In Small Things Forgotten ─ An Archaeology of Early American Life

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.

James Deetz?died in November 2000. Patricia Scott Deetz is a cultural historian with an MA in history from Rhodes University, South Africa. She lives in Charlottesville, Virginia.