UA Completes Two-Year Moundville Collection Rehabilitation, Adds Archives to Internet to Aid Research

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The University of Alabama Office of Archaeological Research recently completed a two-year collection rehabilitation using a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Eugene Futato, curator of archaeological collections for UA Museums, said most of the sites represented have been destroyed by natural or industrial and urban development. The sites include locations from across the state, from Dauphin Island to northern DeKalb County. Through on-going research, these artifacts will be the only source of additional information on these sites, spanning some 10,000 years of Alabama history.

The $425,000 grant provided for the organization and preservation of 1,650 cubic feet of archaeological collections. UA’s Office of Archaeological Research organized the artifacts, packed them in archival bags and boxes, inventoried them into a database, developed a short written history of each item, and posted photographs and illustrations on the Web. The Web site is a source of information on Alabama archaeology for researchers and the public, and serves as a guide to the collections.

“We have a large number of visiting researchers, and materials are loaned to various institutions for research, teaching and display purposes,” said Futato. “Preserving these artifacts in a more organized way and having information about them on the Internet will make them available to researchers all over the world for years to come.”

These materials are a historical record of the development of scientific methods in Alabama. They begin with the transition from excavation as a means of collecting objects for museum exhibit and traces Southeastern prehistory through four decades. The archaeological work represented in these collections spans the careers of Dr. Walter B. Jones, director of the Alabama Museum of Natural History from 1927 until his retirement in the 1960s, and David L. DeJarnette, who began as a museum archaeologist in 1929 and retired in 1976.

“The potential of these collections is scarcely touched,” said Futato. “We hope this rehabilitation will change that, with improved access to the artifacts. Given the cost of archaeological research today, it would cost millions of dollars to duplicate these collections, if such a thing were even possible.”

Many of the artifacts were stored in decaying boxes and the documentation catalogs were limited and on brittle paper. Finding specific items in the collections was often difficult or impossible.

The online archives can be found at http://museums.ua.edu/oar/NEH/index.

The NEH grants help museums, libraries, archives and historical organizations preserve their humanities collections through support for improved housing and storage, environmental conditions, security, lighting and fire protection.