20th century (and late 19th century for that matter) refuse disposal on
southern farmsteads follows the pattern Dan Mour discussed - compustibles were
burned and the ashes scattered, glass and metal was dumped, often in nearby
gullies, and food scraps were either disposed of in rear yard middens, gardens
or hog pens.

We were working on a piedmont SC farmstead once, excavating units in the rear
yard where we were finding ash, bone, and occassional small fragments of
pottery and glass.  The farmer who was then living at the house asked me one
day (it may have been while we were having a sip of his peach moonshine which
he hid in one of the sheds, but thats another story) "Aren't yall looking for
old things that the people who lived here would have had?"  I gave him my
standard explanation of historical archaeology.  To which he replied "Well how
come you're not digging in the dump?"  He then took me to a thick patch of
kudzu off to the side of the farm and as we started wading through the kudzu I
could hear and feel the crunch of bottles and cans under my feet. You couldn't
see a thing because of the kudzu and the dump had filled an old gully. The
dump hadn't been found by either the survey or the testing and we would have
missed it has well if he hadn't taken an interest in what we were doing.

J. W. (Joe) Joseph, PhD, RPA - New South Associates, Inc.- (770) 498-4155/fax
(770) 498-3809   www.newsouthassoc.com