Museum of Anthropology
100 Swallow Hall
Columbia, MO 65211-1440

Monday - Friday
9:00 am - 4:00 pm
and some Saturdays

Archaeological Curation

The Museum's American Archaeology Division (AAD) maintains archaeological collections, consisting of prehistoric and historic artifacts from various sites throughout Missouri. These collections are the result of cultural resource management, salvage, and academic excavations sponsored at various times by the University of Missouri-Columbia (UMC), the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACOE), the Missouri Department of Transportation (MODOT), Fort Leonard Wood (FLW), and other federal, state, and public entities. As much as 70% of AAD's extensive collection is the result of decades of work in the Harry S. Truman, Mark Twain, Pomme de Terre, and Stockton Reservoirs. AAD's Curation office is located at the Museum Support Center.

Archaeological curation inquiries may be directed to:

Brandy Tunmire, Curation Specialist
American Archaeology Division
101B Museum Support Center
573-882-2926
tunmireb@missouri.edu

NAGPRA collection inquiries may be directed to:

Clyde Wilson, Associate Curator of NAGPRA
105 Museum Support Center
573-882-8273
wilsonhc@missouri.edu

or

Candace Sall
NAGPRA Compliance Coordinator
phone: 573-882-3764
email: sallc@missouri.edu

For more information on the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) go to http://www.cr.nps.gov/nagpra/.

UMC Guidelines for Archaeological Curation

A document providing UMC's minimum curation standards, based on 36 CFR Part 79, and a fee schedule for submitted collections. This document also includes a curation agreement to be filled out by the contractor and submitted with each project collection. (guidelines in pdf)

For more information on federal curation, go to http//www.cr.nps.gov/aad/collections, The National Park Service's Web site on archaeological curation.

Archaeological Curation Databases

The Curation office maintains databases of archaeological collections and collection-related documentation. These databases are available online for education and research purposes. See database conditions of use.

Database Descriptions

UMC Archaeological Collection Inventory (opens a new window)
Descriptions of archaeological collections currently maintained by the American Archaeology Division. The database opens in a form view that shows accession numbers, information about a collection's history, and relevant CRM or research reports. For a site-specific artifact inventory, please contact Candace Sall (see contact information above). When making inquiries, reference the site and/or identification number(s). Also be aware that the database may not contain information on older collections that have not yet been rehabilitated (rebagged, inventoried, accessioned).

UMC Archaeological Archive Inventory (opens a new window)
An inventory of collection-related documentation, including field notes, photographs, and reports, organized by project, e.g., HST Reservoir Project. Papers of the late Carl H. Chapman are a recent addition to the archive and can be found under project headings, such as Bull Shoals and Clearwater Reservoirs or Osage-Missouri-Oneota. Processing of Chapman's papers was made possible by a generous grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC Grant No. 2000-106).

The following database has been created for the web to contain information about NAGPRA collections housed at the University of Missouri-Columbia:

UMC NAGPRA Inventory (opens a new window)
Contains information on remains and objects housed at UMC and covered under the jurisdiction of NAGPRA. Many of these collections are not controlled by UMC, but are curated at the American Archaeology Division and the Museum of Anthropology for outside agencies. For more information on collections controlled by outside agencies, please contact the appropriate organization. Please see Search Instructions (in Word) for detailed instructions on how to search the database.