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another recently discovered 19th century chicago dump site provides a wealth of artifacts

the vast scattering of excavation sites in and around downtown chicago have provided a dizzying, seemly endless amount of artifacts discarded by chicagoans of the 19th century. the quantity of "hutchinson" type soda or mineral water bottles alone is impressive to say the least. moreso, the sheer variety of medicinal bottles, chinaware and condiment bottles extracted from these dump sites has offered tremendous insight into what was consumed during various decades of 19th century chicago.

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early chicago waste included ashes from wood burned by households and businesses, droppings of horses on streets and in stables, and relatively small amounts of food wastes, newspapers, and the like. most of it appears to have been readily biodegradable, though bottles, pottery and the like obviously survived to be rediscovered. in 1849 the city of chicago appointed its first city scavengers. disposal of waste was then managed by dumping in marshy areas on the city's edge and in flat terrain. additionally the transformation of lowlands into city blocks suitable for development often involved raising the level of the land through dumping of wastes (which also eliminated standing water). many chicago buildings and streets now rest on as much as a dozen feet of nineteenth-century refuse.

overall, the characteristics seen from one trash pit assemblage to another remain largely consistent. certain commonalities or patterns are found time and again, and it becomes possible to accurately predict what will be found, the timeline of objects as they are arranged haphazardly in the ground.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



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