This discussion has migrated over to the ARCH-L (Archaeology) list. Someone made the suggestion that labels could be printed up on a laserjet printer using very small fonts, and stuck on the artifacts. Another person pointed out the problems of hauling such delicate equipment into the field. Yet another voice has mentioned the degradability of laserjet ink. When I mentioned this thread to a friend at the Center for Environmental Archaeology at Texas A&M, she said that they had been considering the possibility of using microdots for labeling. Apart from the fact that one would need a microscope for reading such a label, how does this idea strike people? BTW, not to belabor the point, but when I use Ziploc bags, I make sure the artifacts in question are thoroughly dried out, so that no fungus or mold can attach itself. If the bone is not dried out, condensation will form inside the seal and destroy the artifact. I remember an article that I read during my graduate days at the University of Arizona, about an Eastern Woodlands dig in which this drying out process was not done, the bones developed mold and fungus, and years later, when the artifacts were reexamined, the bones literally fell apart. Anita Cohen-Williams; Reference Services; Hayden Library Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287-1006 PHONE: (602) 965-4579 FAX: (602) 965-9169 INTERNET: [log in to unmask] Owner: HISTARCH