This artifact is labeled with its catalog number, a unique code that ties it to the site and specific location at which it was found. MWAC staff use gloves, acid-free packaging, and stable ink to make sure the artifacts and location information remain intact for a very long time.
Center staff account for artifacts and archives as soon as they come into our care and track when they are used for research, museum exhibits, or education. We work closely with archeologists to record the number and kind of artifacts and archives coming into MWAC with each field project. We also track each collection as it is processed, analyzed, and cataloged by Center staff. We create formal loan agreements for all materials leaving the Center for analysis or exhibit, ensuring everything is accounted for upon return. To make sure collections retain research value, we take pains to keep key information with each artifact through detailed packaging, databases, and labels with unique object numbers. Collections staff even perform a spot check each year to make sure items are accounted for by locating a randomly drawn sample of artifacts from the collections.
MWAC staff members in the artifact storage room, finding each item on the random sample list for the annual inventory. We store around 2.4 million artifacts in this climate-controlled and secured space on shelving protected against collapse and in special packaging to protect artifacts from crushing, chemical reactions, and moisture.
Project archives (like these site maps) preserve important information about artifact collections. Collections staff use careful record-keeping to make sure archives and artifacts can be reunited when needed.
