What Items Would You Place in a Time Capsule for Future Generations?
By CAROLINE CROSSON GILPIN JAN. 24, 2017
The 1770 Ear Inn in Lower Manhattan has revealed many souvenirs of past owners, including pottery shards, bottles, keys and a shoe.
Have you ever discovered anything hidden away in an old house or apartment? Have you ever stashed away something so you — or others — could recover it years later?
What stories have you heard about the discoveries of old things in buildings left behind in secret places?
In “The History Hidden in the Walls,” Caitlin Kelly writes:
“The practice of burying or concealing items in the structure of a house is called immurement,” said Joseph Heathcott, an architectural historian and urbanist who teaches at the New School in New York.
“It is actually an ancient practice that cuts across many cultures and civilizations,” Dr. Heathcott added. The most famous examples are artifacts entombed with Egyptian pharaohs in the pyramids, but he said that ritual objects have often been found in the walls of Roman villas and ordinary houses during archaeological excavations. “The history of Freemasonry traces its origins to the rituals of concealment by masons, sealing up secrets in their buildings,” he said.
Objects were often hidden away as a way to bring good luck to inhabitants. This was the case in Ireland, he said, “where it was common when building a home to bury a horse skull in the floor or under the hearth, a Celtic practice that dates back centuries. Sometimes it would be the entire skull, other times just the front section or the top without the lower jaw.”
In England and Ireland, it was also customary in many regions to bury dead cats in the walls or under floors of houses to ward off malicious spirits, Dr. Heathcott added.
Students: Read the entire article, then tell us:
— What can everyday objects from the past tell us about life long ago? What have people learned from uncovering items left behind, either intentionally or accidentally, in homes and buildings?
— If you uncovered an item stashed away long ago, would you feel a connection to the person who left it behind? How curious would you feel about the item you found and the person who used it? Would you want research to find out more? Why or why not?
—What items would you put in a time capsule for future generations, and why?
— What can everyday objects from the past tell us about life long ago? What have people learned from uncovering items left behind, either intentionally or accidentally, in homes and buildings?
ReplyDeleteEveryday objects from the past can tell us about how people lived, and acted and what they did in the past. Stuff from the past can show us how the stuff we do on our free time compares to what they did. When we find stuff accidentally from the past under ground it means a building or even an animal depending what it looked like was their. If you find something in a building it is most likely that someone in the building left it behind or your standing in a really old place
— If you uncovered an item stashed away long ago, would you feel a connection to the person who left it behind? How curious would you feel about the item you found and the person who used it? Would you want research to find out more? Why or why not?
If i found an item like that i would research it because i would want to know what i found, if it is worth anything, what it is who it belonged too. I would always keep the object on me and play with it as much as i can
—What items would you put in a time capsule for future generations, and why?
In a time capsule i would probably put a phone, a tv and maybe some head phones so they can compare the stuff to what they have.I would also put pictures of cars so they could compare it to cars they have and see how for they came.
ReplyDeleteEveryday objects from the past tell us many things about life long ago.It tells us what people were interested in,what happened when we were’nt here yet.If there was a war or what was popular back then.people could learn history or a new discovery to the world by uncovering items left behind either intentionallyor accidently in homes and buildings.If I uncovered an item stashed away long ago I would feel a connection to the person who left it behind because the item that I had just found brings us together.I would be very curious about the item that I found and who used it because once you find out something and it makes you get interested you want to find out more about it.The items that I would put in a time capsule for future generations is a softball,soccer ball and my cross country running numbers and a picture of my family and a note to my family in the future because i would want them to know how and who i was like.
They have learned that special things have been hidden from people that really wanted to save those until they wanted to unbury it. When they uncover something they probably think wow , someone who used to live here really had a special hiding place for things that were important to them.if i found something that somebody , that somebody has buried something then yes i feel i am going to have a connection with them and i’m going to try to see what happened and what this meant to them. i would put the ring that my best friend gave me. The bracelet my mom gave me , and the teddy bear she gave me, because i would want somebody to know that those things really meant something special to me , and i would want to understand why those things are so important to me if somebody was to ever find it.
ReplyDelete-Everyday objects from the past can tell us a lot about life long ago for example, the way that it's been upgraded or what's been changed or how it works an easier way or even how it improved to put it like that. People learned from uncovering items left behind that how old it is and they're happy that memories came back from that object.
ReplyDelete-If i uncovered an item of a person from my family the connection i would have is very strong it would depend what it is but it will make me feel special on how it was left behind to be seen. I would be very curious on who left it behind and how it was used at the time and how much was it worth then and now. Yes i would like to research on it to see what was left behind from the days this person was living and they used on everyday life.
-Items i would put in a time capsule for future generations is electonics we have in today's life so that the people growing into the future would see how different things are and improved for them.
Some things everyday objects can tell us about the past is, how they survived back then or how they did things like, eat, clean, play games, fixed things, gardened. I believed what people have learned from uncovering items, either by accident or intentionally is how people back then lived their day to day lives. That they learned how life was different and difficult compared to how things are now. If i found something from long ago that someone left behind, i feel that i might feel a connection with that person who left it. I feel that because i believe everything happens for a reason and that there has to be a back story or a reason that, that object was left and i found it. I’d feel very curious like who was the person who left it, where they royalty, rich or poor. Did this item mean a lot to them, is this item worth something ? yes i would want to research because what if the item is worth money or something important to history, and what if i could find anything about the person who left it. One item i’d put is my phone because, future generations will be more advance and they might even know what my phone is by then. I’d leave the charger to so they can obviously turn it on. Another thing id leave is my expansive jewelry and clothes and shoes, so they can compare.
ReplyDeleteEveryday objects from the past tells me that life was not the way it is now. We have a lot way more than everybody use to. People learned that it is good luck to bury dead things in the walls,floors,or underground and houses go on top.If I uncovered an item stashed away from long ago I would feel a connection because maybe it was meant to be left there for me or for someone else close to me or that lives with me. I would be very very curious on the person who left it behind because 1. If its from a long time ago im gonna want it either way 2. I think it is cool to discover things that arent from your time so you can learn the history behind it. The items I would put in a time capsule is a iphone so kids can see the way our phones were and can compare it to theirs that they would have now. I would put a t-shirt or some type of clothing that everyone wore so they can see the way we dressed and they can compare to their time. I would leave a picture of me with a little note so for whoever finds it can get to know something about me and what I was like.
ReplyDelete