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Date: | Sun, 18 Oct 2009 11:52:55 -0400 |
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These don't appear to be automobile, but rather some form of farm
equipment. The wheel spokes are obviously wooden and the platform
inside on the axle is for anchoring the wooden frame to the hybrid
axle. Given how the parts are set, high relative speed is not a viable
option, again pointing to an agricultural function.
The handle is more of a "setting" control that is meant to be left in
place once done for that labor set.
This is a wonderfully poorly studied area in archaeology. Farms
frequently had an area where clapped out farm equipment was placed to
be scavenged later for spare parts. These are to me legitimate
archaeological sites exactly the same as prehistoric lithic scatters
or dump sites from historic house sites. They are concentrated discard
locales rather than casual loss loci and as such reflect discernible
and repeated behavior. From these one can discern what type of farming
took place, when it took place and often there is a temporal
progression of artifact types.
The good news is that there are generally groups who may have multiple
examples of name brands and who exhibit them for public awareness.
These tend to be more in the Mid-West. VA has an annual show in
Goochland County called Field Day of the Past
(www.fielddayofthepast.net) sponsored by the Rockville-Centerville
Steam and Gas Historical Association. There are also various examples
on the Mid-Atlantic as well.
Lyle Browning, RPA
On Oct 18, 2009, at 1:08 AM, Andrew Robinson wrote:
> Hello all,
>
> I am working on my master’s degree on a couple of sites in Southwest
> Michigan. We located a number of automobile parts on the surface or
> just
> below the surface. One of the parts appears to be an axle,
> another might be a gearshift or emergency brake with a spring-loaded
> handle,
> and “T 240” stamped into the metal. The site dates from the
> mid-19th century to the mid-20th century. I am wondering if anyone
> has any
> information/sources to assist in identify the parts and/or the
> vehicle model
> these parts came from.
>
> http://www.flickr.com/photos/39493264@N08/
>
> Thank you,
>
> Andrew Robinson
> Master's Candidate
> USFS Archaeological Crew Lead
> Colville National Forest, Newport, WA
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