VCP Job Description
Participants will become proficient at a number of varied tasks commonly found in a professional archaeological and archival processing laboratory. The purpose of the processing is to ensure the long-term preservation of the archaeological materials. In addition, the participants will learn to take museum-quality digital photographs and prepare scans of archaeological records. The tasks are organized within three subcategories.
- Archaeological Objects: Participants will assess, sort, and clean (dry brush) archaeological objects. Objects will be transferred from inferior packaging materials into more appropriate packaging, such as archival bags and boxes, and the containers will be appropriately labeled. Information regarding the objects and the processing completed on them will be entered into a spreadsheet/database program for item tracking. A final laboratory report will be completed for each set of objects (collection) processed.
- Associated Records: Records associated with each set of objects (collection) will be processed according to accepted archival standards. The records will be assessed, organized, sorted, conserved, labeled, and repackaged into archival containers (folders, sleeves, boxes), in order to ensure their long-term preservation. The information regarding each set of records will be entered into a database/spreadsheet program. A final archival finding aid will be developed to ensure access for research and educational purposes.
- Photography and Scanning: Participants will learn to photograph unique objects using a state-of-the-art photography set-up utilizing an attachment to a computer that can manipulate the cameras from the computer station. They will also learn to scan (digitize) records for electronic access and storage.
