Improving Conditions for Preservation of the Human Osteological Collection

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9307693 Konigsberg With National Science Foundation support, Dr. Lyle Konigsberg will curate a large series of Native American skeletal materials excavated from sites in the midwest. Because they are not associated with named tribes this series is not subject to repatriation and provides an extremely important data base for scientific research. The materials are currently stored in less than optimal conditions and have not been entered into a computer inventory. This current project will remedy these defects. Materials will be moved to a new storage area, properly packed in new boxes and placed in closed storage units. Labels will be recopied and the data entered into a computerized data base. Human osteological collections provide an irreplaceable resource for documenting and studying humankind's past history. Nowhere is the value of this material greater than in those cases where there are no known living descendant groups, and as a consequence the history of a past people has become faded or unknown. Materials such as these, because they were collected through controlled archaeological excavation are also important for what they reveal about human biological adaptation. Through integration into a larger cultural context, it is possible to examine how people respond biologically to varying diet social organization and environmental conditions. This project is important because it will both preserve valuable scientific materials and make them available for research.