ANT 412 Historical Archaeology

ARH 412H

Historical Archaeology
Artifact Report

Fall, 2006

Course

Schedule

Evaluation

FAQ

Property

ARH Prog

Anthro

Events

Introduction
The following are some guidelines to help you in your historical artifact report. Most of you will select your own artifact, perhaps something you or a family member already owns, or something you see in an antique shop or junk shop. Ideally, it should be a fairly common type of artifact, and something you might expect, at least occasionally, to encounter in an historical archaeological excavation or survey. It can even be a part of some larger artifact, such as a metal fitting from something made mainly of wood.

If you don't have your own artifact, you can borrow one from me. Email me to let me know you need something to use. With my approval, you may use an artifact in a museum collection (such as the ROM's Canadiana collection), but only as a last resort.

This is supposed to be somewhat challenging, so I don't want you to research something that is extremely obvious (or, in the case of museum items, something that the museum has already described in detail). An example of an appropriate subject would be an obscure agricultural or industrial tool that you must first identify, and then go on to research in other ways.

Goals
The goal this time is to give you practical experience at investigating some combination of the date, function, history of development, origin, original purchase cost, and technology of the artifact, and possibly the history of the company that manufactured it or any implications that it has for the socio-economic status or ethnicity of its original owner. Think of the report as though it's a report on an artifact found in an archaeological excavation.

There are several different approaches you could take. These include:

changes in the style or technology of the artifact type leading up to the one you have
researching the company that manufactured the artifact, through sale catalogues, advertisements, and other archival sources
the way the artifact was used or contributed to some aspect of daily life, economic activity, or technology
implications of the artifact for social or economic interpretation of disposal contexts in which a historical archaeologists might find one

You should focus on a particular approach .

General Instructions
Here are a few tips:

Make sure you illustrate your artifact (photo or drawing)
Try your best to use original documents (such as old trade catalogues and patent documents) in your research
Your research will be easier and more fruitful if you use an artifact that has some kind of identifying markings (such as a trade name on a bottle, or makers' marks on flatware or ceramics)
Make the most of what you can find. If, for example, you have pretty good luck in finding information about the manufacturer, then concentrate on that. If, instead, you find a lot about how the design of your type of artifact changed technologically or stylistically over time, then base your paper on that.
Do your homework. Don't just speculate. It wold be very naïve, for example, to suppose that a bottle labelled "Electric Oil" has any more to do with electricity than "Snake Oil" has to do with snakes. Both are "medicinal" products that are really just alcohol! (Note: the history of alcohol use among alleged tea-totallers is an interesting sidebar to this class of artifact).
Keep in mind that the object you have could be a small component of a much larger artifact, facility, item of clothing, or piece of furniture. If you're having trouble identifying it, but have some suspicions, you might benefit from visiting a museum or two where you could see such things as the fittings on wagons and carriages, fasteners on clothes or furniture, or the hardware on sea trunks and chests of drawers.

Format
Organize your paper carefully, to begin with an introduction, an illustration of the artifact, then outline the methods (sources) you used, and show your results. Follow standard social-science citation format where possible, and for the various archival and map sources, use abbreviations (e.g., "Sears" for "Sears Catalogue") with a fuller reference, including a table of abbreviations if necessary, in the bibliography at the end.

The paper need not be long. I would say a maximum of 8 pages, plus any maps or copies of photos you want to include.

For more advice on writing papers, see my more general web page on this.

Resources
The following are just some of the resources available to help you with this project. Note that some of them are for web sites selling trade catalogues, etc. Use these to find key words for searching library catalogues. You can also search on the web for things like "antique kitchen utensils."

Robarts Library (Collectors' catalogues are widely available, but remember that these constitute secondary sources, and their quality and reliability vary substantially. And I expect you to go a lot further than the catalogues do. You may also find histories of larger companies, possibly including the manufacturer of your artifact).
Toronto Public Library (Search under "commercial catalogues" or "hardware catalog" and so on; includes things like Eaton and Simpson's catalogues, Brownie's Tackle, Exposition Universelle de Paris, Crane's plumbing, Thomas Mitchell catalogue 1886, Maymore Hardware 1912, etc.). Make sure you check which library branch has what you want (e.g., Simpson's catalogues in North York Central library).
Google Patent Search
American Antiquarian Society - a great source on trade catalogues
Library of Congress - another source on trade catalogues
Blacksmithing
Canadian Clay Tobacco Pipes
Antique Bottle Collectors' Haven
Historic Glass House
Antique Farm Equipment
Antique American Instruments and Tools
Union Hill Antique Tools
Trade Catalogues, Newspapers, Advertisements

You might also consider visiting a museum, historic house, or "pioneer village" that may have artifacts similar to the one you're researching, especially to see what whole equipment or furniture looks like (if you're research just a part, such as a drawer handle or a hardware fitting on some wooden item). Some suggestions:

Black Creek Pioneer Village
Campbell House
Fort York
McKenzie House
Pickering Village

References
Bannister, Judith (1970). English silver hall-marks ; with lists of English, Scottish, and Irish hall-marks and makers marks. Foulsham.

