated by an artist...; and the romantic prospects of this shaggy country, lived on the canvas in the flowing tints of nature, who was amazed to see herself so closely copied...In a word, all around us we perceived the rise of arts, and the dawn of science, in a country which had hitherto lain plunged in on long night of ignorance and barbarism!"

 This is prime stuff that I feel does a very good job of capturing the attitude of the era. It highlights how the colonists saw themselves, as superior, elegant artists who were transforming the world. I'd like to imagine that Forster say himself as doing a favor for the natives, but this voyage was undertaken in the early years of exploration in the area. This voyage seems to have just been to exploit the natural resources. Naturally, the natives got nothing in return.

There is also a lot about New Zealand flax (which is made of a lily) in this text. Apparently it was a VERY important resource in the early days, especially among the Scottish. According to Henare, this was because it linked agriculture with the rapidly growing manufacturing industry of the era. Cook had brought back cloaks from the area and the Europeans liked what they saw. They saw this variant of flax as being "superior to linen flax, with many possibilities for manufacture including naval ropes and canvas, and fabric for the clothing and Manchester demanded by the expanding industrial classes".

Lab Hours

I spent about four hours in total with my group, brainstorming and putting the presentation board together.

Lab Hours

I spent approximately three hours over the past week, which includes research on items as well as on my Deed of Gift.

A Flint and Tinder Pouch

The Burmese pouch collected by the Beardsley's is listed as a "Flint and Tinder pouch". After some research, it appears that flint and tinder refers to the technology used to create this pouch.

 

 "Flint and Tinder Pouch - Burma" from the Beardsley's Collection

Flint, according to Wikipedia, "is a hard, sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of mineral quartz, often categorized as a variety of chert". Flint has been a part of man's toolkit for thousands of years, seeing specialized use beginning in the Neolithic age. The material has been used for the fabrication of projectile points, bifaces, and other lithic technologies.

 

 

Alibates Flint Quarry, picture from the National Park Service

 

It turns out that flint has a fantastic ability to generate sparks of hot material when struck against steel, making it a go to material when one needs to start a fire. However, flint and steel combined with tinder creates an even stronger flame.

 Modern device used for starting fire with flint.

Tinder is an easily combustible material, which makes it the perfect material to use in the construction of materials.

 Tinder being used to start fire. Photo from "Wild Survival Skills" blog

Further research is definitely needed. I'm planning on heading into the lab to see what material the pouch is actually made out of, and then do more research to see if I can find comparable pouches made in Burma.

Catalog - Freels Collection

On Thursday I drew my auction catalog and was thrilled to get something that looked interesting, guns. Joe, who was sitting behind me, ended up getting the Freels Collection, a series of deaccession carousel mounts from the American Carousel Museum. We happily swapped what we had drawn.

 

 

 

The first thing that jumps out to me is the pure beauty of the collection. The collection has items ranging over a period of years from the 1880's to 1930's. Sure it has horses, but the most interesting ones are the dogs, cats, the giraffe, and even a fish! I don't know how these are made anymore, if they're carved or if a machine makes them, but from my recollection I think they're made of fiberglass? Anyways, the pieces that still have their ORIGINAL paint are my favorite. Some of these pieces are actually haunting, but in a good way.

The descriptions of the items are nice and to the point. It includes information such as the dimensions, the year of manufacture, expected price, condition, and my favorite, where it was last operated. Below are a few examples from the catalog.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Perhaps it was because of the subject matter of this catalog, but the items in it reminded me a lot about Disneyland. One of the things I find so special about that park is the living history of it. You experience shows that generations have experienced before you. Objects can represent memories and emotions, and in the case of theme parks, that often ends up being joy and happiness. When I look at the pieces in the Frees Collection, not only do I see beautifully crafted antique art, but I see shades of the aforementioned joy and happiness associated with them. Yet, at the same time, I can't help but feel a little sad. Most of the children who rode these animals in their childhood have completed their lives and passed away. I think it's safe to say this reflected in the mounts themselves. The beasts continue to wear the same expressions on their faces from happy days long sense passed.

 

Emotions are a strange thing.