Laboratory and Curation Guidelines

Laboratory and Curation Guidelines. The following guidelines should be followed when preparing recovered archaeological materials and generated field records for curation: A. Laboratory Guidelines: 1. Laboratory personnel should have an undergraduate degree in anthropology, archaeology, or closely related field, or possess considerable experience and demonstrated knowledge of standard analytical techniques, existing regional typologies, and the ability to recognize and evaluate both historic and prehistoric artifacts. 2. Standard analytical techniques and existing typologies, as appropriate for Southeastern prehistoric and historic archaeological studies, should be employed. 3. Proper stabilization and conservation techniques should also be employed. 4. All recovered cultural material should be cleaned, labeled, catalogued, and prepared for curation. B. Curation Guidelines: 1. All cultural material, field notes, project records and photographs should be curated upon completion of the project in accordance with 36 CFR 79 (“Curation of Federally-Owned and Administered Archeological Collections”) on acid free paper, as applicable. 2. The archaeological contracting firm should clean, label, and prepare all materials recovered during the study, and arrange for the transfer of recovered materials and records to a suitable Mississippi curation facility, when possible, preferably in the same region where the work was conducted, that meets or exceeds standards set forth in 36 CFR 79. 3. All artifacts recovered through underwater archaeological research should be treated in the field to stabilize and lessen deterioration. Standard cleaning and preservation procedures should be followed once artifacts are taken to the laboratory. 4. Due to additional problems and costs associated with proper artifact stabilization and long-term curation of submerged archaeological resources, these artifact collections should be kept to the absolute minimum necessary to make required assessments and determinations.