by Elizabeth M Young

Created on: May 31, 2011   Last Updated: June 02, 2011

When an archaeological investigation is in the planning stages, the detailed steps for processing the material that is collected are also planned in careful detail. Processing can be done with new material that has been collected, or older archived materials may be reprocessed and rehabilitated in order to comply with the latest standards.

According to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers guidelines for archeological processing, the work includes boxing, bagging or labeling the collection of items, preparing and caring for the associated documentation, then arranging for the objects and their documentation to go into long or short term storage.

It is important to consider that sets of archaeological materials will be affected by specific environmental factors that can affect the level and type of care that the materials need. The different materials from each region as well as the state or quality of local and regional facilities are also important to consider when planning for the processing stage.

In the planning stages of an archaeological event, thought is put into the types of material that scientists expect to collect. Then, any conservation procedures or methods that will be required in the field are considered. How the material will be transported to the storage location or laboratory is something that must be planned as part of materials processing. 

Data is part of the processing. Care must be taken to preserve and to properly care for the data that essential for managing and studying the material. The proper field excavation forms, field notes, photographic logs, transit data, maps, level records, videotape must be of archival quality. This means that the paper and data recording materials must also be able to withstand the tests of time.

When the materials are packaged, acid free packaging can mean the difference between deteriorated materials and materials that are in good shape after even decades of storage. In some cases, the original containers, bags and boxes may have to serve as "temporary" storage for many years.

Fragile objects must be stored properly to prevent breakage. The storage environment must be as close to the real site conditions as possible, meaning that dry origins call for dry storage and that wet origins may require that the artifacts be kept wet.

Of course, during processing, both the artifacts and the documentation must be handled as little as possible. The laboratory will be able to specify the packaging

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