GUIDELINES FOR THE CURATION OF GEOLOGICAL MATERIALS

Redundant or shifting countries and regions
e.g. Schleswig-Holstein
Pomerania
Damaraland
Use an old edition of the Times Atlas, e.g. 1895, to translate an old term into
its modern counterpart(s); use square bracket convention to indicate inferral. If
locality data is poor, and a place name goes unrecorded, it may not be possible
for this translation to be performed. It is necessary to know, for example, from
which part of Poland a specimen comes in order to place it within a modern
political boundary. In such cases, record the date of collection in brackets after
the country name, implying the historical context.
4.4.4.2. The stratigraphic locality
Stratigraphic data are clearly of major importance with regard to specimen
recording and may be used as the basis for collection indexes, and for the
arrangement of collections in storage and, in order to be useful, must therefore
be recorded according to a recognised and established system. Such a system
must incorporate a terminology which allows retrieval using an index on
lithostratigraphic, chronostratigraphic and biostratigraphic bases, should all three
prove to be applicable to particular collections. Furthermore, it must allow for
the great disparity in the quality and amount of stratigraphic information
inherited with museum collections varying from no more than a Period name, to
the fine stratigraphic detail of bed numbers (though not all possible levels would
normally be regarded as potential index headings).
The primary difficulty facing a curator determined to establish a new stratigraphic
framework for recording specimens is to decide on what published basis he should
erect an authoritative system. Secondly, he must discover how such a system can
be made to allow sufficiently detailed recording and indexing for useful retrieval
without entering the complexities of localised stratigraphies, other than perhaps
that of his own area of special interest or responsibility. It is probably true that no
single solution to these difficulties represents a satisfactory system flexible or
comprehensive enough to fill the requirements of all museums.
(1) Sources of information and guidance. For British geology, the Geological
Society's 'Special Reports' on stratigraphic correlations (Nos. 1-15, 1971-1980)
represent the standard reference, being comprehensive and with extensive
bibliographies. The correlation charts are particularly useful.
The Society has also produced other special publications of value:
Spec. Pub. No. 1 'The Phanerozoic Time Scale' Harland, Smith & Wilcock
(eds) (1964);
Spec. Pub. No. 2 'The Fossil Record' Harland et al. (eds) (1967)
both of which contain standard stratigraphical sequences (the latter, however, has
received considerable criticism).
Another useful publication is:
Spec. Rep. No. 11 'A Guide to Stratigraphical Procedure' Holland et al.
(1978).
The British Geological Survey (the late Institute of Geological Sciences) has
through its maps and other publications set standards for stratigraphical