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102
Chapter N
Seventeenth-Century Material Culture
4.1 Intmduetbn
An achaeologtcal dircovely is mly a window inn, the part. Unlike arrhival sources. the
rnifrcls fmm ths gmund arr the physical repmatation of p t cultural activities. This
is why the cwchitmural minn and the associated mifacts fmm Rsnsws are so important in
helping lo understand the culture of thav whochwe lo depm the shores of England in
!he caiy stages of New World mloniwtion and venlvce into a new land. Mmt obn. our
knowledge of Ihe past ha been derived fmm the written record. udly in the form of
legal docummu, maps and journals. Likewise. anbu have preserved v*oun scenes ~n
punlings and sketcher lhnr hang in plblic galleries. private collrtions or in books.
Hiqtoric objccrs can also he viewed in museum or antique shops.
The combinntlon of written so-. ill~uvation~ and museum or private collections is
valuable. although not alwap the most amuare representation of the way things were,
crpccially for the common folk whoconstiNled the heoverwhelming majority of any
populallon. past or present. Tbcm is a danger when relying upon the written record or
mureum coilectionr for when we rely up" the eyes and hies of the writer. painm. or
mureum benefactor, we are at the mercy of subjective thought. Even f it hod a~uxlnu