University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology . . . North American Historical Archaeology . The assumption has long been made that by history we mean documentary history alone. In many ways, the documents preserved for American history reflect only one point of view, usually that of leaders or bureaucrats.
Archaeology is, however, a very useful adjunct to documentary history.
As an example, Dr. Rothman describes the history of the Landingford Plantation in Upland, Pennsylvania. This place was founded by a friend of William Penn, Caleb Pusey, in 1683 and continued to be occupied until 1950. Its trash remains to give us a new view of early America, especially from 1683 through 1880. The news of the strike in Alaska caught the nation in the grip of a feverish obsession. By the end of the week scores of inexperienced and ill-prepared people left their jobs, sold their possessions and set out to prospect for gold in the Yukon.