November ’21

Chicken Skeleton

An articulated domestic chicken skeleton positioned in a standing upright position with a raised head, which is part of the Archaeology Department’s skeletal teaching collection. The skeleton is mounted upon a black acrylic sheet labelled at the front with two stickers and straddles a clear acrylic sheet roughly hewn to the skeletons shape. A steel rod runs through the upper vertebrae that make up the neck, to the skull.

The skeleton was prepared by Griffin Biological Laboratories, a science equipment supplier, now called Griffin Education since its absorption into Fisher Scientific circa. 1999.

Articulated animal skeletons are incredibly useful for teaching about the various bones within an animal and they also help to differentiate between different breeds of the same species. Additionally they can help individuals to understand where a particular bone is located within an animal skeleton. It’s also beneficial to have articulated skeletons within a teaching collection as they provide context for individuals studying animal bones.

Condition

• Signs of dirt on the surface of the skeleton
• Old adhesive is yellowed and unstable
• Several bones are detached and in a bag
• There are a number of missing bones
• The paper labels showed signs of surface dirt
• The skeleton is vulnerable to damage.

Conservation

The paper labels were cleaned using grated eraser as this would remove the surface dirt without damaging the paper.

Initially the bones were cleaned using a soft bristle brush in order to remove surface dust. Other dry cleaning methods were considered, however due to the fragility of the bones they were not tested. As there was still evidence of dirt on the surface of the bones, they were wet cleaned using an appropriate solvent and  cotton wool swabs.

The old, yellowing adhesive holding parts of the skeleton together was determined to be unstable and so was removed using a suitable solvent. This led to partial dismantling of the skeleton but was deemed necessary in order to ensure the skeleton was stable enough to be used as a teaching aid.

Once the cleaning of the skeleton was complete, the dismantled bones, and the bones from the bag, could be reattached. This was done using an adhesive that would not yellow over time, and was long term stable. A number of bones were missing from the skeleton and these were replicated by casting from existing bones where possible. These replicated bones were attached using the same adhesive as before and their locations were documented.

A new Perspex cover was required for the skeleton in order to help protect it from damage. As there was no way to prevent a Perspex cover from moving across the base, small sections of plastazote foam were adhered to the corners. These stoppers held the Perspex cover in place, and helped to prevent any harm coming to the  skeleton.

Stay tuned for next month’s object!