Caught on Camera: Recognizing Archeological Artifacts in Historic Photographs

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "Meanwhile, In the NPS Lab: Discoveries from the Collections" , at the 2020 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

The National Park Service preserves collections of archeological artifacts recovered at Civil War battlefield sites. The advent of photography just before the Civil War revolutionized the way soldiers’ experiences were documented and shared. These historic photographs also provide modern day scholars and researchers with invaluable insight into what battle and camp life was like for the Union and Confederate soldiers, and allow us to place Civil War artifacts into context. The museum collection at Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park includes several archeological collections containing battle-related objects like bullets as well as more personal artifacts related to soldiers’ dress and camp life. FRSP’s museum collection also includes daguerreotypes, ambrotypes, and tintypes that showcase these very objects. This paper will explore how we can use these two components of a collection to better understand the artifacts, photographs, and the history they tell.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Meanwhile, In the NPS Lab: Discoveries from the Collections   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2020

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Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 861