| PG-252747-17 | Preservation and Access: Preservation Assistance Grants | Marco Island Historical Society | The Rehabilitation of Archaeological Materials from Marco Island, Florida | 1/1/2017 - 7/31/2018 | $6,000.00 | Austin | James | Bell | | | | Marco Island Historical Society | Marco Island | FL | 34145-5028 | USA | 2016 | Archaeology | Preservation Assistance Grants | Preservation and Access | 6000 | 0 | 6000 | 0 | Purchase of preservation supplies to rehouse a
collection of site records and archaeological materials, including bone, wood,
shell, stone, and ceramics, that document a native American history that spans
more than 6,000 years on Marco Island, Florida.
The collection includes approximately 83 cubic feet of materials, in
addition to 1,500 photographs and 350 negatives that derive from excavations
conducted over the past century. The
sites include Key Marco, Caxambas Point Shell Midden, Horr’s Island Archaic
Village, and Goodland Point. The
collections are used for research, education, and public programming. This would be the institution’s first NEH
award.
The MIHS is seeking a grant for the rehabilitation and long-term preservation of its collection of culturally significant archaeological materials. Marco Island is home to some of the most well-known archaeological sites in Florida. For more than 120 years, artifacts from Marco Island have been collected by revered institutions such as the Smithsonian and the British Museum. Now, the fledgling Marco Island Historical Museum is developing a collection of its own, largely a consequence of required modern archaeological surveys. The collection holds enormous potential as a resource for public access and academic research, but its accessibility is currently limited by inadequate curation and storage. Most materials are housed in deteriorating non-archival field bags and boxes, with any associated context in danger of being lost. A grant to the MIHS would ensure a comprehensive rehabilitation of these important collections so that they are preserved in perpetuity to benefit the public. |