University of Pennsylvania ScholarlyCommons Theses (Historic Preservation) Graduate Program in Historic Preservation 2011 New Investigations into a Historic Treatment: The Efficacy of Gelatin as an Adhesive for Earthen Finishes at Mesa Verde National Park Emily M. Aloiz University of Pennsylvania Follow this and additional works at: http://repository.upenn.edu/hp_theses Part of the Historic Preservation and Conservation Commons Aloiz, Emily M., "New Investigations into a Historic Treatment: The Efficacy of Gelatin as an Adhesive for Earthen Finishes at Mesa Verde National Park" (2011). Theses (Historic Preservation). 178. http://repository.upenn.edu/hp_theses/178 Suggested Citation: Aloiz, Emily M. (2011). New Investigations into a Historic Treatment: The Efficacy of Gelatin as an Adhesive for Earthen Finishes at Mesa Verde National Park. (Masters Thesis). University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA. This paper is posted at ScholarlyCommons. http://repository.upenn.edu/hp_theses/178 For more information, please contact
[email protected]. New Investigations into a Historic Treatment: The fficE acy of Gelatin as an Adhesive for Earthen Finishes at Mesa Verde National Park Abstract This thesis comes out of years of work beginning in 1994 undertaken by Frank Matero and the University of Pennsylvania to stabilize the earthen surface finishes of Mesa Verde National Park in Southwestern Colorado. The aim of this research is to better understand the performance and deterioration mechanisms for gelatin treatments used to reattach earthen plasters and washes. Threats to the treatment method include biodeterioration and failure due to wet-dry cycles and humidity fluctuations. The da hesive’s durability to these weathering phenomena was researched and evaluated through testing proxy samples in the Architectural Conservation Laboratory of the University of Pennsylvania.