NPS Archeology Program: Managing Archeological Collections

Format

(photo) Archeologist reviewing 'Managing Archeological Collections'?
Reviewing "Managing Archeological Collections"? Photo courtesy of Alexandria Archaeology, City of Alexandria, Virginia.

We hope you find the materials provided here both informative and fun. There are ten sections, including the one you are in right now. Each contains information on a particular set of subject matter, such as the laws related to caring for archeological collections or what an archeologist should think about and do prior to going to the field. Although each section provides unique information, it also builds on knowledge learned in previous sections.

For visitors who know very little about archeological collections management and care, we suggest that you start at the beginning and complete every section in the order presented.

If you feel that you already know about the key issues in a particular section, you can test yourself by taking the review quiz. If you get a grade of less than 70%, we suggest that you go back and study the section more completely.

The time it takes to work through the whole site depends on how much knowledge you wish to extract. It takes a minimum of five hours to read all the text, take all the quizzes, and explore all the interesting links in each section.

The highlights of each section are photos, a bibliography, a page of links to related web sites, a glossary linked from keywords in the text, and a quiz. The photos are provided by several sources (see Credits) that cover practical curatorial experience and expertise at the federal, state, tribal, and local levels, as well as from the perspectives of an archivist and conservator. Each photo is fully credited.

Note that there are relatively few references cited within the text. This is done to more or less replicate a lecture rather than a scholarly book. Therefore, you are provided with a comprehensive bibliography for further information that is tailored to each section.

Each review has ten questions. Not only do you get instant feedback when you answer each question, but you can receive a grade after you answer all ten questions.

As a final note, the spelling of "archeology" and its derivatives follows the conventions of the federal government. The spelling commonly used in academia and in publications for the public, "archaeology", is followed when appropriate in quotations and bibliographical citations.

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