The connection between the language and the material culture documented at Ozette is part of this revitalization project: the words for the objects in the Ozette collection are part of what the language carries, and the objects provide concrete referents for the words that help make the language meaningful in a contemporary context.

The relationship between the Ozette collection and the Makah language revitalization is a specific example of the broader relationship between material culture and language in Indigenous communities.

Objects and words encode related but distinct dimensions of cultural knowledge.

Together, they provide a more complete record of cultural practice than either alone can achieve.

How Preservation Happens: The Science Behind the Mud

The preservation chemistry at Ozette has been studied in some detail, and understanding it requires attention to several interacting factors.