What I'm going to address today are the first steps to take in worst-case situations. Make One Person Responsible for Overseeing the Work. That person needs to have some knowledge of curation procedures, and should know where to go for additional help. At least this will keep the work on track. A lot of people don't understand that archaeological collections consist of more than just artifacts.
Collections consist of everything produced by the project.
Electronic Media of many kinds Electronic media is an often forgotten, and extremely important part of the list. Midden, Dirt, Charcoal Etc., etc., etc. Curation problems are wide-ranging, and there's only time to mention a few here today. I'll show some examples of some critical ones that nearly every collection in Hawaii has, or will, experience. Poor housekeeping allows dust to collect on and around materials, abrading surfaces, and providing a living and breeding environment for destructive insects.