Coins In The Fountain: Finding Meaning in Everyday Votive Offerings
Author(s): Marjorie Akin
Year: 2017
Summary
There is a very long history of people throwing valuable objects into bodies of water or fountains, and the practice has long been widespread. Today children ask for, and are often given, small-denomination coins to "make a wish" by tossing them into a fountain or pool. What are the origins and history of this behavior, and what beliefs and social motivations lie behind it, from ancient times to today? The social and physical formation processes that affect these "votive offerings" will be discussed. Surprising patterns of behavior related to coin- tossing and their meaning for archaeological analysis will be revealed.
Cite this Record
Coins In The Fountain: Finding Meaning in Everyday Votive Offerings. Marjorie Akin. Presented at Society for Historical Archaeology, Fort Worth, TX. 2017 ( tDAR id: 435350)
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Keywords
General
Ethnohistory
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Formation Processes
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Numismatics
Geographic Keywords
North America
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United States of America
Spatial Coverage
min long: -129.199; min lat: 24.495 ; max long: -66.973; max lat: 49.359 ;
Individual & Institutional Roles
Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology
Record Identifiers
PaperId(s): 624