Eric Hollinger

Cakes are the perfect centerpiece of a celebration. Whether you’re celebrating a birthday, a wedding or National Cake Day, a sweet slice of cake makes any event special. At the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, one archeologist has made cakes the highlight of the anthropology department’s annual holiday party. For many at the museum, the cakes have become a holiday tradition that they look forward to with anticipation. But the cakes aren’t just delicious.

Proteomic and Direct Analysis in Real Time Mass Spectrometry Analysis of a Native American Ceremonial Hat Complementary mass spectrometry analyses were performed to study a broken ceremonial hat of the Tlingit in the collection of the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History. The hat base and an associated cylinder are carved from wood and show multiple signs of age and breakage, as well as remnants of animal materials used for construction, decoration, and repair.

The Smithsonian regularly works with several indigenous clans and communities to apply 3D digitization and replication technologies to cultural preservation and restoration issues. This past fall, as Tribal Liaison with the Repatriation Office at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, I continued this effort with the Tlingit tribe of southeastern Alaska.