Zooarchaeology Laboratory Protocols

The collections of bones and shells in the Zooarchaeology Laboratory in Condon Room 264 represent an incredibly valuable resource for research and teaching. We have been building this collection for many years and it represents an enormous investment of time, energy, money, and difficult work. Some of these animal remains we hold under special agreement with the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Marine Fisheries Service, and the State of Oregon. Please treat these collections carefully at all times, and observe the following rules:

• NEW - No undergraduate student may use these collections except with the permission of Madonna Moss or under the direct supervision of a graduate student.
• NEW - Each user must sign-in the blue notebook in 264 Condon each day that they use the collection.
• No comparative specimens leave Room 264 Condon without permission from Anthropology Department faculty.
• Handle specimens carefully at all times. Do not drop them, bang them together, or shake trays. Open and close drawers slowly and cautiously. Never carry more than can be handled easily.
• For small fragile bones, use forceps instead of fingers. Always work with bones and shells over a tray, not on a table or counter surface.
• There are some specimens in the collection where individual bones are not labeled. This is true of some of the specimens we have on loan from the Condon Museum of Geology and the Oregon Institute of Marine Biology. Please take extra care that bones without catalog numbers do not get mixed up.
• The elements of some skeletons have been sorted into specific bags or trays. Some of the synoptically ordered materials (e.g., birds) have been ordered by size. Please preserve this organization.
• When working with archaeological specimens take special care to preserve provenience information. Do not mix bones that originate from different proveniences. It is good practice to work on the bones or shells from one provenience at a time.
• When copying over provenience infromation onto new labels, always double-check labels for accuracy.
• Always allow sufficient time for clean-up to avoid laboratory mishaps that can happen when a person is distracted or in haste.
• When you leave the room-- even for a short while-- always lock the door. When you leave for the day, always lock the cabinets and lock the room.

All of the mammals and birds in the Department of Anthropology's collection died naturally or in an accident. No birds or mammals have been killed to provide specimens for the collection. Many of the fish result from subsistence or sports fishing. We hold permits from all the relevant state and federal agencies to salvage animals and to maintain this collection, some of which represent endangered or protected species.

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