The Importance of Archaeology from the Not So Distant Past

march 1, 2018

by Aaron Estes, GBL Archaeological Field Technician

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Acknowledgement of State and Federal Assistance
This project has been funded in part by a grant from the U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service’s Historic Preservation Fund administered by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology. The project received federal financial assistance for the identification, protection, and/or rehabilitation of historic properties and cultural resources in the State of Indiana. However, the contents and opinions contained in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the U.S. Department of the Interior, nor does the mention of trade names or commercial products constitute endorsement or recommendation by the U.S. Department of the Interior. Under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the U.S. Department of the Interior prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, or disability in its federally assisted programs. If you believe that you have been discriminated against in any program, activity, or facility as described above, or if you desire further information, please write to: Office of Equal Opportunity, U.S. Department of the Interior, 1849 C Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20240.
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In the public imagination a lot of attention is typically given to ancient and prehistoric remains; a sometimes underappreciated segment of the field is the study of those remains from more recent history. This type of work, commonly referred to as historical archaeology, includes the identification, collection, documentation, and preservation of artifacts and structures which could be as few as 50 years old or younger if deemed significant. However, these artifacts allow archaeologists the unique opportunity to study history through objects that are possibly more familiar and relatable. One such artifact from the 2017 GBL Bean Blossom Creek Survey of the IU Research and Teaching Preserve is a Coca-Cola bottle from 1954.

Since it is fair to assume that many people today have drank from or at least seen a Coca-Cola bottle in their lives, this bottle is a perfect example of how familiar yet historic object can be used to help people better relate to a different period in time.

Sometimes archaeological artifacts offer little information when extremely fragmented or deteriorated, but this piece is a unique situation since it was recovered fully intact and in relatively pristine condition. Even luckier is the fact that this bottle comes from an era in which glass bottles were machine-made with distinct marks to identify a wealth of information including the bottle’s contents, manufacturer, and production date. Thus a large portion of this Coca-Cola bottle’s lifespan can be easily uncovered by decoding the various numbers and symbols embossed on the bottles surface.

Based on the specific codes on the base and body of this Coca-Cola bottle we know that it was manufactured in 1954 in Chattanooga, Tennessee, by the Chattanooga Glass Company. It was then sent to Bloomington, Indiana, to be bottled in the town’s Coca-Cola Bottling Plant, and from there likely sold to a local resident. The first code that sets off this chain of information is the date code located on the lower body of the bottle reading “54-05.”

This represents the year 1954 and mold number 5 from which the bottle was made (Lockhart and Porter 2010; Lockhart 2000). Next in the center of the bottle’s base is the letter “C” enclosed in a small circle. This mark signifies the Chattanooga Glass Company, and more specifically the company’s Chattanooga plant which produced Coca-Cola bottles with this logo from the 1927 until the 1980s (Lockhart et al. 2014). Surrounding the circle C logo was embossed “BLOOMINGTON – IND” — this text indicates that this bottle was meant for the bottling plant in Bloomington, Indiana, which bottled Coca-Cola from 1924 to 1989.

The Bloomington Coca-Cola Bottling Plant, which is today a recognized historic site on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP), still stand at 318 S. Washington St. near downtown Bloomington (Brennan 1999).

Though manufacturer marks are the easiest way to identify a historic glass bottle of this era, it is not the only way. The design and diagnostic features of a bottle, especially in the case of Coca-Cola, are also useful in dating pieces when dates or manufacturing marks are absent. The first essential step in dating a Coca-Cola bottle is finding out which of the three Coca-Cola patent designs the bottle was made from. Based on this bottle’s specific design features, it was of the third patent variation that was patented in 1937, which is the design still commonly seen today (Lockhart (b) 2010; Lockhart (a) 2000). Although the classic “hobble-skirt” design was first patented in 1915, the distinct design features of the 1937 bottle patent included a thicker waist with a higher constriction, a flattened base, and more elliptical side flutes between the trademark panels. Additionally this was likely one of the last bottles to have the Coca-Cola logo embossed on the glass, since this design was replaced by Applied Color Lettering in 1955. Finally, the last unique marking on this bottle that separates it from the other bottles of similar design is the phrase “TRADE-MARK REGISTERED IN THE U.S. PATENT OFFICE” embossed just below the Coca-Cola label on one side. This patent designation was introduced in 1951 and was used until the introduction of the recognizable “®” symbol in 1962. Using an aggregate of all this information this bottle can be relatively dated between 1951 and 1955 without ever looking at a single manufacturing mark.

Hopefully now it is clear that a lot of history can be extrapolated from such a small and seemingly insignificant object. But these artifacts are even more intriguing when put into greater context. For instance, 1954 was the midst of the Cold War and the U.S. was still experiencing the post war economic boom in which new middle class families were buying up consumer goods like televisions to watch popular programs like “The Ed Sullivan Show,” “I Love Lucy,” and “Father Knows Best.” Dwight D. Eisenhower was in his second year in office, the Polio vaccine was first used (eventually saving millions of lives), and the case of Brown v. Board of Education reached its final verdict, ending segregation in U.S. public schools. And at Indiana University history Herman B Wells was president, the Alumni Association was founded, and the Sigma Nu fraternity would win the fourth ever Little 500 on a Roadmaster bicycle. Looking from a broader scope it should be obvious how a simple Coca-Cola bottle can take on a greater meaning when considered alongside the history of the past 63 years. Because in context, not only does this small bottle represent the history of Coca-Cola, but it is also a part of the history of the United States, the city of Bloomington, and Indiana University.

Therefore while at times archaeology can appear to be unapproachable when considering the deep and abstract past, it is artifacts like this one that are the key to connecting people with a more intimate history. Not only is this bottle a tangible representation of the past, unlike the text in a book, but it is also something familiar and recognizable to a general audience. This familiarity makes it a perfect example of something that can bring people back to over 50 years of U.S. history. Regardless of how it ended up in that ravine near Lake Griffy, artifacts like this have the potential to bring to life history that people can relate to, and these are the artifacts that historical archaeologists are looking to uncover and share with the world.

References:

Brennan, Kristen

1999    The Coca-Cola Bottling Company Plant. National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination Form. Preservation Development Inc., Bloomington, IN (June 7, 1999).

Lockhart, Bill

2000    Chapter 8c Bottles of the Magnolia Coca-Cola Bottling Co. Bottles on the Border: The History and Bottles of the Soft Drink Industry in El Paso, Texas, 1881-2000 333-354. DOI: https://sha.org/bottle/pdffiles/EPChap8c.pdf

Lockhart, Bill and Bill Porter

2010    The Dating Game: Tracking the Hobble-Skirt Coca-Cola Bottle. Bottles and Extras 46-61. DOI: https://sha.org/bottle/pdffiles/coca-cola.pdf

Lockhart, Bill, Beau Schriever, Carol Serr, and Bill Lindsey

2014    Chattanooga Glass Co.. Society of Historic Archaeology Inc. 225-246. DOI: https://sha.org/bottle/pdffiles/ChattanoogaGlass.pdf