Mike,

The storage environment should be as close as possible to the burial
conditons: if found on a wet site, keep archaeological bone hydrated,
if dry, keep dry. Keep washing to an absolute minimal if at all. And
house in archival containers with some RH buffering to reduce
environmental fluctuations in the microenvironment. This is quite
easily done within polyethylene bags or containers.

Don't consolidate or do any chemical treatments if any analysis is
likely to be done, either now or in the future, as these can impair
the ability to derive information from these orgnaic artifacts.

Find the excellent reference "A Field Guide for Archaeological
Conservation" by Catherine Sease, UCLA Press.

Cheers!
Dave

David Harvey
Conservator
Los Angeles, California  USA
On 1/19/06, Mike Warren <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> What are the best ways to preserve animal bone fragments found in
> pre-historic
> Indian archaeological sites.
> Thank you.
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