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Article ID: CBB886109757

Analysis and Interpretation of Artifacts in Industrial Archeology (2000)

Gordon, Robert B. (Author)

IA. The Journal of the Society for Industrial Archeology
Volume: 26
Issue: 1
Pages: 103-111

URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40968510

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Research methods Material culture Archeometry Industrial archaeology Artifacts 20th century U.S. Dept. of the Interior, National Park Service, Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record

Industrial archeologists' special expertise is analysis and interpretation of artifacts, the material goods made by people. Artifacts may be individual objects, structures (such as bridges), or systems (such as a railway or a power grid). Both new and established techniques of archeometry offer industrial archeologists powerful but often underutilized tools for the investigation of individual objects. New opportunities for the interpretation of industrial artifacts for a wide audience arise from the growing popular interest in the environment, the departure of mining and manufacturing from North America and Europe, and cultural tourism. While interpretation always begins with data derived from artifacts themselves, industrial archeologists need to include the contexts of artifacts in their interpretations if they are to respond to the opportunities offered by new public interests. The principles of the newly emerging field of industrial ecology applied in a retrospective life-cycle analysis can identify the physical components of an artifact's context that arise in its fabrication, use, and ultimate fate. Context includes natural resources used, wastes produced, particular skills needed, risks faced, and recycling routes followed. By fashioning and publishing interpretations that meet the needs of users outside of their field, industrial archeologists can enlarge the utility and recognition of their research among individuals they now rarely reach.

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