Morgan Thorson and collaborators with archaeologist Dr. Bonnie McEwan

While in residence, Morgan Thorson and her collaborators met with Dr. Bonnie McEwan, Director of Archaeology at Mission San Luis, an historic Spanish Colonial Mission, to further explore themes of excavation and artifact. Dr. McEwan provided a private tour of the reconstructed mission grounds and pointed out the archeological work in progress. Due to the recurring theme of trash in Spaceholder Festival Thorson was particularly interested in the unique manner in which the Appalachee Indians buried their trash. Dr. McEwan explained that the trash receptacles on the mission site, called middens, were of particular importance as the Appalachee Indians were concerned with how their remains would be left behind. Dr. McEwan, who studies artifacts found in middens, provided a tour of the Mission San Luis lab and an up close look at the process of sorting, cataloguing and reassembling the Appalachee “trash” for archeological examination.