Information About Archeology

Texas Archeological Society Glossary of Archeological Terms

Since we don't have a full-featured glossary prepared for the website, two links and a section of a curation document are offered as assistance in determining what some of archeology's arcane terminology actually means.

The first link is to a children's section on New Words on the Texas Beyond History website. It was written for youngsters, but also serves well for adults. Lots of pictures!
http://www.texasbeyondhistory.net/kids/newwords.html

The second link is also to a Texas Beyond History web page, and there is quite a bit of overlap with the New Words page. This glossary has fewer pictures and more text.
 http://www.texasbeyondhistory.net/glossary/index.html

The following document was prepared by members of the Council of Texas Archeologists Curation Committee as part of a museum and repository self-evaluation for accreditation questionnaire.  The actual process of acquiring accreditation is now being handled by the Texas Historical Commission, and the CTA document has become an advisory text that is not part of the official process.  The Accreditation and Review Council mentioned below has metamorphosed into the CTA Curation Committee.

This is a rather specialized glossary, and the words are very curation-oriented.

CTA's Museum and Repository Self-Evaluation Glossary

Accessibility – the capability of records/collections to be easily and quickly located, organized and indexed/cleaned and cataloged, and be usable by someone other that the original investigator.

Accessioning – the process of transferring title or ownership from the providing source (field work, purchase, gift, transfer, etc.) to the repository/museum; includes registration of Held-in-Trust collections into the repository/museum’s stewardship.

Accession number – a control tracking number unique to a group of incoming collection objects, whose purpose is identification, not description; the most common form is the year and order in which the collection is accessioned (i.e., 1997-1).

Accredited Archeological Repository (AAR) – the designated name of a repository or museum that has been granted accredited status by the Accreditation and Review Council of the Council of Texas Archeologists.

Accredible standards – currently acceptable museum practices and procedures that are greater than minimal; periodically upgraded.

Acid-free – refers to paper or paper-board products having a chemical pH of 7.0 or higher; loosely-used term referring either to neutral pH or alkaline-buffered materials.  However free of acid a paper may be immediately after manufacture, over time the presence of residue chlorine from bleaching, aluminum sulfate from sizing, or pollutants in the atmosphere may lead to the formation of acid unless the paper or board has been buffered with an alkaline substance.

Acid-free alkaline-buffered – refers to paper or paper-board products to which various alkalines have been added to neutralize acids or serve as an alkaline reserve for the purpose of counteracting acids that may form in the future.  Packaging in such materials creates a safety barrier against the migration of acids both into or out of an object.  Cellulosic materials (paper, cotton, linen, etc.) require alkaline-buffered or inert surroundings (wrappings, packaging, boxing, etc.).

Acid-free neutral – refers to paper or paper-board products that have a chemical pH of 7.0, neither acidic nor alkaline.  Proteinaceous materials (wool, silk, hair, leather, feather, etc.) require neutral or inert surroundings, as do most photographic materials.

Acquisition – the act of gaining physical possession of an object, specimen, or sample and associated records.

Acryloid B72 (or Paraloid B72) – an acrylic resin (polymethyl acrylate/polyethyl methacrylate copolymer) used as an adhesive or a consolidant; stable and soluble under normal conditions (environmentally-controlled); recommended uses include metals (silver and iron), textiles, lacquer work and wood.  Acrylates are known to cross-link (become irreversible) with ultraviolet exposure.

Archeological collections - objects and associated records pertaining to the study of the material remains of past hominid life and activities.

Archival/archivally-sound – a non technical term that suggests that a material or product is permanent, durable, or chemically stable and, therefore, can be used safely for preservation purposes.

Baked-enamel – refers to a finish on metal cabinets used in the past (replaced by powder coating; however, still approved).  Liquid enamel is painted on the surface and baked to form a hard coating.

Blueboard – refers to acid-free, lignin-free corrugated board used for packaging and housing material (boxes, supports, etc.).

Board of Directors – an elected or appointed group of people charged with operating an organization; responsible for setting policy that ensures the organization’s charter and by-laws are followed, seeing that the organization acts within the law, establishing fiscal policy and boundaries, providing adequate resources for activities of the organization, selecting and evaluating the chief executive (director), and promoting the work of the organization.

Cataloging – assigning an object to an established classification system and initiating a record containing identification, provenience, accession and catalog numbers, and location of that object in the collection storage area; each object in a group may be assigned a unique number.

