A Checklist for Sustainable Management of Archaeological Collections

Abstract

All archaeological investigations, whether for cultural resources management (CRM) or academic research, result in the creation of a collection that the profession is ethically bound to preserve for future research, interpretation, and education. A collection may be both artifacts and associated records (e.g., field notes, photographs, and data) or just associated records when no artifacts are recovered. In either case, their care and long-term management require resources of time, money, and labor, which have not been broadly forthcoming since the significant influx of collections began in the United States with the ABSTRACTThe discipline of archaeology has been tolerating, at best, a "curation crisis" for decades that is unsustainable. The many issues related to long-term collections care continue to worsen. To counter this trend, we advocate that planning for collections be integrated into project administration from inception such that the management of archaeological collections begins before fieldwork and continues well after recovered collections reach the repository. To conceptualize this process, we identify the Collection Management Cycle as a framework for the many stakeholders involved in archaeological projects. We also provide a checklist that identifies the responsibilities stakeholders have to the collections they generate, fund, care for, manage, and/or study. Concerted use of the checklist and other proposed solutions will lead to a new era of a more sustainable archaeological practice. Durante décadas, la disciplina de la arqueología ha tolerado, en el mejor de los casos, una "crisis de curación" que es insostenible. Los muchos problemas relacionados con el cuidado a largo plazo de las colecciones continúan empeorando. Para contrarrestar esta tendencia, proponemos que la planificación de las colecciones sea integrada en la administración del proyecto desde el comienzo, de tal forma que el manejo de las colecciones arqueológicas comience antes del trabajo de campo y continúe después de que las colecciones recuperadas lleguen al depósito. Para conceptualizar este proceso, identificamos el ciclo de administración de la colección como un marco para los muchos depositarios involucrados en los proyectos arqueológicos. Además, proveemos una lista de verificación que identifica las responsabilidades de los depositarios respecto a las colecciones que generan, financian, cuidan, gestionan y estudian. El uso conjunto de la lista de verificación y otras soluciones propuestas conducirá a una nueva era de prácticas arqueológicas más sostenibles.enactment of state and federal historic preservation laws in the 1960s and 1970s. Inadequate, unsecure storage space, shortage of professional curatorial staff, poor accessibility to collections for research and other uses, and orphaned collections 1 are some of the many problems identified as part of the curation crisis besieging the United States (e.g.,

Leveraging legacy archaeological collections as proxies for climate and environmental research

“…Use of legacy collections from museums and other types of repositories permeates the biological, earth, and human sciences, with several high-profile articles advocating for collection care, preservation research, and public engagement (70)(71)(72)(73). Often, archaeological and anthropological collections are not mentioned in these discussions, although these collections have much to offer both to research and to education on issues of broad significance to science and society, including applications to public health, conservation biology, and endangered languages and knowledge (48,74). Many ecological, environmental, and climate studies benefit from the long-term high temporal resolution of archaeological sites and proxies, and the examples outlined here have much to offer these larger dialogues.…”

“…Many ecological, environmental, and climate studies benefit from the long-term high temporal resolution of archaeological sites and proxies, and the examples outlined here have much to offer these larger dialogues. To help make this clear, we have placed our research within the larger context of the value of legacy collections around the world for science and society (48,(70)(71)(72)74).…”

“…In the GOM case, the decision to collect fish component samples was made in the field, not during the planning phase. Project planning should explicitly consider and prepare for the creation of a legacy collection (47,48). Because the collection should survive the original excavators, materials and records for all archaeological excavations and subsequent studies should be inherently clear, explicit, extensive, and accessible.…”

“…This example also suggests future directions for integrating similar archaeological data into global environmental research. In addition to issues of preservation and curation discussed below (Incorporating Legacy Collections into Environmental Research), long-term care also includes ensuring access by researchers and Indigenous community members, making certain that people know about the materials by posting records or metadata to online accessible databases, and identifying the last known location of the collection in publications (47,48).…”

“…The lack of systematic reporting requirements means that archaeological collections are not always cited in a way that makes the methods used transparent and the data both accessible and reproducible. Strengthening collections citation requirements in publications and cultural resource management reports is one way of increasing the utility and use of legacy collections in climate (and other) research (48). This is particularly important as publication is sometimes the only reliable method of preserving collections-derived information when institutions or repositories are unable to curate materials in perpetuity.…”