Mississippi Administrative Code › Title 16 - History, Humanities and Arts › Part 3 - Historic Preservation Division › Chapter 12 - Mississippi Standards and Guidelines for Archaeological Investigations › Rule 16-3-12.10.3 - Processing

Current through June 25, 2024
All collected materials should be cleaned (if appropriate),
				  identified, and weighed in the lab. Before cleaning each artifact, the recorder
				  will check its condition (e.g., for friability) and analyze its surface for
				  easily lost information (e.g., false form minerals, organic materials,
				  pigments, etc.). Artifacts should then be cleaned in a manner that preserves
				  the information they contain (see the NPS guidance
http://www.nps.gov/archeology/collections/field_03.htm
for more information on cleaning).
After they are clean, all diagnostic artifacts should be
				  labeled to record site number, provenience, and catalog number. Care should be
				  taken to ensure that important features like edge wear are not obscured during
				  labeling. In the event that an artifact cannot be labeled, it is crucial to
				  make sure that a labeling tag is included with the artifact and contains the
				  provenience information.
Artifacts, such as fire cracked rock (FCR), brick, metal,
				  roofing and building materials, coal and cinder, and unmodified chert cobbles,
				  should have a representative sample retained, with the remainder being weighed,
				  recorded, and discarded. Decisions regarding discard must be made by the PI, in
				  consultation with experts in the research potential of the materials in
				  question, and the MSSHPO. Only materials that are not temporally or
				  stylistically diagnostic may be discarded. Any sampling strategy must account
				  for possible destructive analysis of a portion of the sample in the future. The
				  sampling strategy will vary among sites, but samples from all features must be
				  retained potentially from all proveniences. The strategy must address potential
				  research questions with regard to special and temporal variation. Further
				  questions regarding curation, such as an appropriate representative sample
				  percentage should be directed toward MDAH Archaeology staff on a case-by-case
				  basis.
Please use the following guidance for culling representative
				  samples:
1. Fire-cracked rock (FCR)
				not associated with features may be discarded. FCR from features should either
				be retained in full or sampled.
2.
				Save only whole bricks, dimensional bricks, or bricks with maker's marks. If
				there are duplicates, save only a sample. Discard all non-dimensional brick.
3. Discard any unrecognizable
				metal lumps with active corrosion.
4. Retain a sample of roofing materials, such
				as slate or tiles.
5. Retain a
				sample of mortar, asphalt, plaster, cinder and coal.
If any materials are discarded, indicate in the artifact
				  catalog which materials were discarded or sampled and what percentage was
				  retained. Also, indicate on the artifact bags whether the contents were sampled
				  and the percentage that was retained. Provide a written explanation of the
				  sampling strategy used for each artifact class, a justification, and the
				  location where the materials were discarded.
***
For collections from Phase I Survey projects over
				  500 acres or Phase II or Phase III projects, the sampling strategy should be
				  discussed in the Research Proposal submitted
prior
to
				  initiation of the project. The sampling strategy should be discussed and
				  approved by MSSHPO.
Numbers written on artifacts should be reversible. Acryloid
				  (or Paraloid) B-72 is the sealant of choice for its longevity. A small labeling
				  area should be chosen, and an undercoat of the Acryloid B-72 placed on only
				  this area of the artifact. The artifact will then be labeled on this area using
				  a Rapidograph, quill, or steel-nib pen and black or white India ink. No
				  felt-tipped pens, self-stick labels, tape, rubber cement, fingernail polish, or
				  typing correction fluid should be used to label artifacts. After allowing
				  sufficient time for drying, an additional coat of the sealant is to be applied
				  over the label. As an alternative to the white ink, white Acryloid B-72 is
				  available commercially and may be substituted for the undercoat (a clear
				  overcoat is still needed). All diagnostic and/or distinctive artifacts will
				  need to be labeled, as well as any artifacts that are to be cross-mended,
				  separated for specialized analysis, or for display.
All artifacts will be bagged individually or by type in
				  self-sealing polyethylene bags at least 4 mil thick. Those available as food
				  storage bags are not acceptable as they are often not polyethylene. A
				  descriptive tag should be enclosed in each individual/type artifact bag. This
				  tag should give provenience, description, and count for the contents. Artifacts
				  may be bagged by provenience or type (i.e., ceramics, lithics, etc., from all
				  proveniences stored together, or all types of artifacts bagged by excavation
				  provenience) based on the analysis needed. However, the laboratory methods
				  section of the report will detail this information. The researcher should
				  strive to curate all artifacts in a manner that will allow future researchers
				  to duplicate their methods. Additional attention needs to be paid to fragile or
				  easily damaged artifacts in the bagging process so as to not inflict accidental
				  harm (such as heavy or sharp artifacts, for example, should be bagged
				  separately from fragile ones).
Identification tags for boxes or bags will be prepared. Tags
				  will be made of an inert, waterproof, archaically sound material (e.g.,
				  Nalgene, Tyvek, polyweave, etc., or an acid-free paper tag inserted into an
				  appropriately sized polyethylene self-sealing bag) and marked with ink that is
				  fade-proof, waterproof, and archaically sound. The bags containing the
				  artifacts will be labeled as well. All information on the exterior of the bag
				  will be repeated on an internal tag of the type described above.
Laboratory staff should be aware of curation policies of the
				  various repositories (for collections to be curated with MDAH, see conservation
				  and curation policy Section 10.5.). Additionally, all artifacts should be
				  handled to the standards of SHA/SSA/AIA and 36 CFR Part 79.