Archaeological Conservation Using Polymers: Practical Applications for Organic Artifact Stabilization

Over the years, archaeologists have developed a number of techniques for conserving historical artifacts for future generations. Up to now, however, these methods have provided artifacts only a limited lifespan and in some cases they do not work well with water-logged materials. Within the past few years, archaeological chemistry and concerns of longevity testing have become central issues in the development of conservation treatment strategies. This problem became particularly acute when members of the Texas A&M Nautical Archaeology Program were called on to conserve artifacts on
LaBelle , the sunken ship of La Salle excavated in the 1990s off the coast of Texas by the Texas Historical Commission. Working with Dow Corning Corporation, Texas A&M’s Archaeological Preservation Research Lab, and the Conservation Research Lab, C. Wayne Smith and his colleagues set out to develop a series of techniques that would yield successful and affordable treatment strategies for organic artifacts without sacrificing important information. In this work, C. Wayne Smith prescribes an effective layout for day-to-day conservation of small organic artifacts and then examines some of the techniques used to process various organic materials from marine and land sites.