Orphaned Archaeological Collection Project Guidelines
The Society for California Archaeology (SCA) and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) understand the importance and ethical obligation of caring for archaeological collections with respect and ensuring their availability to current and future researchers. We recognize that many collections representing California’s heritage have fallen victim to the curation crisis and have not been properly cared for over the years. Students, collections managers, archaeologists, and curators who are working on these so-called “orphaned collections” are invited to apply for support from the SCA towards cataloging and research on an existing collection.
Thanks to the support of BLM, SCA has a total of $2,600 to administer over the next three years. Costs supported include materials and supplies for re-housing collections in archival quality storage, wages, travel and per diem, and research access costs, such as photocopying.
Eligibility Requirements:
- Preference will be given to student research leading to a graduate degree but is not restricted to applicants associated with a university. Recipients shall be members in good standing with the SCA
- The collection must have been “orphaned” for at least ten years, and cannot be associated with a current or ongoing project
- Chain of ownership of the collection must be unambiguous, with rights to study the collection granted to the collection facility holding the artifacts
- The collection must either lack previous research on part of all of the collection, or the research is incomplete
- The completed project must include a digital database of the material sorted, cataloged and researched as well as a full report in PDF format.
- The SCA shall be acknowledged in any resulting reports, exhibits or other literature produced as part of the collections project
- Grantees shall submit a report detailing the work completed
How to Apply:
Please send applications to the SCA Business Office via email by November 15th, 2020. Applications should consist of a cover letter containing contact information and a one-paragraph summary of the project, with no more than three (3) pages of additional supporting information outlining the history of the collection, proposed research, and methods and means for circulating the final product. Letters of support are encouraged and can be submitted in addition to the supporting information. Please note that a letter of support from the collections facility, granting access to the collection, is required as part of the application.
Please identify your application as such by putting 2021 Orphaned Collections Application in the subject line. The winner will be announced at the 2020 Annual Meeting.