Museum docent's throwaway comment changed how I look at old pots

I was at the Field Museum last Saturday and this older volunteer said most of what we dig up was somebody's garbage, not treasure. Has anyone else had a casual line from a guide stick with them way longer than the actual exhibits?

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theawest16d ago

That one comment about garbage has echoed in my head ever since I read your post, especially the part about how we only find what people threw away or lost, not what they kept... Like, a whole civilization's worth of daily life is basically their trash pile and we study it like it's sacred or something. So I gotta ask, did it change how you look at the stuff in your own house right now, or is it more about the museum pieces? Cause I keep staring at my recycling bin thinking, this is what future archaeologists would dig up from me... its a weird feeling honestly.