Archaeology of the Eastern Oyster: Collection and Curation Practices by North American Practitioners

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2024: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Oysters have long served as both ecological and cultural keystone species. Across many coastal regions of the world, oyster-dominated shell middens and mounds are common features of the archaeological record. Oyster deposits serve as time capsules containing evidence of past environmental conditions, harvest patterns, and subsistence economies. Due to the substantial volume of oyster specimens recovered from coastal sites, archaeologists must often navigate challenges regarding the curation or disposal of assemblages. A primary challenge includes balancing finite space for long-term curation with the potential for future research of unanalyzed bulk shell collections.

Here we present the results of a 2023 survey focused on assessing archaeological practices related to the recovery and curation of eastern oyster specimens in North America. The results identify practices across institutions housing archaeological oysters including museums, universities, government and Tribal repositories, and private CRM firms. We summarize trends in field research design, laboratory analyses, and approaches to curation. The broader impacts of this survey highlight commonalities and differences in curation practices as a foundation for discussing best practices in oyster curation and collections management, as well as how to improve inter-institution research across collections with implications for long-term curation care and applications to other shell taxa.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• SAA 2024: Individual Abstracts   •
• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 41594.0