The Archaeologist's Manual for Conservation: A Guide to Non-Toxic, Minimal Intervention Artifact Stabilization

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." The Archaeologist's Manual for Conservation 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".