An Archaeological Curation-Needs Assessment for the US Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile District

From the summer of 1992 to 1993, the US Army Corps of Engineers St. Louis District, Mandatory Center of Expertise for the Curation and Management of Archaeological Collections (MCX) evaluated the archaeological collections for a curation-needs assessment of Mobile District, Alabama. Eleven facilities, encompassing 16 separate repositories, were evaluated in the course of the curation-needs assessment—Mississippi State University, the University of Alabama, Auburn University, the Columbus Museum, West Georgia College, the University of Georgia, Jacksonville State University, the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, the National Park Service's Southeast Archeological Center, the Florida Bureau of Archaeological Research, and the Mobile District Office.

In sum, approximately 7,084 cubic feet of artifacts, 558 linear feet of records, and skeletal remains from 901 individuals from 11 facilities are being curated by 16 repositories in 5 different states. All collections require some type of rehabilitation and 75% of all of the collections require complete rehabilitation.