A Future for Archaeological Collections from Federal Policy Perspectives

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Ideas, Ethical Ideals, and Museum Practice in North American Archaeological Collections" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Federal archaeological collections acquisition and management practices are guided by decades-old law and policy, intended to uphold aspirational and perhaps unachievable expectations for preserving our nation’s heritage. The resulting “curation crises,” or, rather, the system that has become the status quo for collections management, is an unsustainable framework. After over a century of collecting with no end in sight, this system cannot persist. It strains limited capacities, finite resources, and dedicated staff, as well as relationships among parties with different objectives, values, and understandings of requirements and responsibilities. This paper explores modernization of collections management objectives and practices, emphasizing shared responsibility, co-stewardship, community partnerships, and increased use. This shift may bring new understanding to the interpretation of our collective history and changes in archaeological practice. Reorienting professional goals and practice and leaning into contemporary ethical standards and stakeholder interests warrants reexamination of why we preserve and how we use archaeological collections and may prompt reassessment of the federal regulations that guide collections management.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Ideas, Ethical Ideals, and Museum Practice in North American Archaeological Collections   •
• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

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Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 39287.0