Or is it milk...

One of the problems of such classifications is that they do not take
into account that deposition of the container may result from re-use to
contain other products. I have twice found milk or cream bottles in
contexts that made it clear they had been used and re-used, along with
wide-mouthed jars and bottles for condiments, etc., in the process of
home canning. What mattered was that they had wide mouths. So, just
because it's a milk bottle doesn't mean it was deposited as a milk
container.

Martin Pickands
New York State Museum

>>> [log in to unmask] 4/6/2007 12:02 AM >>>
Carol,
In the OAS Euroamerican artifact analysis framework, milk bottles (I'm
assuming you mean the bottles in which milk was either purchasd or
delivered to residences from the dairy) would be classified as Food
items. The other option would be Indulgence items, but we would
generally not consider milk in that category, although I suppose there
might be circumstances in which one could consider milk as an
indulgence. Our framework is flexible enough to allow for that
possibility if you wanted to do so . . .
Jeff
 
Jeffrey L. Boyer, RPA
Project Director
Office of Archaeological Studies, Museum of New Mexico
mail: P.O. Box 2087, Santa Fe, New Mexico  87504
physical: 407 Galisteo Street, Suite B-100, Santa Fe, New Mexico 
87501
tel: 505.827.6387          fax: 505.827.3904
e-mail: [log in to unmask] 
"It might look a bit messy now, but just you come back in 500 years
time."  --Terry Pratchett
 

________________________________

From: HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY on behalf of Carol Serr
Sent: Thu 4/5/2007 3:51 PM
To: [log in to unmask] 
Subject: Milk...a beverage...or food



Ok...I'll ask a "dumb" question...   Do milk bottles get designated
(as
once holding) a FOOD...or a BEVERAGE in your artifact classifications?
I consider juice, soda, mineral water...as beverages...

I haven't had milk in ages...but, I was never one to chug milk all by
itself as a "refreshing" drink (beverage).  I only drank it with meals
(or chocolate chip cookies!)...as a "supplement"...of sorts.  A liquid
food... (well, really just something to wash down the large particles,
ha ha).  I pretty much only drink water these days...as a beverage.

So...what is the convention (or is there even one?)...for how this
consumable liquid (well, actually the containers that once held it)
would be designated in an artifact classification...and Why?

Thanks.

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