ABSTRACT
As anthropologists and archaeologists like to remind us, and as some scholars-particularly in years gone by-have been prone to forget, remnants of the past also exist outside of the musty bound volumes of libraries and historical archives. For history, populated as it is with human beings who, like us, ate, drank, wore clothes, slept, and otherwise lived a day-to-day existence, is not only written on paper, but carved in wood, stitched in fabric, molded in clay, blown in glass, and hewn from stone. Americans today can often immediately recognize what period a film or TV show takes place in simply from the outfits worn by the actors, be they poodle skirts or bell-bottoms. So, too, historians have come to discover that the fashions, finery, furniture, tools, and architecture of earlier generations are as important to reconstructing the past as are letters, diaries, and legal documents.
