Pro tip: A volunteer at the Cahokia dig last summer changed how I see pottery shards

I was helping sort finds at the Cahokia Mounds site in Illinois, feeling a bit lost with all the broken pieces. An older volunteer named Frank sat next to me and picked up a plain brown fragment. He said, 'This little guy was part of a cooking pot for a family, maybe 800 years ago. Hold it up to the light and you can see the finger marks from where they shaped it.' That simple line made me look at every piece differently, not just as an object but as a direct link to a person. I spent the next two hours sorting with a whole new focus, trying to picture the hands that made each one. Has anyone else had a small moment like that shift their view on a common find?

3 comments

3 Comments

henry6044d ago

Honestly, that's how the best history lessons work.

terry_lewis214d ago

What's the worst history lesson you've ever had, @henry604?

wadekim2d ago

Remember when they made us memorize dates and names? I used to think that was the whole point. Then a teacher showed us a letter from a regular soldier, and it clicked that history is just people making choices.