Archaeological pigments conservation and the formation of a database

Abstract

The following paper deals with the preliminary results obtained from the application of the microstratigraphic technique, as a tool for the conservation and management of archaeological pigments. The risks of impact, deterioration and loss of data that may occur on the pigment material during the data collection for the development of research works, led us to reflect on the procedures put into practice and the need to preserve the information that contain. At the same time that the formation of a database for the registration and documentation of material and associated studies is conceived, as part of the archaeological heritage management, with a view to solving problems of sampling, preventive conservation and storage.Both criteria are based on sampling and conservation protocols, articulating issues related to archaeological research with analytical perspectives supported by an interdisciplinary work, in compliance with the relevant regulations applied in the conservation of cultural heritage at the international level and in Argentina. The cases of application correspond to pre-Hispanic ceramic collections from the Quebrada de Humahuaca, Argentine northwest, which come from both archaeological excavations and collections stored in the storage areas of regional museums.