(a) Maintenance. The commission will do the following:
(1) maintain collections recovered by the archeology
division for the period of time required for their processing, analysis,
and adequate reporting;
(2) maintain collections on loan to the archeology
division for the period of time required for their processing, analysis,
and adequate reporting and return or place such collections according
to the terms of the loan agreement entered into with the collection
owner;
(3) maintain on a temporary basis, collections recovered
by other organizations or individuals from archeological sites in
Texas that the archeology division agrees to accept for placement
in an appropriate curatorial facility;
(4) refer to curatorial facilities all other requests
from individuals, institutions, organizations, and agencies for collections
placement; and
(5) maintain on a permanent basis only those collections
falling within its responsibilities, for which no permanent repository
can be found, and/or for comparative analysis.
(b) Curatorial facilities. In seeking curatorial facilities
for collections held in temporary custody, the archeology division
will observe the following procedures.
(1) All collections transferred by this office to a
curatorial facility will include copies of all pertinent site records.
(2) Curatorial facilities will be identified by this
office according to the criteria of existing state and federal standards
for curation.
(3) For state held-in-trust collections, placement
will be in accordance with the requirements specified in Chapter 29
of this title (relating to Management and Care of Artifacts and Collections).
(4) For collections that do not meet the state held-in-trust
criteria, preference will be given in accordance with the following
criteria:
(A) curatorial facilities that are in the region from
which the collections were recovered;
(B) curatorial facilities that maintain procedures
for access to collections and site records that prevent disclosure
of information harmful to the resources involved;
(C) curatorial facilities that facilitate scientific,
archeological research;
(D) curatorial facilities that observe state and/or
federal standards for curation; and
(E) repositories in the State of Texas.
(5) Transfer of collections to curatorial facilities
will be made under the terms of a written agreement between the facility
and the commission. The agreement will include an inventory of transferred
items, and its terms will be guided by the pertinent state or federal
standards for curation. The agreement will provide that, should a
repository fail to maintain the integrity of collections provided
by the commission, or to protect them adequately, the repository will
notify the commission so that other arrangements can be made for the
collections.
(6) Pertinent data concerning collections, related
site records, and the sites of resources from which the collections
were made may be retained in the commission's inventory of archeological
resources, and no transfer agreement will be made that prohibits the
commission from retaining data and information.
(c) Human skeletal remains.
(1) This office will not publicly exhibit human skeletal
remains recovered from archeological sites, and it will discourage
the public exhibition of human skeletal remains recovered from archeological
sites by others.
(2) Human skeletal remains and associated artifacts
will be handled in a manner that complies with applicable state and
federal laws, rules and regulations.
(d) Artifact identification. This office will not assist
in the identification of unprovenienced artifacts.
(e) Appraisals. This office will not appraise collections
or artifacts for private citizens, corporations, or organizations
or retain an appraiser for or refer an appraiser to the private citizen,
corporation or organization. THC personnel may evaluate state-associated
collections for in-house purposes. Donors requiring appraisals for
income tax purposes must obtain an appraisal at their own expense
from an appraiser of their choice prior to donation. In-house evaluation
of state-associated collections or artifacts retained at the commission's
facilities for insurance purposes, traveling exhibits or activities
within the professional community are professional assessments and
not appraisals. In-house evaluations are the responsibility of the
agency.
|