The Archaeologist's Manual for Conservation

A Guide to Non-Toxic, Minimal Intervention Artifact Stabilization
2004
ISBN: 978-0-306-48466-7
Verlag: Springer US

Buch, Englisch, 214 Seiten, Format (B × H): 160 mm x 241 mm, Gewicht: 1120 g

This is a Foreword by an archaeologist, not a conservator, but as Brad Rodgers says, “Conservation has been steadily pulled from archaeology by the forces of specialization”(p. 3),andhewantstoremedythatsituationthroughthismanual. He seesthisworkasa“calltoactionforthenon-professionalconservator,”permitting “curators, conservators, and archaeologists to identify artifacts that need prof- sional attention and, allow these professionals to stabilize most artifacts in their own laboratories with minimal intervention, using simple non-toxic procedures” (p. 5). It is the mission of Brad’s manual to “bring conservation back into arch- ology” (p. 6). The degree of success of that goal depends on the degree to which archaeologists pay attention to, and put to use, what Brad has to say, because as he says, “The conservationist/archaeologist is responsible to make preparation for an artifact’s care even before it is excavated and after its storage into the foreseeable future”. a tremendous responsibility” (p. 10). The manual is a combination of highly technical as well as common sense methods of conserving wood, iron and other metals, ceramics, glass and stone, organicsandcomposits—afarbetterguidetoartifactconservationthanwasava- able to me when I ?rst faced that archaeological challenge at colonial Brunswick Town, North Carolina in 1958—a challenge still being faced by archaeologists today. The stage of conservation in 1958 is in dramatic contrast to the procedures Brad describes in this manual—conservation has indeed made great progress. For instance,acommonprocedurethenwastoheattheartifactsredhotinafurnace—a method that made me cringe.

Zielgruppe

Research

Autoren/Hrsg.

Rodgers, Bradley A.

Fachgebiete

• Interdisziplinäres Wissenschaften Wissenschaft und Gesellschaft | Kulturwissenschaften Museumskunde, Materielle Kultur, Erinnerungskultur
• Geisteswissenschaften Kunst Kunst, allgemein Restaurierung, Konservierung
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Alte Geschichte & Archäologie Vor- und Frühgeschichte, prähistorische Archäologie
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Alte Geschichte & Archäologie Archäologie: Theorie und Methoden

Inhaltsverzeichnis

The Minimal Intervention Laboratory.- Archaeological Wood.- Archaeological Iron (Fe).- Archaeological Copper (Cu) and Copper Alloys.- Miscellaneous Archaeological Metals.- Archaeological Ceramic, Glass, and Stone.- Organics Other than Wood.- Archaeological Composites.

Über Autor(innen)

'This manual is designed to take the mysticism out of archaeological artifact conservation and act as both reference and guide. It is intended as a tool to assist archaeologists in stabilizing a majority of the artifacts they excavate, or those already in storage. These stabilized archaeological collections will be preserved into the future, permitting reexamination and multiple interpretations of the data as our knowledge base grows through time. In addition, conservation will permit improved in-depth primary artifact interpretation, as fully conserved artifacts reveal fabrication, wear patterns, and detail impossible to detect in non-conserved artifacts. Conservation, therefore, is a critical tool within archaeology, a tool that becomes less meaningful if it is isolated, or seen as merely a technical skill that can be farmed out to the "hard sciences." is intended as a counterpoint to the popular specialization trend. My goal in offering this manual is to put artifacts back in the hands of archaeologists or material culture specialists who can best decipher them, opening avenues of artifact or material culture interpretation that are disappearing as artifacts either decay in storage or are sent away to the "conservation professionals".' -

This book is the culmination of over 10 years of work and the merging, expansion, and improvement of 2 previous works: and Each chapter covers a particular substance:

wood, iron, copper, glass, ceramic, organic artifacts, textiles, and leather, composite artifacts.

Chapters begin with a visual flow chart, walking the archaeologist through a step-by-step stabilization process, backed in the text by theoretical discussion and description. Practical methodology follows theory in each chapter giving the archaeologist a more detailed description of preserving material remains. Chapters are backed and serviced by the most comprehensive bibliographic reference available today.

was developed through extensive documentary research, laboratory trial and error, and the feedback of both underwater and terrestrial archaeologists. It will become an indispensable reference for all archaeologists, laboratory technicians, archaeology students, curators, and conservators concerned with simple, proven, non-toxic, artifact conservation procedures.