ABSTRACT
Containers used in commercial packing have become increasingly important to archaeologists studying late historical sites. Data derived from bottles, jars, and cans contribute to a wide range of studies, including chronological control, trade, site functions, and methods of manufacture. Closures are an integral component of such studies, becoming particularly useful after the florescence of a spectacular variety of metal and glass caps in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The standard historical closure references have been John J. Riley's A History of the American Soft Drink Industry and Alfred Lief's A Close-Up of Closures (1965). Both of these works are reliable, the former focusing on developments within the soft drink industry and the latter documenting industrial trends in the evolution of commercial closures. Following these detailed reviews is an historical overview of the development of the hermetic seal, which made possible the preservation of food by "appertization", the process of using heat to process/sterilize food.
