Anthropology Facilities

Cultural Resource Office (CRO)

Director:
Dr. Tommy Hailey
Staff Archaeologist:
Angelica M. Kraushaar

The responsibilities of the staff of the Cultural Resource Office (Kyser Hall, Room 137) at Northwestern State University include the acquisition and management of grant projects in the areas of anthropology, history, historical preservation, and cultural resource management. The Cultural Resource Office provides NSU Anthropology majors with opportunities to gain important experience in the field of cultural resource management.

Current projects include the Louisiana Army National Guard's Integrated Cultural Resources Management Plan, which is designed to provide the Guard with information and guidelines for preserving and protecting significant sites on their properties throughout the state.

The Archaeological Conservation Lab is administered by the Cultural Resource Office and is utilized for the conservation and curation of archaeological materials. Currently, all artifacts associated with the Integrated Cultural Resources Management Plan are managed through this lab.

Person working in the lab with conservation equipmentArchaeological Conservation Laboratory

One of the most pressing problems for archaeologists and museum curators today is the conservation of artifacts of historical significance. Human-made objects of iron, copper, silver, wood, cloth, bone, and other materials will deteriorate over time if steps are not taken to stabilize and preserve them.

In the Archaeological Conservation Laboratory, students study professional methods of conserving artifacts while gaining hands-on experience with a wide range of materials from a variety of archaeological settings. With this experience, these students are able to achieve an understanding of the immediate conservation concerns faced by archaeologists in the field as well as long-term display and storage problems faced by directors of museums and curational facilities.

The Archaeological Conservation Laboratory was initially established as a facility for the stabilization of artifacts recovered from the U.S.S. Eastport, a Civil War gunboat which sank in the Red River near Montgomery, Louisiana in 1864. The responsibilities and goals of the laboratory have since expanded to include the observation and re-treatment of artifacts in the Williamson Museum collections, the conservation and study of selected artifacts from Los Adaes State Commemorative Area, the temporary curation of materials recovered during the course of fieldwork for the Louisiana Army National Guard's Integrated Cultural Resource Management Program, and the development of new techniques of archaeological conservation. Future projects will include experiments in gas plasma conservation of metal artifacts and the development of an innovative system of wooden artifact conservation.

Dr. Gregory working with students in the Anthropological and Archaeological Training LaboratoryAnthropological and Archaeological Training Laboratory

The Anthropological and Archaeological Training Laboratory has biological specimens (both zoological and anthropomorhic), fossil casts, and biometric tools for the study of physical anthropology. It has all the standard field and laboratory equipment necessary for archaeological survey and excavation projects, including mapping equipment, cameras, hand tools, screens, camping equipment, and microscopes. For ethnographic projects, the lab is equipped with standard field equipment, including tape recorders, cameras, a transcriber, and a cassette copier.

In the Anthropological and Archaeological Training Laboratory, students also have the opportunity to learn cataloging, curation, and conservation techniques by working with actual collections of both prehistoric and historic artifacts. These collections come from the Williamson Museum as well as recent archaeological projects which are on-going.

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