In Small Things Forgotten: An Archaeology of Early American Life [Paperback]

James Deetz (Author)

Book Description

Release date: August 1, 1996 | ISBN-10: 0385483996 | ISBN-13: 978-0385483995 | Edition: Rev Exp Su

History is recorded in many ways. According to  author James Deetz, the past can be seen most fully  by studying the small things so often forgotten.  Objects such as doorways, gravestones, musical  instruments, and even shards of pottery fill in the  cracks between large historical events and depict  the intricacies of daily life. In his completely  revised and expanded edition of In Small  Things Forgotten, Deetz has added new  sections that more fully acknowledge the presence  of women and African Americans in Colonial  America. New interpretations of archaeological finds  detail how minorities influenced and were affected  by the development of the Anglo-American tradition  in the years following the settlers' arrival in  Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1620. Among Deetz's  observations:
Subtle changes in building long before the  Revolutionary War hinted at the growing independence  of the American colonies and their desire to be  less like the  British.



Records of estate auctions show that many  households in Colonial America contained only one  chair--underscoring the patriarchal nature of the  early American family. All other members of the  household sat on stools or the  floor.



The excavation of a tiny community of  freed slaves in Massachusetts reveals evidence of  the transplantation of African culture to North  America.

Simultaneously  a study of American life and an explanation of  how American life is studied, In Small  Things Forgotten, through the everyday  details of ordinary living, colorfully depicts a  world hundreds of years in the past.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

History is recorded in many ways. According to author James Deetz, the past can be seen most fully by studying the small things so often forgotten. Objects such as doorways, gravestones, musical instruments, and even shards of pottery fill in the cracks between large historical events and depict the intricacies of daily life. In his completely revised and expanded edition of In Small Things Forgotten, Deetz has added new sections that more fully acknowledge the presence of women and African Americans in Colonial America. New interpretations of archaeological finds detail how minorities influenced and were affected by the development of the Anglo-American tradition in the years following the settlers' arrival in Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1620. Among Deetz's observations:

Subtle changes in building long before the Revolutionary War hinted at the growing independence of the American colonies and their desire to be less like the British.

Records of estate auctions show that many households in Colonial America contained only one chair--underscoring the patriarchal nature of the early American family. All other members of the household sat on stools or the floor.

The excavation of a tiny community of freed slaves in Massachusetts reveals evidence of the transplantation of African culture to North America.

Simultaneously a study of American life and an explanation of how American life is studied, In Small Things Forgotten, through the everyday details of ordinary living, colorfully depicts a world hundreds of years in the past.

From the Inside Flap

History is recorded in many ways. According to  author James Deetz, the past can be seen most fully  by studying the small things so often forgotten.  Objects such as doorways, gravestones, musical  instruments, and even shards of pottery fill in the  cracks between large historical events and depict  the intricacies of daily life. In his completely  revised and expanded edition of In Small  Things Forgotten, Deetz has added new  sections that more fully acknowledge the presence  of women and African Americans in Colonial  America. New interpretations of archaeological finds  detail how minorities influenced and were affected  by the development of the Anglo-American tradition  in the years following the settlers' arrival in  Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1620. Among Deetz's  observations:
Subtle changes in building long before the  Revolutionary War hinted at the growing independence  of the American colonies and their desire to be  less like the  British.



Records of estate auctions show that many  households in Colonial America contained only one  chair--underscoring the patriarchal nature of the  early American family. All other members of the  household sat on stools or the  floor.



The excavation of a tiny community of  freed slaves in Massachusetts reveals evidence of  the transplantation of African culture to North  America.

Simultaneously  a study of American life and an explanation of  how American life is studied, In Small  Things Forgotten, through the everyday  details of ordinary living, colorfully depicts a  world hundreds of years in the past.

