On Tue, 30 Aug 1994, William Adams wrote:
 
> Jennifer Schansberg wrote on Aug. 30, that: > > "This only goes to show
how differently museum people and > archaeologists feel about objects!" >
 
> I don't think that is a fair characterization. This particular
archaeologist, on > the advice of a museum conservator, stopped using
whiteout some ten years ago b > ecause of its apparent instability. I
think that most archaeologists make an eff > ort to keep up with current
views on conservation of materials, but few conserva > tors seem
interested in publishing in the archaeological journals. One exception >
to this was Curt Moyer's column on Archaeological Conservation published
in the > quarterly Society for Historical Archaeology Newsletter. Did any
other conserva > tor from a museum ever alert the archaeological community
that whiteout was not > a good medium to use? If this was such a problem
then there should have been a n > otice published in each of the main
journals. Was there? If so, I missed reading > it. Is there any empirical
evidence of whiteout's failure, or is this simply an > educated opinion?
If whiteout really is unstable, then the conservators have a > real
problem on their hands. ! > I used whiteout on artifacts from 1971-1984
and have put tens of thousands of ar > tifacts into "permanent" curation.
Whiteout was the standard used in archaeology > for several decades. Seems
to me that a dialogue between conservators and archa > eologists needs to
be improved. What else are we doing wrong? If you care to cha > nge things
then let us have a dialogue. There are several archaeologists on this >
list who are networked well with the archaeology listservers, so we can
cross-p > ost the more interesting comments. > > William H. Adams > P.O.
Box 1177 > Philomath, OR 97370-1177 USA > 503-929-3102 -3264 fax >
[log in to unmask] >
 
I think that part of the trouble is that archaeologists seldom see what
happens to the materials they submit for curation.  They don't see that
the thick layer of whiteout that was so easy to write on has popped off,
taking the specimen number that gives the artifact context and meaning
with it.  They don't see the artifacts which have been permanently
disfigured by large smudges of whiteout that cover diagnostic features and
which, instead of popping off, prove impervious to all known solvents.
They don't see that the vinyl photo pages that were so much less expensive
than the polyester ones have pretty much destroyed the visual
documentation of the project they worked so hard on.
 
My background is archaeology, including academic and CRM field and lab
work, but I've been working with archaeological collections in museums for
the last twelve years.  I work with archaeologists on a daily basis. I
even married one.  I feel comfortable in saying that I'm aware of
issues from the perspectives of both the archaeological and museum
communities.
 
Some archaeologists do care what happens to the results of their work,
others don't.  As is often the case, even in museums, people do things the
way they've always done them, or in the way that is most expedient, or
cost effective.  These ingrained habits are hard to break.  The turn-over
in archaeological lab personnel is also a problem.  As soon as I feel like
I've established good communications with a lab director, they get kicked
upstairs, or take a job out of state, or decide to open a microbrewery in
Seattle instead.
 
Unfortunately, there does seem to be a problem in getting a dialog going
between conservators, museum personnel, and archaeologists on a
national level, and then maintaining it, although there have been numerous
attempts.  Locally, I think there have been more successes.  We've got to
keep trying, though.  Unfortunately, use of inappropriate materials and
techniques is not just the problem of the conservation profession.  It's
a very large problem for the museum community and the audience we serve.
All of us - museum professionals, conservators, archaeologists - need to
work together.
 
This is, of course, only IMHO.
 
Holly Young
Pueblo Grande Museum
 
[log in to unmask]