Collection – a related group of objects or specimens and/or associated documents and data in the care of a repository/museum.

Collections Management Policy – a detailed written statement that explains why a repository/museum is in operation and how it goes about its business.  It articulates the repository/museum's professional standards regarding objects left in its care.  It serves as a guide for the staff and a source of information for the public.

Collections Manager – a specialist, educated and trained in collections care and maintenance.  This position is responsible for supervising, cataloging, numbering, housing, and monitoring the condition of collection objects within each department or division; implements policy such as that stated in the collections management policy; normally works under the direction of a curator.  A person who possesses knowledge, experience and demonstrable competence in museum and archival methods and techniques appropriate to the nature and content of the collection under the person's management and care, and commensurate with the person's duties and responsibilities at a qualified repository.  A collection management professional should, as a minimum, have experience in collection management and a graduate degree from an accredited institution in anthropology, history, museum studies, or related discipline, or equivalent experience; normally works under the direction of a curator.

Conservation Report – written report usually combining facts and narrative to describe the current state of a collection object; includes information regarding the object's provenience, description, and general condition; may include a rough sketch or a photograph of the object.  This type of report is done when an object first enters a collection, and thereafter, if it is exhibited, loaned, needs conservation care, etc.

Conservation – the treatment of an object to return or enhance its chemical or physical stability; uses interventive methods. Conservation is different from restoration, which is the process of returning an object to its original or previous condition or appearance mainly for aesthetic purposes.

Conservator – a specialist, educated and trained in the preservation and treatment of physically or chemically unstable objects.

Curator – a specialist, educated in a particular academic discipline relevant to the repository/museum's collections and trained in collections care and maintenance.  The curator is directly responsible for the care and academic interpretation of all objects, materials, and specimens belonging to or lent to the repository/museum; makes recommendations for acquisitioning and deaccessioning; is responsible for attribution, authentication, and research on the collections and the publication of the results of that research.  The curator also has administrative and (if appropriate) exhibition responsibilities and should be sensitive to sound conservation practices; makes policy in all of these areas.

Deaccessioning – the process of legally removing objects from a repository/museum’s collections.

Electrostatic finish – see powder coat.

Federally-associated collections – archeological collections excavated on Federal lands or requiring a Federal permit and Held-in-Trust for the Federal government by designated repositories/museums.

Flammable liquids – solvents such as ketones (acetone), alcohol’s, benzines; should be stored in a fireproof (i.e., concrete-lined) cabinet, closet, etc.  Labels on containers for all liquids used should be checked for such warnings, and those liquids found to be flammable should be kept stored appropriately.

Flammable materials – any materials capable of being ignited easily and of burning with extreme rapidity; should be stored in fire-proof storage area (same as flammable liquids above).  Heating, Ventilation, and Air-Conditioning system (HVAC) – a ducted system that controls temperature, relative humidity, and possibly pollution (gaseous and particulate).  The system includes fans with heating and cooling elements mounted in air handlers, humidifiers and/or dehumidifiers, screen filters for filtering particulates (dust ), and vapor-phase filter s (charcoal, etc.) for filtering gases.  HVAC systems range from top-of-the-line systems that accomplish all of the above to ordinary heater/air conditioners similar to those found in residences.

Held-in-Trust collections – collections generated from public lands that have Federal or State ownership but repository/museum stewardship.

Housing – safe, appropriate furniture and fittings within which collections are placed for long term storage and preservation.

Humidity card indicators – paper cards that change color as the relative humidity changes.

Hygrometer – a compact instrument that measures the relative humidity through the expansion and contraction of moisture-sensitive elements (hair or paper) that react to changes in relative humidity.

Hygrothermograph (recording hygrothermograph) – a battery-powered instrument that continuously measures and records both temperature and relative humidity; uses a moisture-sensitive hair to measure changes in relative humidity.

Inert – refers to products made of non-reactive, chemically stable materials that are not easily decomposed; has no pH value, such as polypropylene or polyethylene.

Inventory – a physically-checked, itemized list of the objects in a repository/museum’s collections.

Lig-free or lignin-free – refers to products that are acid-free and have had the lignin removed. Lignin is a naturally-occurring organic acid that acts as a binding agent in woody plants.  It is easily oxidized resulting in yellowing, embrittlement, and weakening of the products.  Lignin has been replaced by alpha-cellulose, a stable form of cellulose derived from cotton.

