Sitio Conte in Real Time: February 2, 1940
By: Lee Roueche
Came down on a cache of a half dozen apparently complete vessels this afternoon which will be photo’d and taken out tomorrow. A few gold beads found by the workmen in the soil. Also today began to uncover a great mass of broken pottery. -J. Alden Mason to Horace Jayne, February 2, 1940 In his first […]
Sitio Conte in Real Time: January 23, 1940
By: Lee Roueche
Sitio Conte in Real Time: January 22, 1940
By: Lee Roueche
5 lbs onions $.30 10 tins Maxwell’s coffee 1# $6.00 6 paq. Salada tea $1.50 1 bag Flour Gold Medal 98# $3.25 25 lbs Chinese rice $1.50 Receipt from Compañia Kito Chen, S.A., January 22, 1940 On this day 75 years ago, J. Alden Mason went grocery shopping. So what do you feed a small […]
Sitio Conte in Real Time: January 20, 1940
By: Lee Roueche
We are going up to the camp early this afternoon to get things started, find out the lay of the land, and get a better idea of what to buy. J. Alden Mason to John Corning, January 20, 1940 Finally in Panama after their “swanky” voyage on the Grace Line, Mason wrote to John Corning […]
Sitio Conte in Real Time: January 17, 1940
By: Lee Roueche
Approaching Panama Canal after a lovely calm clear warm swanky trip. Pass thru canal tomorrow. Regards to all. J. Alden Mason, January 17, 1940
Sitio Conte in Real Time: January 9, 1940
By: Lee Roueche
“GOVERNMENT AUTHORIZES” -Schaeffer to Mason, January 9, 1940 On January 9th, Mason received this cable granting the Penn Museum permission for archaeological excavations in Panama at the site of Sitio Conte. The Museum’s agent in Panama, Charles Schaeffer sent a more detailed letter that same day stating that: “the Secretary of Public Instruction, this morning, assured […]
Sitio Conte in Real Time: January 5, 1940
By: Lee Roueche
“In the meantime we are making all arrangements so that the moment that information arrives we can start the wheel going.” -Mason to Lothrop, January 5, 1940 As the dust from the holidays settled, Mason returned to work firing off correspondence about everything the team would need down in Panama. Luckily back in December, Samuel K. Lothrop […]
Sitio Conte in Real Time: December 27, 1939
By: Lee Roueche
“A great deal however depends on the individual in the field, his good judgement, his diagnosis on the condition of the specimen and just how it should be handled, the character of the material he has to treat, how much time is available and its reaction to certain kinds of treatment.” -Louis Schellbach to J. […]
Sitio Conte in Real Time: December 23, 1939
By: Lee Roueche
“We really ought to be leaving about this time and so have to step on the gas to get ready as soon as possible.” J. Alden Mason to Louis Schellbach, December 23, 1939 As 2014 comes to an end, the museum is in the final stages of installing a new exhibition. Beneath the Surface: Life and […]
Mounting the Mounts: A Behind the Scenes of Beneath the Surface
By: Lee Roueche
Matt Gay, the mount maker here at the museum, allowed a sneak peak of what he has been working on for the upcoming exhibition, Beneath the Surface today. After months of careful planning, measuring, drafting, and constructing the various mounts for all the objects going on display, he was able to put some elements together for […]