Tuesday, October 18, 2016

Found history, not written history.

We all know historic archaeology is just about validating the documented history of the American west, or do we? The important things that happened in history are all written about, but almost always that is just the highlights, the important moments in time.

Seldom are those important times what life was really about. Those are just the short blips of time that happened between the long periods of simply living. The day-to-day aspects of what was required to be alive when those important events happened.

 The reality is that when we do an archaeological dig, we are far more likely to find the items of everyday life than the items used during that short period of excitement. All those items were noted for their importance and picked up at the time. What is more likely to be left behind are the items considered mundane at the time. The trick is that those items may not be mundane now. Depending on what the location was, what trade the person may have been engaged in, etc…, those mundane items will vary, but always give us more info about what happened on the site.

Think of the stereotypical photo of the “prospector” you see in all the Western movies. Name off as many of those items as you can… Great, now did you list a pocket knife? How about a fixed blade belt knife? How about a salt dish? How about a spatula? Or a Spoon, fork, bread pans, the staples of life? All the items that once you think about your own life, know that the prospector had with him, but are seldom if ever listed as items that would be found at a site.

And don’t forget about the many items that were easily procured at the local hardware store, but became very precious the farther one went from civilization: Nails, hammers, pliers, files, copper rivets, even thread and needles.

If we compare the list of items sold in a general store to the list of items that prospector is said to have, you will see a lot of missing items on the second list. It’s not that the prospector didn’t have or use those items; it’s just that those items were considered mundane at the time and unworthy of being written down. Those same items though tell us a considerable amount about the prospector. How long he might have been planning on staying (10 lbs worth of nails verses a hand full), his financial status when he set out (new knives verses well worn knives), what his drink  preferences were (lots of whiskey versus bottles for root beer), the list is long.

The size of pans could tell us if it was a single person, a small group, or an organized party with a designated cook making food for many.


So, while the “important” items might make the history books, it’s the everyday items that will tell us about who the person (people) were at any given site. 

2 comments:

  1. Good article Richard. So what we need to learn is what is the "everyday carry" for a particular individual in a particular profession at a particular time and culture. That could be a fascinating study!

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  2. Not just a particular profession... most people need the same items everyday. The individual items can give us more details on each person, but they might also tell us that while there was never a mention of children in a mining camp, they were really there when we find toys for example. Or we can tell if the group was of a given cultural group by the items we find, even though it was never written down at the time. Or how a camp was actually segregated when we only find certain cultural items on one side of a stream but not the other... the list of things archaeology can tell us is both wonderful and wonderfully frustrating in that we seldom answer more questions than are let, waiting for more things to be found.

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