Tag: Oral Session 4O

Art Destined For Destruction: Uncovering the Origin of the Anthropomorphic Mask in the Museum of Natural and Cultural History’s Alice Henson Ernst Collection

Presenter(s): Hannah Solheim − Economics, Mathematics

Faculty Mentor(s): Vera Keller

Oral Session 4O

Research Area: Social Science

The origin of the Museum of Natural and Cultural History’s Anthropomorphic Mask (Item #2-1054) has been a mystery for decades. The museum purchased the mask from Alice Henson Ernst in 1938. However, little was known about how Ernst acquired the mask or where it originated. First, I compared the mask’s morphological traits to typical mask characteristics from different northwest coast Native American tribes, as reported in secondary literature. Many of the mask’s features are characteristic of the Kwakwaka’wakw People, residing on the British Columbian coast. The mask’s color scheme, protruding eyes, exaggerated mouth, and use of discontinuous black lines of varying thickness all point to Kwakwaka’wakw origins. This is a particular type of Kwakwaka’wakw mask called an Atlakim mask. These masks were hastily crafted and crudely painted, perhaps explaining the visible brush strokes in the paint. These masks were not meant to last—they were worn for four years in dancing series and then burnt. Perhaps this mask narrowly escaped being devoured by a fire, as evidenced by the mask’s singed cheek. Next, I examined the museum’s accession records and the Alice Henson Ernst Papers to determine how and when Ernst acquired the mask. A research proposal reveals that in August 1938, Ernst travelled to Fort Rupert to do field work among the Kwakwaka’wakw People. Ernst’s correspondence suggests that she purchased the mask from a tribe member named Harry. The Alice Henson Ernst Papers, housed in Special Collections, hold the key to identifying more masks in the Museum’s Collection.

Portrayals of Power: The local Identity of Three Cypriot Sarcophagi from the 5th Century BCE

Presenter(s): Samantha Mcgee − Anthropology

Faculty Mentor(s): Daphne Gallagher

Oral Session 4O

Research Area: Social Science (Anthropology/Archaeology)

Funding: Honors College Extraordinary Expenses Thesis Grant, Undergraduate Anthropology Award for Research

Cyprus has been a place of cultural interaction and exchange as long as humans have occupied it. Its location just beneath the Anatolian peninsula has made the island a meeting ground of many of the iconic Mediterranean powers of history, including Greece, Egypt, Assyria, and Persia. There has been a great deal of research on the way Cyprus was influenced by external forces, as well as how these cultural influences were engaged and manipulated on the island. However, more research is needed on the exclusively local identity of Cypriot material culture. This paper focuses on three sarcophagi covered in detailed relief sculpture from the first half of the fifth century BCE, analyzing their place as objects in their local communities. These three objects were chosen because they are similar in date and form, and are from three different cities, providing context for inter-island diversity at a time of extreme political and cultural turmoil on the island. The main focus of this research is the iconography of the relief sculpture; the local context and use of the elements and images is analyzed, as well as how the context of this iconography on the sarcophagus, and its place as an item of funerary ritual might have impacted the understanding of these objects in their local communities. I conclude that the iconography of each sarcophagus is clearly impacted by their local spatial and social context, and is also connected to political and cultural events occurring over the course of the fifth century.

Identifying Fossils: Horses of Kyrgyzstan in the Miocene

Presenter(s): Dylan Carlini − Geology

Faculty Mentor(s): Samantha Hopkins, Win Mclaughlin

Oral Session 4O

Research Area: Earth and Biological Science

In paleontology, correct identification of fossils is of paramount importance to the scientific process. In locations with sparse fossil records and little preexisting literature, such as Kyrgyzstan, fossil identification can be particularly difficult. For this study, I identified two previously unidentified specimens from the University of Oregon Kyrgyz fossil collection as a mandible and a cheek tooth from the genus Hipparion, a member of family Equidae. Following a review of relevant paleontological literature, I used digital calipers to gather precise measurements of the specimens and conducted a careful analysis of tooth cusp morphology in order to make the determination. While the two specimens cannot be definitively attributed to the same individual, I determined that both came from adult individuals of the genus Hipparion. Using tooth morphology from the mandible, I also estimated the age of the individual at the time of death. These identifications add to our knowledge of the biodiversity of Miocene central Asia. Additionally, this study serves to demonstrate the process of fossil identification.

Perspectives on Czech Art of the 1970’s and early 80’s: Framing an Understudied Period

Presenter(s): Jacob Armas – The History of Art and Architecture, International Studies

Faculty Mentor(s): Jíří Ptaček, Sara Brock

Oral Session 4O 

Research Area: Art History/ Humanities

Funding: Gloria Tover Lee Scholarship in Art History
Judy Fosdick Oliphant Scholarship in International Studies
UO Summit Scholarship
GEO Map Your Future Scholarship
SIT Study Pell Grant Match
SIT/ UO Scholarship

This paper is an exploration of how different generations of art historians, art writers, and curators think about, approach and frame Czech art of the Normalization era between the 1970’s and early 1980’s. While not always representing generational differences, differing personal and professional orientations among people interviewed allows for a fuller picture of this period, which is understudied in the Czech, and indeed International art historical discourse. In the latter case, this is because key texts have yet to be translated or are not readily available and, there is not a broader understanding of the artistic activity that took place during this time. Six structured interviews were conducted based on a standard set of questions developed from relevant secondary sources in English. This data was then analyzed in an attempt to see if and how the interpretation

of the period’s art has changed with succeeding generations. The paper makes the preliminary conclusion that with more historical distance comes more willingness to reevaluate the period and interpret its art in new contexts, but also finds some understandings are not affected by generational difference. Further interviews would provide a more defined frame with which to view the period.