Successful Collection Management: Using Existing Collections for Research, Education, Public Outreach, and Innovation

DOCUMENT Citation Only Mary Petrich-Guy. Mark Warner.

From 2005 to 2008 archaeologists conducted the largest excavation in the state of Idaho's history in the small north Idaho town of Sandpoint.  The excavations were a prelude to the construction of a byway through the city's former historic core by Idaho's Department of Transportation. Despite not being able to conduct a public program during the excavations, project archaeologists were subequently able to create a number of outcomes derived directly from the excavations that were ultimately...

DOCUMENT Citation Only Christine M Ames.

Successful collections management encompasses proper housing, monitoring, and curation to ensure long-term preservation and accessibility.  However, successful collections management also involves identifying and addressing issues(s) that threaten collections.  The Washington, D.C. Historic Preservation Office (DCHPO) is in the midst of addressing a collections crisis.  The DCHPO consults on both District and Federal compliance projects, and without a curation facility, its collections are...

DOCUMENT Citation Only Danielle R Cathcart. Heather Olson.

As we celebrate the anniversary of the NHPA, many states are now coming to terms with the immensity of the archaeological collections gathered on their behalf over the past fifty years. While academics and professionals have become experts at minimizing the effects of development on buried and extant cultural resources through archaeological excavation, these endeavors have amassed a staggering amount of objects and information that too often languishes in deteriorating bags and boxes—poorly...

DOCUMENT Citation Only Paola A Schiappacasse.

This presentation reconstructs the history of the archaeological collection resulting from the 1961 excavations at the Castillo de San Felipe del Morro in San Juan, Puerto Rico carried out by Dr. Hale Smith, from a collections management perspective.  A chronological timeline of the field and laboratory work will allow understanding the type and amount of analyses that has been completed for this collection. Particular consideration is given to the current location of the artifacts, notes and...

DOCUMENT Citation Only Alicia Paresi. Jennifer McCann.

All archeological material found on National Park lands must be curated and cared for in perpetuity, though often very little funding is designated for this purpose. This has led to an enormous backlog of artifacts and records in almost every park. For the last 15 years, the Northeast Museum Services Center has been providing cataloging services to National Park Service units in the Northeast Region. In that time, we have recovered an incredible amount of data about the NHPA-generated archeology...

DOCUMENT Citation Only Kerry S. Gonzalez. Michelle Salvato.

In the spring and fall of 2012 Dovetail Cultural Resource Group conducted data recoveries on two historic sites associated with the Route 301 project in Delaware. Both sites had soil conditions resulting in heavily corroded metals, which were found in abundance. X-radiography was needed to identify indeterminate artifacts and prioritize conservation needs. The resulting x-rays allowed for accurate catalogs, thereby aiding in site interpretation and resulting in a better understanding of the...

DOCUMENT Citation Only Robert C Bryant. Jeffrey Glover. Brennan Collins. Robin S Wharton.

Large historical collections of cultural data are difficult to maintain and utilize due to sustainable accessibility, funding, curation, and interest. At Georgia State University we have an archaeological collection procured in the late 1970s from the construction of the MARTA rail line. This paper discusses our efforts to make this collection more than a resource for archaeological research. Collaborative interdepartmental projects have given the collection new life by engaging students and...

DOCUMENT Citation Only Leigh Anne Ellison. Francis McManamon. Jodi Reeves Flores.

More public agencies, researchers and other managers of archaeological data are preserving their information in digital repositories and there is an exciting future for research, education, public outreach, and innovation.  There is a wealth of primary data and interpretive reports already available in tDAR for reuse in research and education.  Researchers can quickly track down digital copies of reports and grey literature for background surveys and comparative analyses.  Students can locate...

DOCUMENT Citation Only Rebecca J Morehouse.

Eighteen years ago, the State of Maryland’s archaeological collections were moved into the Maryland Archaeological Conservation Laboratory (MAC Lab) at Jefferson Patterson Park and Museum in Southern Maryland. This was an important step towards improving the storage conditions of the Maryland collections, but it did little to make the collections more accessible. Understanding the need for better access to archaeological collections, MAC Lab staff spent years rehousing, inventorying and...