Small Finds: Problems and Possibilities

Abstract

The term ‘small finds’ was one adopted, sensibly, due only to the size of most of the artefacts included within the intended scope of the category. Why bother to call a collection of brooches, hairpins and furniture studs ‘big finds’? But all too often, these objects have been treated in accordance with their name, and their significance ignored or under-appreciated. It is much more glamorous to give detailed examination to a building plan than a group of gaming counters. Brooches, a long term status symbol for archaeologists as well as (possibly) the people they study, often are given more attention, and those finds considered to be unusual or rare are usually singled out for more detailed mention than their less attractive companions. But even these are only described in detail, a few interesting observations on style or manufacture noted, and then forgotten about for the remainder of the report. If we are lucky, a typology of claw-footed chair legs may be compiled at some point, but this is often as far as it is taken. For finds to be useful in the study of identity, this approach must change. Identity requires the study of objects which are believed to have occupied a place close to the people being studied, and nothing could be closer than the objects used on a daily basis: the small finds. If we accept that people express their identities through their manipulation of the world surrounding them, small finds must no longer take a back seat in meaningful analysis. Although recent work has accepted that certain artefacts may have stories to tell about their users, this is usually confined to personal accessories or items of like nature (e.g., Cool 1990; Jackson 1985). However, upon close inspection even the furniture studs and claw-footed chair legs have things to tell, if only we are willing and open-minded enough to look. If identity is accepted as something which runs through every aspect of one’s life, whether conscious or not, expressions of it must be sought in every part of material culture. Small finds, as the material culture used and manipulated every day, must be included at the forefront.