It may not be as obvious as in chemistry or biology, but laboratory work in archaeology requires basic precautions to protect lab workers’ health and safety. Most of these precautions concern hygiene, eye protection, respiratory problems, and avoiding cuts. Some kinds of archaeological laboratory work make use of chemicals that require additional precautions.
Every archaeological laboratory should be equipped with a first-aid kit that contains the supplies, such as bandages, that are most likely to be needed in an archaeological accident. Everyone working in the lab should know where to find it.
Hygiene
It is important to remember that artifacts, bones, and other objects that archaeologists collect and bring back to the lab were once buried in dirt, often in contexts that are far from sanitary. Consequently, they could be infested with bacteria, molds, or fungi that someone could pick up while handling them.
While handling archaeological materials, whether in the field or in the lab, lab workers should wear latex gloves or make sure that they wash their hands with soap and hot water before handling food or eating. In addition, one should avoid rubbing one’s eyes or touching one’s mouth while handling artifacts.
Eye Protection
Getting particles and other small objects in the eyes is a potential hazard of some archaeological laboratory activities. Transferring dirt from artifacts and ecofacts to the eyes by one’s hands is a common, but easily prevented, hazard. More serious is the possibility of eye damage from flying flint flakes during experimental flintknapping and similar activities. Meanwhile, the close observation, long microscopic work, and careful drawing that some lab activities involve can cause extreme eyestrain. One should take steps to eliminate or minimize all these risks.
Experimental flintkapping presents one of the greatest dangers to the eyes. Inevitably, small, sharp-edged flakes of flint, glass, or other raw materials fly in all directions after the impact of both hard and soft hammers. Consequently, experimental flintknappers should always wear safety glasses when flintknapping. Safety glasses will also provide some protection from dust particles while screening sediment samples. Flintknapping labs should post clear hazard labels for flying debris and the need to wear gloves and eye protection.
A less obvious aspect of protecting eyesight is to avoid stress on your eyes through uninterrupted focus on short distances. Whether you are sorting plant macrofossils under a microscope, drawing artifacts at a drafting table, working at a computer, or making many close measurements on lithics, it is a good idea to place your work area in such a way that you can look up periodically and focus your eyes on something in the distance, such as the scene out of a window.
Respiratory Protection
Dust particles and airborne fungi or molds that are frequently the by-product of archaeological work can wreak havoc on archaeologists’ lungs unless they protect them by wearing a dust mask. Some laboratory activities, such as flintknapping, recharging silica-gel, or dry-screening sediments, can also create unhealthy dust levels. In addition, some lab activities involve chemicals that exude potentially dangerous fumes.
While screening sediments or even handling very dry soils or similar materials with small particle sizes, one should wear an adequate dust mask. At a minimum, the mask should fit the face properly so that particles cannot get around its edges. In order to fit properly, the mask will need to have two, not just one, pairs of straps (top and bottom) that hold it snugly against the face.
If using acids or solvents (e. g., to clean artifacts), a dust mask will not give adequate protection against respiratory damage. Such chemicals should only be used under the conditions specified by occupational safety and health administration (OSHA), in the United States, Canadian workplace hazardous materials information system (WHMIS), or the equivalent, which usually include a fume hood that extracts dangerous fumes from the laboratory environment. In some cases one can wear a respirator mask instead of a simple dust mask for protection against toxic gases. Hazard labels should be posted in lab areas where dust or respirator masks are necessary.
Cuts and Burns
Some kinds of archaeological lab work can cause cuts or burns. Flintknapping, especially when obsidian or some other glass is the raw material, produces extremely sharp flakes and frequently calls for bandages. Some other kinds of experimental archaeology, such as firing or refiring pottery, and some kinds of sample preparation, such as boiling faunal specimens, present opportunities for burns.
Lab workers should protect themselves from cuts and burns by wearing protective clothing, such as a protective apron during flintknapping, or insulated gloves when handling hot items.
They should also make sure that they know the location of the nearest first aid kit (usually mounted on the wall somewhere in the lab), where they will be able to find disinfectant, bandages, and burn ointments.
Biological Hazards
Processing dead animals to create comparative collections for faunal osteology can pose biological hazards, and no one should dispose of decaying animal parts in regular garbage. University zooarchaeology labs can check with their counterparts in biology departments or the faculty of medicine to find out the appropriate and legal procedures for disposing of the unpleasant by-products of skeletal preparation.
Radiation Hazards
Most archaeological laboratories have no radiation hazards. However, some archaeometric laboratories employ X-ray fluorescence, instrumental neutron activation analysis, or other methods that require radiation protection and monitoring.
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