Abstract
Why do the smallest artifacts found during the excavation of a site elicit the most visceral response from those who find them and study them? Is it because they are portable items that can be tied to people, such as coins, smoking pipes, and children’s toys, or is it because often they are visually appealing? While the range of small finds discussed in this collection will be diverse, the contributors all share a passion for deriving cultural meaning from the context in which they were found. It will be proven that small finds can have big implications when an anthropological framework is employed during analysis.
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Acknowledgments
I would like to thank the participants in the “Small Finds” session for agreeing to publish their papers in this volume, and Charles Orser for inviting us to do so. I am also thankful to David Robertson, who provided support and guidance during the writing and editorial process.
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MacDonald, E.M. Introduction to Small Finds, Big Implications: The Cultural Meaning of the Littlest Artifacts. Int J Histor Archaeol 20, 641–644 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10761-016-0372-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10761-016-0372-3