[NHCOLL-L:4299] Archaeological materials course online in May

[Helen Alten]

Running only once in 2009, and not running again until the Fall of 
2010, this is your opportunity to learn about caring for 
archaeological materials from their discovery to their final storage 
in a repository.

MS215: Care of Archaeological Artifacts from the Field to the Lab
May 4 to May 29, 2009
Price: $425  (no shipping costs, but book to be purchased separately)
Instructor: Diana Komejan
Location: online at www.museumclasses.org

Description:a
Archaeological finds come out of the ground fragile - and they often 
stay that way. Yet archaeologists and museum professionals have few 
clear guidelines for handling, moving, storing and displaying such 
materials. Participants in Care of Archaeological Artifacts From the 
Field to the Lab learn techniques for safely lifting and packing 
artifacts, safe transportation and temporary and permanent storage. 
The course also covers a broad range of excavation environments, 
including the Arctic, wet sites, tropical and temperate. Though Care 
of Archaeological Artifacts is not intended to train archaeological 
conservators, it is designed to help participants understand what can 
and can't be done to save the artifacts they unearth.

Course Outline:
1. The Excavation lifting, storing and packing
2. The Field Lab basic cleaning and care, the role of the site conservator
3. Transportation containers, packaging, transport mechanics
4. Storage temporary to long term

Logistics:
Participants in Care of Archaeological Artifacts work through 
sections at their own pace. Instructor Diana Komejan is available for 
scheduled email support. Materials and resources include online 
literature, slide lectures and dialog between students and online 
chats led by the instructor. The course is limited to 20 participants.

Archaeological Collections Care runs four weeks. To reserve a spot in 
the course, please pay at 
<http://www.collectioncare.org/tas/tas.html>http://www.collectioncare.org/tas/tas.html 
If you have trouble please contact Helen Alten at helen at collectioncare.org

Student Comments for MS215: Care of Archaeological Artifacts:
I would rate my experience a 10.

Three things I really liked about the course were the reading 
selections, the availability and willingness of the instructor to 
answer questions and provide additional information, and the access 
it gave me to sources that I wasn't aware of for information.

What I liked best about the materials provided was that the class 
lectures gave a good general overview of the topic before we began 
doing the more specific and complex readings- that really helped me 
to put all of the individual reading assignments into context.

This course definitely met my expectations- I'm very happy with it. 
Diana Komejan was a wonderful instructor and very helpful. I would 
recommend her class to anyone. I heard about the course through my 
manager, who took several of them.

The volume of the materials is what I liked best. The information we 
received is valuable in terms of not just what we were quizzed over 
for the short term, but in being resources that will be kept on our 
own office shelves for future reference. I found the PowerPoints 
useful as they contained examples utilizing photographs. The diagrams 
illustrating packing techniques were useful as well.

The site was well-scripted and easy to use.

I had been told that classes at the NSCC were good and required lots 
of reading. It lived up to it's reputation.

The Instructor:
Diana Komejan graduated from Sir Sandford Fleming College in 1980 
with a diploma in Art Conservation Techniques. She has worked as a 
conservator with Parks Canada at the Fortress of Louisbourg National 
Historic Site in Nova Scotia and the Halifax conservation lab, where 
she worked on archaeological and historic artifacts from across east 
coast Canada. Diana also interned at the Kelsey Museum of Ancient and 
Medieval History in Ann Arbor, Mich. and spent 12 years as 
conservator with the Yukon Government in Whitehorse. In addition to 
lab treatments, Diana has broad archaeological experience, including 
the excavation of mammoths and dinosaur tracks. Diana now operates a 
private conservation business.
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