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Anchor; Rev Exp Su edition (August 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385483996
• ISBN-13: 978-0385483995
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.6 x 8.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #82,968 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #69 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Archaeology
  • #89 in Books > History > Americas > United States > Colonial Period

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

43 of 46 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Remember Small Things April 1, 2002

By "gus_mccrae69"

Format:Paperback

The main thrust of Deetz's argument in this book points to the incomplete nature of the traditional historian's approach to understanding past societies. By focusing only on written documentation, traditional historians necessarily confine the groups they can examine to literate societies, thereby excluding most people in the history of human existence. Furthermore, written documents contain the bias of the author, and so cannot always be trusted.

Deetz argues that historical archaeology and the study of material culture opens the door to understanding a far wider band of human societies, and can further help us relate to the literate cultures we study, by providing corroborating evidence, in some cases, and filling in the gaps overlooked in traditional written documents in other cases.

This work focuses mainly on early New England societies, but the research methods Deetz puts forth readily adapt to studies in other areas. The fact that this book still stands as required reading on university course lists 25 years after its first publication testifies to its usefulness...

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Little things mean a lot October 9, 2007

By G. Joy Robins

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I enjoyed Deetz' newly updated introduction to Historical Archaeology in America. He makes clear that much can be gleaned from the seemingly insignificant material things that are left behind in the process of living. I greatly enjoyed his putting the pieces of the puzzles together. Sometimes the result was an interesting surprise. For instance, I didn't know that porches, which became so popular in America, were not a feature of European houses and were introduced by Africans. "Shotgun houses" also have African roots. Another surprising story is told by the changing styles of Colonial gravestones. They change subtly as the religious climate changes. The oldest being very stiff and stern and later ones becoming more decorative, replacing deaths heads with angels.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Still probably the best introduction available to the basic concepts of historical archaeology March 23, 2012

By Michael K. Smith TOP 500 REVIEWER

Format:Paperback

Back forty years ago, when I was first getting into the formal study of "material history" -- also called "historical archaeology," as opposed to prehistorical -- Deetz was one of the principal practitioners in the field, teaching introductory courses at Brown and Berkeley and the University of Virginia. Out of those courses came the first edition of this book, published in 1977. It focused mostly on New England -- but that didn't matter because archaeological method and systematic interpretation is the same whatever milieu one applies it to. But Deetz felt the need to update what he had to say, and to broaden his scope to include the Chesapeake and also African American archaeology, hence this revised edition. The methods have changed somewhat over time, but the author's goals have remained the same.

The thing is, museums and recreated communities like Williamsburg, though fascinating, are in no way typical. Nearly all the surviving 17th century houses in Massachusetts are of one or two types, because they were built to last by people with the money to make certain of it -- but most of the population lived in much cruder dwellings, none of which survived. Again, what we see now is not typical. Hence, the necessity of archaeology, even to sort out the everyday history of the past couple of hundred years, even though excavation is often paralleled by published sources and official documents.

What Deetz does here is to use a particular specialized subject in each chapter as an elaborated example of one method or principal of historical archaeology. "The Anglo-American Past" discusses the principal of "cultural significance," via the artifact-survival problem noted above, as well as such concepts as "horizon" vs. "tradition." "All the Earthenware Plain and Flowered" deals with typology, the grouping of artifacts by shared characteristics and their use in interpreting dates and cultural dispersion. (Ceramics fragments are especially important in this.) He also introduces here the notions of technomic, socio-technic, and ideo-technic function, a set of distinctions that appear again and again through the book. "Remember Me As You Pass By" considers the concept of "seriation" by discussing the evolution over time of gravestone carving and decoration in early New England (a specialty of Deetz's). Grave markers are especially useful for this since they are seldom moved or destroyed and are self-dating. "I Would Have the Howse Stronge in Timber" goes into the critical distinction between "vernacular" architecture, which is ad hoc and organic, and "academic" architecture, which is based on formal plans and adheres to specific principles of design. "Small Things Remembered" considers domestic objects -- chairs (rare in early colonial America), bedsteads, eating utensils (knives were common but not forks) -- and such matters as the methods by which household refuse was disposed of.

The remaining chapters continue the reader's concise education with frequent examples and side discussions. It's amazing that so much key information could be crammed into fewer than 300 pages. But for anyone with an interest in early American history, or archaeology, or material culture, this book is very highly recommended. It would hard to think of a better place to start.