American Material Culture: Investigating a World War II Trash Dump
The Idaho National Laboratory: An Historical Trash Trove Historians and archaeologists love trash, the older the better. Sometimes these researchers find their passion in unexpected places. In this presentation, the treasures found in a large historic dump that lies relatively untouched in the middle of the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) will be described. The U.S. military used the central portion of the INL as one of only six naval proving grounds during World War II. They dumped trash in dry irrigation canals during and after their wartime activities and shortly before the federal government designated this arid and desolate place as the nation’s nuclear reactor testing station in 1949. When read critically and combined with memories and photographs, the 60-year old trash provides a glimpse into 1940s’ culture and the everyday lives of ordinary people who lived and worked during this time on Idaho’s desert. Thanks to priceless stories, hours of research, and the ability to read the language of historic artifacts, the dump was turned from just another trash heap into a treasure trove of 1940s memorabilia. Such studies of American material culture serve to fire our imaginations, enrich our understanding of past practices, and humanize history. Historical archaeology provides opportunities to integrate inanimate objects with animated narrative and, the more recent the artifacts, the more human the stories they can tell.
- Research Organization:
- Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- INEEL
- DOE Contract Number:
- DE-AC07-99ID-13727
- OSTI ID:
- 911621
- Report Number(s):
- INL/CON-05-00339; TRN: US200801%%79
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: Great Rift Science Symposium,Pocatello,10/06/2005,10/09/2005
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Historic American Landscapes Survey: Arco Naval Proving Ground (Idaho National Laboratory)
Idaho National Laboratory Cultural Resource Monitoring Report for Fiscal Year 2007