A Preservation Needs Assessment for the Collections of the Department of Anthropology

FAIN: PG-50249-08

University of Wisconsin, Madison (Madison, WI 53715-1218)
Sissel Schroeder (Project Director: May 2007 to March 2009)

A general preservation assessment and the creation of a long-term preservation plan for archaeological, ethnographic, and biological artifacts. The collections are used for research and teaching and include stone and bone tools, pottery, clay figurines, basketry, textiles, archives, maps, and photographs documenting archaeological sites from around the world.

The UW-Madison Anthropology Department proposes a preservation assessment of its 20th century collections, including archaeological, ethnographic, and biological materials. The collections, dominated by archaeological materials from the Americas, consist of stone and bone tools, pottery, plant and animal remains, ethnographic materials mostly from Alaska and Brazil, biological skeletal material used in teaching, and fossil casts. It totals about 2200 cubic feet plus associated documentation. Archaeological materials include type-site collections that form the foundation of regional culture histories, while the ethnographic collections include materials no longer produced. In addition to their research significance, these materials are invaluable aids in teaching. The proposed assessment is the first step to bring these collections up to modern standards of curation and make them more accessible to humanities researchers and educators.