Conservation and Curation

Conservation and Curation MDAH requires that all collections (Section106 projects and MS Landmarks) be curated at a curatorial facility which meets the standards outlined in 36 CFR Part 79. State owned projects, such as Mississippi Landmarks, will be curated at MDAH Museum Facilities. Selection of a facility is best made early in the project and, minimally, before the laboratory analysis has begun. The designated curation facility shall be identified in the project report and on the site form(s). All pertinent field, laboratory, and report documentation should be archivally prepared and remitted to the curation facility with the artifacts. This includes labeling each document package (i.e., notebook, folder, etc.) and map with the state trinomial and accession numbers. For projects where no artifacts were recovered, notes and other project materials should be prepared for curation. This should include any photographic material and electronic media including any artifact databases. If these databases are coded, a copy of the coding system should be supplied to the curation facility. Procedures for Curated Collections a. Ownership of the collection must be clear. For donated or long-term loan collections, a copy of the agreement must accompany the collection. b. A collection must include all data and paperwork generated as a result of a project including, but not limited to: all field notes, specimens, records, photographs, maps, computer-generated media, GPS/GIS data, metadata and other all other data. All paper documents and photographs must be originals. One bound copy of the final report and one digital copy must be included with the collection. c. All necessary conservation treatment of artifacts or records must be completed prior to arriving at the curatorial facility. A statement indicating which objects received conservation treatment, along with a conservation record should accompany the collection Artifacts which will need future conservation treatments need to be identified and the cost of those treatments may be assessed in addition to the standard curation fee. d. Any collection that is infested with vermin will be returned promptly at the expense of the owner. Standards for Records a. All records and notes must be accompanied by a catalog. The catalog must include, but is not limited to: project, site, record type, and subject for each document or group of related documents. All field notes, forms, drawings, catalogues, inventories will be printed or copied onto acid-free paper. All paper records will be placed in acid-free archival folders that are permanently labeled with the pertinent information listed previously. Bag tags must be included inside all artifact bags. b. Records with a significant amount of dirt or soil smears will be copied before being submitted for curation. All soiled originals will be curated with the artifacts. c. A copy of all records must be submitted on acid-free paper. These will be stored separately from the originals as per 36 CFR Part 79.9, 6ii. d. All computer generated media must be accompanied by a paper copy of the data contained on the cd and a description of the programs used to create the data. If any information was derived by custom computer programming, a description of the file structures must also be included. All metadata must also be included. Standards for Artifact Collections a. All artifacts must be organized by site and provenience within each site. All materials separated out for photos, etc. should be re-incorporated into their original provenience. b. All artifacts must be contained in a 4 mil polyethelene “zip lock” type bags with a white panel area for descriptions. Sandwich bags, freezer bags, paper bags and all other kinds of bags are not appropriate and will not be accepted. All provenience information will be written in the white panel area of the bag in permanent black marker (i.e. sharpie marker/pen). Bags must be punched with a standard hole punch near the top of the bag to allow air/moisture to escape. Faunal remains/human remains can be placed in a paper bag inside a plastic 4 mil polyethelene zip lock bag. Soil samples also need to be placed in 4 mil polyethelene bags but can be secured with string or wire. Fragile items must be packed in acid free paper and placed inside MDAH approved archival boxes. c. All artifacts and records should be packed into the standard MDAH box after they arrive and are assessed; these boxes measure 15"L x 12"W x 10"H (12 ¾”W with lid on). MDAH uses Perma/Cor Coroplast Corrugated Bulk Storage Carton which is available to order through University Products (Item number 225-0771). Other brands may be used but they must fit the measurements above. Artifacts and records, therefore, can be shipped in a manner left up to the submitter. Each box must contain two (2) copies of bag by bag inventory of its contents. Inventory information must include but is not limited to: site number, provenience, type of material and catalog number. d. Each box must be labeled on the front, on one side and inside. Box labels must be printed on archival card-stock paper and contained within a plastic envelope affixed to the box (the inside label does not have to be in an envelope). Any label template may be used, but each label should include the following information: Box Number, Accession Number, Consultant Name, Owner Name (if a state or federal agency owns the collection), Project Name, Site Number(s), Site Name (if appropriate), County, and Description of Box Contents. MDAH uses ULINE 4” x 6” Lock and Press Side Adhesive-backed Envelopes (Model No. S-128) to hold box labels. e. Collections stored at MDAH that are federally curated (i.e., not under MDAH-ownership) are curated under a fee basis. Artifacts curated under federal collections must come to MDAH “curation ready” and may be rejected or subject to additional costs to curate the items, when necessary. Transfer of materials to MDAH To make arrangements for transfer of collections to MDAH, please contact the Chief Archaeologist. A transfer memo should accompany any delivered material, along with a brief description of items included in the delivery.