Collections & Curation

female student labeling NPS ceramics

Scope of Collections

The Laboratory of Archaeology curates all collections from Georgia produced by the University of Georgia field schools in addition to collections from all over Georgia as well as surrounding states in addition to some ethnographic and archaeological collections from around the world including Iran, Somalia, and Puerto Rico. These collections represent objects from over 16,000 archaeological sites that include some of Georgia's most significant places, such as Etowah (National Register of Historic Places [NRHP], Ossabaw Island (NRHP), Kolomoki (NRHP), as well as large collections excavated by the Works Project Administration (W.P.A) during the 1930s to 1940s from the Georgia Coast and central Georgia. The Laboratory also houses collections from Spanish period and English sites in Georgia, including collections from the many Native American sites that Hernando de Soto (AD 1539-1543) visited on his trek across the Southeastern United States in the sixteenth century. One of the more substantial collections from Georgia includes materials excavated from St. Catherines Island that relate to one of the most completely excavated Spanish mission in the United States.

two females looking at a box in a row of curated boxes

 

Many other institutions use the Laboratory of Archaeology as their official curation repositories for archaeological collections and records from archaeological survey, excavation, and research in Georgia and some adjacent areas. These include: the U.S. National Park Service, the U.S. Navy, Fort Gordon, the U.S. National Forest Service, the Mobile Army Corps of Engineers, the Savannah Army Corps of Engineers, Georgia Power, the Georgia Department of Transportation, and the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. In addition to federal and state agencies, we curate collections from many local and private Cultural Resource Management companies, and non-profit research organizations such as the LAMAR Institute and Coosawattee Foundation.

Research and Access

Collections at the Laboratory are available for research to qualified researchers for scientific and education research but not for the general public. Researchers requiring access to collections or records should make prior arrangements with the Operations Director, Amanda Roberts Thompson (arobthom@uga.edu).

female measuring ceramics

Advisory Board

The Laboratory of Archaeology is guided by an Advisory Board who reviews and provides advice regarding implementation and compliance with the Laboratory's Collections Management Policy, and makes recommendations on strategies for future Laboratory collaborative opportunities, activities, goals, and long-range plans.

Currently, the Laboratory Advisory Board is comprised of