Debate: Should we conserve artifacts or let them decay naturally?

I run a small dig site near Flagstaff and got major pushback from a colleague for using consolidants on a 800-year-old pot. She said we're 'freezing' the artifact's story by stopping its natural breakdown. On the flip side, without conservation the thing turns to dust in 10 years. So which is better - intervene to save it for study, or let nature take its course? Anyone else get this kind of criticism?

3 comments

3 Comments

sanchez.mary1mo ago

Wait, wait, wait - your colleague actually said conservation 'freezes' the artifact's story? That's a wild take to me. An artifact falling apart into dust isn't a 'story', it's just dirt at that point. The story is in what we learn from it, not in watching it crumble away over time. Sure, maybe we're interfering with some natural timeline, but humans have been preserving important things for thousands of years. That's part of our story as a species too. We value knowledge and we save what we can. And you're right, we already disturbed the pot by digging it up. Once it's out of the ground, the natural decay process is already shot. Applying a consolidant is just being realistic about the situation we created. Your colleague might be thinking too idealistic about this. In real fieldwork, you gotta make tough calls between a pot that lasts 10 years versus one that lasts 100 years. Give me the 100 year option any day so future diggers can study it too.

the_finley24d ago

Same thing happens with old photos in shoeboxes vs proper albums. Completely agree with you @sanchez.mary.

kais671mo ago

OH MAN, this is a tough one but I gotta push back hard on the whole 'let it decay' thing. Look, if we just let everything rot, we lose the chance to actually UNDERSTAND these people who lived here before us. That pot isn't just a pot, it's a record of their daily life, their art, their technology - and once it turns to dust, that story is GONE forever. I get the philosophical angle about letting nature do its thing, but come on, we already disturb the site just by digging it up in the first place. Conservation is just being honest that we're already messing with the natural process, so we might as well preserve what we can for future generations to study.