Microfoam – an expanded resin of polypropylene, an inert stable plastic; can be used for padding of objects in boxes or on shelves.

Mission statement – a written document that states a repository/museum’s institutional philosophy, scope, and responsibility.

Mobile compactor units – metal storage units mounted on tracks in the floor allowing units to be moved where needed.  This system eliminates the need for several aisles, using instead a single "floating" aisle; also known as high-density storage due to the utilization of valuable space usually taken up by aisles.

Museum – a legally-organized and permanent not-for-profit institution, essentially educational or aesthetic in purpose, with professional staff, that owns and utilizes tangible objects, cares for them, and exhibits them to the public on some regular schedule.  A museum may have Held-in-Trust collections generated from public lands.

Mylar – a common trade name from DuPont for a polyethylene terephthalate, an inert, chemically stable plastic.  Its characteristics include transparency, colorlessness, and high tensile strength.  It is commonly used in sheet or film form to make folders, encapsulations, and book jackets.

NAGPRA – Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act.  This act was adopted in 1991 and requires any federally-funded institution (except the Smithsonian) to inventory collections and develop a list of all human remains and sacred objects for federally-recognized Native American groups.  The institution is to send this list to the Department of the Interior making it available to Native American and Hawaiian groups, and if requested, repatriates such objects.  If an institution is involved with NAGPRA, researcher access, inventorying, and deaccessioning procedures may be affected by NAGPRA.  However, NAGPRA matters themselves are not the concern of ARC accreditation.  The actual care of collections is the focus of ARC accreditation concerns.

Nitrate negative – cellulose-based film; long-term preservation of a collection of film-based negatives would be a frost-free freezer.

Packaging – archival quality materials within which objects are surrounded, contained, and enclosed for long term storage and preservation.

Polyethylene - an inert, chemically stable, highly flexible, transparent or translucent plastic; comes in the form of sheeting or bags.

Powder-coat – refers to the preferred finish on metal housing units; consists of an exterior baked-on coating of a non-reactive, solvent-free powder that is electrostatically applied.

Preventive conservation –- non-interventive collection care to minimize conditions that may cause damage; includes maintaining proper environmental controls, screening for air-borne particulates, monitoring for pests, and stressing proper handling and good record-keeping.

Psychrometer – a device for measuring relative humidity using the differences in the measurements from dry- and wet-bulb thermometers in moving air; air can be moved by human physical action as in a sling psychrometer or with the aid of a battery-operated fan as in a battery-operated psychrometer.

PVA (or PVAC) – the copolymer polyvinyl acetate; an inert, chemically stable plastic.  It is a colorless transparent plastic, used both as an adhesive and consolidant based on the formula selected.  It comes in bead form and is mixed with a liquid carrier (solvent such as acetone). Conservation grade in the appropriate formula should be used.

Repository – a permanent, not-for-profit education or research-oriented agency or institution that provides in-perpetuity legal housing and curation of records and material collections.  The accreditation of Texas repositories is concerned with those agencies and institutions holding archeological collections generated from archeological investigations within Texas.

Scope of collections – defines the purpose of a repository/museum's collection and sets agreed-upon limits that specify the subject matter, geographic location, and time period to which the collections must relate.

Smithsonian Institution Trinomial Site Designation System – provides a state number, then a county abbreviation, and finally a sequential number that identifies a particular site recorded in the county.  For example, 41LU1 (Lubbock Lake Landmark): “41” designates the state of Texas; “LU”, stands for Lubbock County; and “1” indicates the first site in Lubbock County recorded with the Texas Archeological Research Laboratory at The University of Texas at Austin (state repository for site forms).

State-associated collections – archeological collections excavated from State lands or requiring a State permit, and Held-in-Trust for the State by designated repositories/museums.

Sticky trap – small paper trap treated with a sticky substance to catch and hold crawling insects; used mainly for monitoring insect activity rather than actually ridding the premises of insects.

Tyvek – a trade name for a form of polyethylene sheeting; used for wrapping, lining drawers, interleaving, or draping open shelves.

Thermohygrometer – a battery-operated device for measuring temperature and humidity levels; gives a digital or analog reading.

UV light filter– transparent film that comes in the form of sheets that adhere to windows or sleeves that wrap around fluorescent tubes; blocks a percentage of the ultraviolet light emitted through windows or from fluorescent lighting; sleeves usually should be replaced when bulbs are changed.

Volunteer /Docent – a person who renders aid, performs a service, or assumes an obligation voluntarily.