My cousin's kid asked me why we dig up old stuff and it made me pause

I was visiting family in Tucson last month and my 8-year-old cousin asked me, 'Why do you care about broken plates from a thousand years ago?' I started giving my usual answer about learning history, but then he said, 'But isn't it just trash they didn't want anymore?' That hit different. It made me think about how I got into this field, chasing big finds and cool artifacts. Now I realize the real story is in the everyday things people left behind, the broken pot someone tried to fix, the worn-out tool. It's not about treasure, it's about understanding regular people. It's a lot more humble than I used to think. Has anyone else had a simple question totally shift how you see your work?

2 comments

2 Comments

evayoung1mo ago

Maybe it's just trash. People have always thrown things away, and we're the ones putting meaning on their garbage. Sometimes a broken plate is just a broken plate.

abby_martin281mo ago

But a broken plate in an old trash pit tells us how they lived.