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When material objects and artifacts are properly analyzed, they serve as valuable primary sources for learning about history. Written for upper-level high school and entry-level college students, this book looks at a wide range of topics relating to daily life in colonial America, using artifacts as the lens through which to explore wider issues. The book begins with a discussion of objects and why they are important to studying the past. It also explains how to study objects so they can tell their stories. Readers will not only learn about daily life in early America, but will also gain the skills of observation and assessment needed to analyze the objects and draw meaningful conclusions from them.

The volume helps students explore the stories of more than 40 objects from colonial America that shed light on key aspects of social life and culture. The artifacts include archaeological finds as well as museum pieces, providing comparisons between different types of contextual data. Some of the museum pieces discussed, such as Paul Revere's Lantern, are revered by Americans today as icons of specific historic events. By examining the biographies of these objects, the reader will be challenged to decide how much of these legends is true--and, if not, whether it really matters. Is it instead more important for Americans to have tangible symbols representing past events and the development of their culture?