Treating Bones: The Intersection of Archaeology And Conservation

Abstract

Developed to house and preserve the world’s material heritage, museums and other collecting institutions currently store billions of artifacts in their reserves. Unfortunately, the objects in museum storage, especially archaeological specimens, are continually deteriorating, and the aesthetic, cultural, and scientific value of these resources are threatened by the dismal state of museum storage environments. Traditionally, the care and preservation of these artifacts have been the responsibility of archaeologists and conservators; however, these professional fields have a long history of separation and misguided interactions that prevent archaeologists and conservators from working together to achieve the optimal preservation of these priceless collections. The precarious state of collections care is especially problematic for human remains, a unique category of archaeological artifacts that can offer unprecedented insight into ancient populations.

Even in museum storage, human remains serve important scientific, religious, and cultural purposes, and it is imperative that collections care professionals, including archaeologists, develop rigorously tested guidelines to preserve these artifacts. In order to identify the best practices for the care and removal of mold from infested human remains, I analyzed the University of Michigan Museum of Anthropology’s human remains collection from Senegal, Africa, to contribute to the growing field of collections care standardization. Mold is a pervasive problem in museum environments, with all organic artifacts at risk for infestation, including human remains. The results of this thesis provide a series of recommendations for archaeologists and conservators to both prevent and treat the infestation of human remains.