materials in museum collections, in order to formulate im- 

 proved exhibit, storage and other use conditions, as well as to 

 develop, test and improve treatment technology. In collec- 

 tions-based research, objects from museum collections and re- 

 lated materials are studied to increase their contextual 

 information value and address questions in archaeology, art 

 history etc. Several of these research programs are conducted 

 in collaboration with other institutions, notably the National 

 Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) in 

 Gaithersburg, and the Carnegie Institution of Washington, 

 where CAL staff can have access to special equipment not 

 available within the Smithsonian Institution. 



Chemical characterization of archeological materials and the 

 raw materials from which they were made serves to identify ob- 

 jects with the source from which the raw material was procured. 

 Thus one may draw conclusions regarding trade and exchange 

 patterns and political and economical relationships. For trace ele- 

 ment characterization of ceramics, CAL researchers applied 

 neutron activation analysis at a special facility maintained and 

 operated in collaboration with NIST, in studies involving ar- 

 chaeological ceramics from various Maya and Southwest sites. 

 Other researchers used lead isotope analysis to characterize the 

 metal ore sources for traditional Nigerian bronzes. 



In the biogeochemistry program, CAL researchers study ar- 

 chaeological and paleological organic materials to extract and 

 identify biomolecular information, including markers for 

 dietary habits, disease patterns and genetic relationship. One 

 of the projects attempts to extract and amplify DNA from ar- 

 chaeological charred grain seeds, to study domestication. In 

 the "Blood-on-Tools" project, CAL researchers examined the 

 possibilities for recovery and identification of blood residues 

 on lithic tools. Work also continued on the study of preserva- 

 tion of biomolecular information in archaeological and 

 paleological skeletal material. 



In the research on preservation of natural history specimens, 

 work centered around specimens stored in liquid preservatives. It 

 has been recognized for quite some time that especially the fixa- 

 tion of tissues in formaldehyde, an initial step in the preparation 

 of the specimens before their storage in alcohol, causes serious in- 

 hibitions to later recovery of DNA from the specimens. CAL re- 

 searchers seek to find ways by which to recover, purify and 

 amplify DNA from such historic specimens, as well as to develop 

 fixation protocols for freshly collected specimens that increase the 

 potential for such recovery in the future. The pilot studies 

 produced sufficiently encouraging progress that a full-scale re- 

 search program in this area is now being implemented. 



The project on the characterization of the chemical 

 deterioration of the binder in magnetic tape, the major source 

 of failure of videotapes in archival collections, produced a rela- 

 tively easy, non-destructive test to assess the condition of a 

 specific tape or collection unit, that can be used to determine 

 the need for timely copying before deterioration has 

 progressed too far. It is the intention to offer such testing to 

 Smithsonian archives housing such tapes, to evaluate its 

 utility in practice for efficient collection management. 



CAL's education programs address the needs of a wide 

 variety of constituencies, ranging from professional training 

 for conservators and other museum professionals to outreach 

 and information programs for high school and college stu- 

 dents and the general public. The Furniture Conservation 

 Training Program (FCTP) graduated its third class of five fur- 

 niture conservators, four of whom already found employment 

 in various museums around the nation. The program also 

 started its next cycle, in which seven students form the class 

 of 2000. In the archaeological conservation training program, 

 two conservators recently graduated from one of the graduate 

 school training programs completed one year fellowships, during 

 which they received practical training and field experience at two 

 different archaeological sites in the Near East and Central 

 America, as well as laboratory experience at CAL. RELACT, the 

 training program for managers of paper-based archival research 

 collections, organized several workshops/seminars for a large 

 audience of Smithsonian staff, and coordinated demonstration 

 projects within various Institutional research collections. 



CAL organized a workshop, sponsored by the International 

 Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), on applications of nuclear 

 analytical techniques and radiation in the study and conserva- 

 tion of cultural materials. In one session, archaeologists from a 

 number of Latin American countries attended a series of lec- 

 tures and discussions on the use of neutron activation trace ele- 

 ment analysis in archaeological ceramic research. The other 

 session provided a number of radiation and conservation ex- 

 perts from various countries an opportunity to discuss the 

 potential for radiation treatment in the control of biodereriora- 

 tion. It is foreseen that the collaboration with IAEA will con- 

 tinue in the next few years, when CAL will serve as the 

 coordinating laboratory for a series of archaeological research 

 projects involving activation analysis of ceramic materials, per- 

 formed by teams of Latin American archaeologists and analyti- 

 cal experts at local reactor centers. 



In collaboration with the Suitland High School, a local 

 magnet school for the arts, CAL staff taught a special course 

 on materials science and artist materials. The course cul- 

 minated with an exhibit of works by the students, created 

 using the information taught during the course. This pro- 

 gram will continue; it is the ultimate intention to create a 

 high school curriculum for an interdisciplinary arts and 

 science course. 



The multiyear project on the conservation of the neolithic 

 plaster statues recovered at the archaeological site of Ain- 

 Ghazal, Jordan, came to conclusion with the opening of a spe- 

 cial exhibit, organized in collaboration between CAL and the 

 Arthur M. Sackler Gallery. This exhibit highlights the conser- 

 vation as well as the art historical significance of these unique 

 treasures. The public was also able to see some of the work 

 done at CAL during the Smithsonian's 150th Birthday Festival 

 on the Mall, when countless visitors participated in the wide 

 variety of interactive demonstrations offered by CAL staff. 



In the technical information program, CAL continued to 

 provide technical advice and expertise on preservation related 



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