Say “Yes” to the Mess: The Archaeological Curation Crisis and the Canoe Camp Site near Orofino, Idaho

Across the United States there are hundreds of archaeological collections being housed in repositories. Unfortunately, many of these collections have very little and even incorrect data associated with them. The material recovered from the Canoe Camp site near Orofino, Idaho, is no exception. Locating the inventory forms associated with the collections, and locating the actual collections is difficult, since they are currently managed by several institutions. This is an example of how the crisis of curation is affecting collections in the United States. The use of a standardized inventory form to ensure consistent information, and the inclusion of information on all artifacts recovered from Canoe Camp in a single document would be beneficial to future researchers. Information from the inventory forms associated with this site has been entered into a comprehensive database, and a standardized inventory form has been created to make future research on the artifacts easier to carry out.masters, M.A., Anthropology -- University of Idaho - College of Graduate Studies, 201