Hume, Ivor Noel (2001), A Guide to Artifacts of Colonial America, University of Pennsylvania Press. (Note: this covers pre-1776 artifacts)

Martin, Scott V., and June V. Balyk Martin (1996). The Book of Silver: Flatware, Silver Marks, and Patterns. SM Publications, New York.

Miller, G. L. (2000). Telling time for archaeologists. Northeast Historical Archaeology 29: 1-22.

Pascal Hardware Co. (1975). The Arthur Pascal collection of antique woodworking tools. J. Pascal Hardware Company, Montreal.

Patterson, Pat (1989). Harvests past : domestic and agricultural hand tools and rural life in the Ottawa Valley from 1860-1875. Boston Mills Press.

Rennie, William (1872?). Toronto agricultural warehouse illustrated catalogue. Available in microform at University of Toronto Library.

Romaine, Lawrence B. (1960). A Guide to American Trade Catalogs, 1744-1900. Dover Publications, R. R. Bowker, New York.

Schuyhler, Hartley, and Graham (1985). Illustrated Catalog of Civil War Military Goods: Union Army Weapons, Insignia, Uniform Accessories, and Other Equipment. Dover Publications (reprint of 1864 publication).

Woodhead, Eileen (1991). Trademarks on base-metal tableware : late 18th century to circa 1900 (including marks on Britannia metal, iron, steel, cooper, alloys, and silver-plated goods). National Historic Sites, Parks Canada, Environment Canada.

Other Information Not Enough Information?

Make sure you start on this early; otherwise, you may realize too late that it's impossible to find out anything about the artifact you've picked. Worse, maybe you still won't have found an artifact to research until a few days before the project is due. Needless to say, I won't be too impressed if you ask me for an artifact in the last week! If your first choice of artifact leads to a fruitless search, pick another one that's easier to research (information you DID find during your initial search will help you pick more wisely next time).

Plagiarism and Other Academic Offences

I take such offences very seriously. Make absolutely sure that what you submit is your own work, and make sure that you familiarize yourself with what constitutes plagiarism or other forms of academic fraud. See the last part of my guidelines on essays and the web sites listed there for more information.
In particular, you need to beware the temptation to cut-and-paste information from web sites. Even if you intend to edit such text later or add quotation marks and a citation, often students either forget to do this, or don't edit the text sufficiently for it to constitute their own words. It is much better (and safer!) simply to take notes from web sites to provide information (not wording) that you will use later to write your own text. If you do want to quote some wording, make sure you keep track of its source right from the start, so you can cite it correctly.

Last Update 15 August 2004

Introduction		The following are some guidelines to help you in your historical artifact report. Most of you will select your own artifact, perhaps something you or a family member already owns, or something you see in an antique shop or junk shop. Ideally, it should be a fairly common type of artifact, and something you might expect, at least occasionally, to encounter in an historical archaeological excavation or survey. It can even be a part of some larger artifact, such as a metal fitting from something made mainly of wood. If you don't have your own artifact, you can borrow one from me. Email me to let me know you need something to use. With my approval, you may use an artifact in a museum collection (such as the ROM's Canadiana collection), but only as a last resort. This is supposed to be somewhat challenging, so I don't want you to research something that is extremely obvious (or, in the case of museum items, something that the museum has already described in detail). An example of an appropriate subject would be an obscure agricultural or industrial tool that you must first identify, and then go on to research in other ways.

Goals		The goal this time is to give you practical experience at investigating some combination of the date, function, history of development, origin, original purchase cost, and technology of the artifact, and possibly the history of the company that manufactured it or any implications that it has for the socio-economic status or ethnicity of its original owner. Think of the report as though it's a report on an artifact found in an archaeological excavation. There are several different approaches you could take. These include: changes in the style or technology of the artifact type leading up to the one you have researching the company that manufactured the artifact, through sale catalogues, advertisements, and other archival sources the way the artifact was used or contributed to some aspect of daily life, economic activity, or technology implications of the artifact for social or economic interpretation of disposal contexts in which a historical archaeologists might find one You should focus on a particular approach .

General Instructions		Here are a few tips: Make sure you illustrate your artifact (photo or drawing) Try your best to use original documents (such as old trade catalogues and patent documents) in your research Your research will be easier and more fruitful if you use an artifact that has some kind of identifying markings (such as a trade name on a bottle, or makers' marks on flatware or ceramics) Make the most of what you can find. If, for example, you have pretty good luck in finding information about the manufacturer, then concentrate on that. If, instead, you find a lot about how the design of your type of artifact changed technologically or stylistically over time, then base your paper on that. Do your homework. Don't just speculate. It wold be very naïve, for example, to suppose that a bottle labelled "Electric Oil" has any more to do with electricity than "Snake Oil" has to do with snakes. Both are "medicinal" products that are really just alcohol! (Note: the history of alcohol use among alleged tea-totallers is an interesting sidebar to this class of artifact). Keep in mind that the object you have could be a small component of a much larger artifact, facility, item of clothing, or piece of furniture. If you're having trouble identifying it, but have some suspicions, you might benefit from visiting a museum or two where you could see such things as the fittings on wagons and carriages, fasteners on clothes or furniture, or the hardware on sea trunks and chests of drawers.

