Photographing the Garage Sale: An Exercise in the Use and Utility of Photography in Archaeology

Photography has been used as a part of archaeological studies for a very long time. It is often claimed that the photographs that are taken of archaeological sites and of artifacts are useful because they provide evidence of the conclusions or results that are achieved at the end of the study, but experience with these photographs and how they are used after the completion of archaeological digs has proven this not to be the case. This study will show how the photographic documentation of a specific archaeological subject, the garage sale, is actually used more as a means of displaying and presenting a personal claim about having been somewhere and done something.

Background Information

Techniques and Procedures

Results

Conclusions: The Usefullness of Photography in Archaeology

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