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Several things are necessary for the proper preservation of museum 
specimens: first, definite identification of the material of which the speci- 
men in question is composed; secondly, a full understanding of what 
degenerative changes have taken place, and may be expected to take 
place in the future if the specimen is left untreated; and thirdly, a clear 
conception of the exact result intended to be brought about by treatment. 
To these must be added a knowledge of the chemistry of the materials 
involved and of the effect of the various chemical and physical processes 
employed. 
The end in view should be so to treat the specimen that its appearance 
is not changed in any way (except, in some cases, very much for the better), 
and that it may reasonably be expected, if given proper after-care, to 
remain unchanged indefinitely; or, at least, over a period of some hundreds 
of years. 
There are four definite steps in treatment: cleaning, repairing, restor- 
ing, and preserving. It is, of course, obvious that two of these, repairing 
and restoring, are not always necessary. 
By cleaning is here understood the removal of dirt of all kinds and 
the putting of the specimen in the condition in which its original owner 
or maker would have kept it, were it still in his possession. This ideal is 
not always attainable, especially in the case of archaeological specimens 
which have suffered as a result of burial in the soil. 
Repairing implies the securing in their correct positions of any loose 
pieces of the specimen, usually by the use of some form of adhesive. 
Restoration implies the making of new parts to replace missing ones. 
Preservation is the process of so strengthening a specimen and so 
reducing the action of the various agencies that tend to its destruction, 
that it will remain unchanged over an indefinite period of time. 
These various processes will be considered in order. 
COLLECTING IN THE FIELD 
Although it is not intended to go into details of field collecting, either 
in archaeology or ethnology, there are a number of points often overlooked 
which, if observed, would greatly reduce the work in the laboratory and 
would prevent needless deterioration of the specimens. 
In collecting osteological material, skulls should not be moved until 
the ear passages have been plugged with cotton wool or other suitable 
material. This will prevent the loss of the auditory ossicles in shipping. 
A further point worth mentioning is that the hyoid bone (the small bone 
in the tongue) is very seldom collected. It may, of course, have disin- 
tegrated; nevertheless, if search were made for it as soon as the skull is 
lifted out, it would frequently be recovered. Hair, too, is sometimes left 
behind when it could easily be collected. Work in the laboratory would 
be lessened if care were taken to put the bones from each hand and foot in 
separate bags, whether of cloth or of paper, and label them. Loose teeth 
should be held in place with a little pellet of plasticine in the socket or 
deliberately removed and put in a separate small bag or envelope* 
