{"id":153,"date":"2017-02-16T10:38:19","date_gmt":"2017-02-16T16:38:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/archaeology-laboratory\/?page_id=153"},"modified":"2026-03-05T14:11:28","modified_gmt":"2026-03-05T20:11:28","slug":"curation-guidelines","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/archaeology-laboratory\/facilities\/curation\/curation-guidelines\/","title":{"rendered":"Curation Guidelines"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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The following guidelines are intended to be consistent with the Standards and Guidelines for Curation of Federally-owned and Administered Archeological Collections (36 CFR 79) promulgated by the National Park Service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Guidelines for Curation of Archaeological Collections<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Materials submitted for curation must meet the following standards prior to acceptance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Preparation<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

All artifacts must be cleaned and stabilized unless an un-cleaned condition is necessary for future analysis. The depositor may choose to have the ARL staff clean and conserve collections for a fee based on time and material costs. Acceptance of such collections is entirely at the discretion of the Director and\/or Assistant Director.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Labeling<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Artifacts and artifact containers must be marked in permanent ink with accession numbers supplied by the ARL. Minimally, labels will include a two-part designator consisting of a numerator that identifies the project or accession number and a denominator that identifies the site using a standard trinomial descriptor. Acceptance of collections labeled according to other systems is entirely at the discretion of the Director and\/or Assistant Director.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Containers<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The ARL curates artifacts in standard (10 X 12 X 15) storage boxes manufactured of acid-free cardboard. Artifacts should be bagged in 4 mil polyethylene bags with Ziploc closures. Bags must be clearly labeled with provenience information. Artifacts should be sorted according to provenience, material type, and standard analytical category. All artifact packages should fit within one standard box. Oversize materials should be clearly labeled as such. Acceptance of oversized materials is entirely at the discretion of the Director and\/or Assistant Director.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Documentation<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The following documentation should accompany each accepted collection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n