This book supplies the guidance and relevant historical context needed to understand a wide range of objects and the fascinating insights they can provide to life in colonial America. When material objects and artifacts are properly analyzed, they serve as valuable primary sources for learning about history. Written for upper-level high school and entry-level college students, this book looks at a wide range of topics relating to daily life in colonial America, using artifacts as the lens through which to explore wider issues. The book begins with a discussion of objects and why they are important to studying the past. It also explains how to study objects so they can "tell their stories." Readers will not only learn about daily life in early America, but will also gain the skills of observation and assessment needed to analyze the objects and draw meaningful conclusions from them. The volume helps students explore the "stories" of more than 40 objects from colonial America that shed light on key aspects of social life and culture. The artifacts include archaeological finds as well as museum pieces, providing comparisons between different types of contextual data. Some of the museum pieces discussed, such as "Paul Revere's Lantern," are revered by Americans today as icons of specific historic events. By examining the "biographies" of these objects, the reader will be challenged to decide how much of these legends is true-and, if not, whether it really matters. Is it instead more important for Americans to have tangible symbols representing past events and the development of their culture? Provides students with guidance on how to assess and analyze artifacts Places important objects and artifacts within the context of key topics in colonial history Offers an innovative way for students to learn about history through material culture Enables fuller historical understanding by clarifying how the meanings of artifacts are created through the interactions of objects and people and how these meanings change through time Includes primary sources relating to most entries to help students place each object in context

Author Biography

Beverly A. Straube, PhD, FSA, earned her doctorate from the University of Leicester, England, and is an independent archaeological curator and material culture specialist.