Anth 100 - Backyard Archaeology

Backyard Archaeology

Lori Jones

American Public University

ANTH100 – Introduction to Anthropology

Erick Rochette – Instructor

July 24, 2016

Backyard Archaeology

The year is 2516 and things are now very different now than they were in 2016. Here in the 25th century some of the things that are different are: cars have been replaced with hovercrafts, airplanes have been replaced by spaceships, and instead of buses we now use shuttlecrafts. Robots and androids now perform the menial jobs such as maids and housekeepers. Smart homes are now part of everyone’s lives. Books no longer exist except in museums and personal collections. During the middle of the 21st century, a comet that crashed to earth, burying a large percentage of homes under piles of rubble. The engineers and scientists that survived the devastation decided to make sure every home was designed to protect the people that lived in them.

During the summer of 2516, I participated in an archaeological dig as part of a course I was taking in college. The dig took place in an area that at one time was the site of a small town in what was once a state called Illinois. I was directed to an area that was covered with tons of rubble, it could only be described as a small mountainous area. I have been digging for what seems like hours when I suddenly uncover a large hole that appears to be square in size. I crawl through the hole into a space that seems completely untouched. It is almost as if someone will be returning at any moment.

I slowly work my way through the area, which looks like what can best be described as a gathering chamber*. I am getting extremely excited because I am very sure that I have uncovered one of the homes that has been destroyed. The chamber looks like it was frozen in time.

The chamber is comprised of four walls. One wall has two small doorways leading off of it, one at each end of the wall, with a large expanse in between. The second wall has a very large doorway that probably leads to yet another chamber. The third wall has a very large opening, probably a window opening. And the fourth wall has a small opening, also most likely a window opening. Both window openings are situated in the center of each wall. There is a wall to wall covering on the floor, probably what was once referred to as carpet.  

I recognize a few of the things I see, only because they are similar to artifacts discovered on earlier digs and are now kept in museums for safekeeping. Some of those things that I recognize are books and magazines, these are located on the top and bottom shelves of the shelf unit, the small table next to the chair by the large square opening in the wall that I used to enter the chamber, and on a large rectangular, cushioned object that is sitting in front of what looks like a large couch. There is a smaller couch under a small wall opening with a small table at one end and what looks like a small two drawer dresser at the other end. The pieces of furniture are the other things that look familiar. These pieces look very different from the furniture that we have in the 25th century, but I am able to tell what they are because they look items that I have seen in old family pictures. There are however, a few things that I do not recognize located on a shelf unit**. I will try to describe them as best that I can.

The first object I discover sitting among the books, is an item approximately 12 - 14 inches in height. It has a round base, trimmed in gold with some kind of scenery around the sides, one top of the base and one a small round circle on the front of the object. The small circle also has the words Thomas Kinkade on it. This small circle is attached to a gold colored box which is attached to two gold colored tubes positioned in an upright position and attached to the large base. There are four gold balls hanging from the box, which swing back and forth and in a circle. And there are strange looking letters on the small circle that look like this: XII, III, VI, and IX, along with two pieces of metal and a small knob. Further examination reveals a black knob and a small door on the back of the gold box, and another small door on the bottom of the object, along with small circle with slats in it. After witnessing the motion of the gold balls, I suspect that this object may have been used to mesmerize people.

There are other artifacts grouped together in the same place as the books. The second artifact is a hollow, glass, cone shaped object with a hole in the narrow end. The hole is approximately 1/8 inch in width and item itself is about three inches in height. The color of the object is a combination of blue colors from light blue to medium blue in a swirl pattern. I can think of no real use for this object other than it is soothing to look out. It may have once been used to combat stress, possibly something that once held an aromatic oil.

The third artifact is a glass, decorative-style object about six inches high. The stem is clear trimmed in gold. The main part of the goblet is bowl shaped in a deep purple trimmed in gold. It is decorated blue, pink and white flowers and green and yellow leaves, outlined with white, all on a gold background.  This object resembles something that people from the 21st century drank out of, but I suspect that it was not used for that. It looks like it may have been used in some type of religious ceremony.

The fourth artifact is an interesting object approximately six inches high, made up of several circular shapes which were formed out of black wrought iron and colored glass. The base is shaped into a tube and shaped into a circle. Attached to the inside of the circle is a small flat black circle with sides. Sitting inside the small circle is light pink cylindrical object with bumps all over it and a white string on top that has a waxy feel to it, possibly a short stubby candle. Opposite the small circle is a half circle also in the shape of a tube. It appears to be holding a circular piece of glass that has been hand-painted with an orange flower, red swirls and green bird with a long bill and a bright pink throat. There are three small round clips attached to the semi-circle holding the glass circle in place. I suspect this object was used as some type of lighting source.

I discovered one more unusual artifact clustered among the other artifacts. It is a globe shaped, clear, glass orb with a flat bottom, approximately three inches high. Inside the orb are six clear teardrop shapes. Surrounding the teardrops are many red and white flat, curved shapes that sort of resemble leaves on a flower. The object has some definite weight to it. I gauge the weight to be less than half a pound, but it is a solid weight. When I look at the object from the side, the objects inside appear to be on the smaller side of dimension, but when I look into the object from the top, the objects inside seem to get bigger. I do not see an actual constructive use for the object, therefore I feel it may have just been something that the former owner felt was pretty and eye-catching. I discovered the five objects sitting on long black board inside a black box. This resembles pictures I have seen of a 21st century bookcase or shelf unit.

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