June 20, 2012

Happy Summer everyone.

I read this yesterday:

"Thought of the day:  'The things people discard tell more about them than the things they keep.'  Really?  We saw this saying in a magazine and aren't sure we agree.  Do you?"
    Kovels on Antiques and Collectibles Volume 38 Number 11, July 2012: page 129.

As a historic archaeologist, I often wonder if I am misinterpreting the site's inhabitants because of the garbage - artifacts - that I have on hand to interpret, especially when the written record is sparce and there are no descendants to give insight.

I may do a brief caveat in a report, but I wonder how or if you all out there address this skewed version of the at times very specific individuals we claim to understand just from their garbage.

S. Walter