Anita thought we had died. That's because we didn't have anything to discuss.
From yesterday's discussion, might we postulate an urban origin for
privies? The pit or vault privy might have begun from urban necessity and
then propagated into the countryside. During the 'thirties, government
agencies promoted a vented privy that has since been known as a "WPA John"
in my part of the country. It has a wide roof overhang, and can be built
from stock lengths of cheap lumber.
The public-health advantage of government promoting such privies is obvious
from our vantage point, but I wonder if the whole privy-building campaign
might have been an imposition of urban values onto a rural population.
For a humorous, but revealing, approach to the privy, see Chick Sale's
book, "The Specialist." In some parts, the privy was called a "Chick Sale"
after this immensely popular publication. His "standard eight-family
three-holer" is fun.
The Waverly, Mississippi, Plantation report to which Bill Adams refers is
available from NTIS. It's expensive but it is a good read in
ethnoarchaeology. It just happens that I have a copy, thanks to Bill's
earlier referring me to it. Nobody ever accused Bill of being
bibliographically modest!
:=}
Citation:
William Hampton Adams, editor, 1980, "Waverly Plantation:Ethnoarchaeology
of a tenant farming community," submitted to Heritage Conservation and
Recreation Service, funding by U. S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile
District.
The NTIS bar code is ADA127617, but I don't know what that means in terms
of their ordering system. You can order it on line through the NTIS
website. Keep your credit card handy. As I recall the price was about $70.
All about Iceland: http://www.dmv.com/~iceland------------
Research and Land Rovers:http://home.dmv.com/~eheite/index.html
_________
| \ BABY GETS 19 MILES PER U. S. GALLON!
| BABY \_===__
| ___ ___| Always remember to pillage
|_/ \______/ || BEFORE you burn.
___\_/________\_/_____ ---- Ned the Horrible
Ned Heite Camden, DE
|