Format		Organize your paper carefully, to begin with an introduction, an illustration of the artifact, then outline the methods (sources) you used, and show your results. Follow standard social-science citation format where possible, and for the various archival and map sources, use abbreviations (e.g., "Sears" for "Sears Catalogue") with a fuller reference, including a table of abbreviations if necessary, in the bibliography at the end. The paper need not be long. I would say a maximum of 8 pages, plus any maps or copies of photos you want to include. For more advice on writing papers, see my more general web page on this.

Resources		The following are just some of the resources available to help you with this project. Note that some of them are for web sites selling trade catalogues, etc. Use these to find key words for searching library catalogues. You can also search on the web for things like "antique kitchen utensils." Robarts Library (Collectors' catalogues are widely available, but remember that these constitute secondary sources, and their quality and reliability vary substantially. And I expect you to go a lot further than the catalogues do. You may also find histories of larger companies, possibly including the manufacturer of your artifact). Toronto Public Library (Search under "commercial catalogues" or "hardware catalog" and so on; includes things like Eaton and Simpson's catalogues, Brownie's Tackle, Exposition Universelle de Paris, Crane's plumbing, Thomas Mitchell catalogue 1886, Maymore Hardware 1912, etc.). Make sure you check which library branch has what you want (e.g., Simpson's catalogues in North York Central library). Google Patent Search American Antiquarian Society - a great source on trade catalogues Library of Congress - another source on trade catalogues Blacksmithing Canadian Clay Tobacco Pipes Antique Bottle Collectors' Haven Historic Glass House Antique Farm Equipment Antique American Instruments and Tools Union Hill Antique Tools Trade Catalogues, Newspapers, Advertisements You might also consider visiting a museum, historic house, or "pioneer village" that may have artifacts similar to the one you're researching, especially to see what whole equipment or furniture looks like (if you're research just a part, such as a drawer handle or a hardware fitting on some wooden item). Some suggestions: Black Creek Pioneer Village Campbell House Fort York McKenzie House Pickering Village

References		Bannister, Judith (1970). English silver hall-marks ; with lists of English, Scottish, and Irish hall-marks and makers marks. Foulsham. Hume, Ivor Noel (2001), A Guide to Artifacts of Colonial America, University of Pennsylvania Press. (Note: this covers pre-1776 artifacts) Martin, Scott V., and June V. Balyk Martin (1996). The Book of Silver: Flatware, Silver Marks, and Patterns. SM Publications, New York. Miller, G. L. (2000). Telling time for archaeologists. Northeast Historical Archaeology 29: 1-22. Pascal Hardware Co. (1975). The Arthur Pascal collection of antique woodworking tools. J. Pascal Hardware Company, Montreal. Patterson, Pat (1989). Harvests past : domestic and agricultural hand tools and rural life in the Ottawa Valley from 1860-1875. Boston Mills Press. Rennie, William (1872?). Toronto agricultural warehouse illustrated catalogue. Available in microform at University of Toronto Library. Romaine, Lawrence B. (1960). *A Guide to American Trade Catalogs, 1744-1900. Dover Publications, R. R. Bowker, New York. Schuyhler, Hartley, and Graham (1985). Illustrated Catalog of Civil War Military Goods: Union Army Weapons, Insignia, Uniform Accessories, and Other Equipment. Dover Publications (reprint of 1864 publication). Woodhead, Eileen (1991). Trademarks on base-metal tableware : late 18th century to circa 1900 (including marks on Britannia metal, iron, steel, cooper, alloys, and silver-plated goods).* National Historic Sites, Parks Canada, Environment Canada.

Other Information		Not Enough Information?
		Make sure you start on this early; otherwise, you may realize too late that it's impossible to find out anything about the artifact you've picked. Worse, maybe you still won't have found an artifact to research until a few days before the project is due. Needless to say, I won't be too impressed if you ask me for an artifact in the last week! If your first choice of artifact leads to a fruitless search, pick another one that's easier to research (information you DID find during your initial search will help you pick more wisely next time). Plagiarism and Other Academic Offences I take such offences very seriously. Make absolutely sure that what you submit is your own work, and make sure that you familiarize yourself with what constitutes plagiarism or other forms of academic fraud. See the last part of my guidelines on essays and the web sites listed there for more information. In particular, you need to beware the temptation to cut-and-paste information from web sites. Even if you intend to edit such text later or add quotation marks and a citation, often students either forget to do this, or don't edit the text sufficiently for it to constitute their own words. It is much better (and safer!) simply to take notes from web sites to provide information (not wording) that you will use later to write your own text. If you do want to quote some wording, make sure you keep track of its source right from the start, so you can cite it correctly.