40 Well-Known Artifacts That Revealed Important Historical Information

Exploring artifacts that date thousands of years and learning about them feeds our natural curiosity but it is even more interesting to chat with people who are experts in the field. 

That is why Bored Panda reached out to Dr. Brian L. Hackett, an associate professor at Northern Kentucky University who has a special interest in museum exhibits and from 1992 to 2004 was responsible for the day-to-day management and development of historic sites as executive director of the Montgomery County (Ohio) Historical Society. 

Scientists discover artifacts and share the joy of finding something new that uncovers a part in human history because they were once lost and are now the only link to a certain time and place. It always is a wonder how entire cities can be lost and we just built new ones on top just to dig up everything once again to find ruins or someone’s shoe.

Dr. Brian L. Hackett gave us an idea how such artifacts get lost, “Sometimes they are lost just like if you were to lose your cell phone or your house keys. Other times, people deliberately hide things then forget about them or pass away before the items are recovered. There is a time in the life of an artifact where it goes from cherished and useful, to outdated and worthless, that is when objects get lost or discarded.”

But to us those things hold huge value as they tell us the story of how our ancestors lived, what their values were and what a long way we went from there. There were lots of important discoveries made such as finding Tutankhamun’s burial site, the Dead Sea Scrolls or the Terracotta Army that had huge cultural and historical meaning but that doesn’t mean that it’s the end.

Just as we know that only 5 percent of the ocean’s floor is explored, Dr. Hackett is convinced that humans barely touched the surface of the evidence left behind by our predecessors and adds that you don’t need to go to a historical sight to uncover something, “Incredible discoveries are always being made not just in tombs, forgotten caves and deep forests, but also in attics, basements and even museum collections. Lost artifacts are all around us, you just need to be aware of the possibilities!”

Also, many of those great discoveries are accidents and while sometimes historians and archeologists have something on their mind of what they want to find and can look for clues, “many discoveries are by chance. You might be looking for one thing and end up finding something unexpected. It's times like this that make the work exciting.”

In that case any of us can be discoverers and researchers playing Indiana Jones. Dr. Hackett actually encourages it, “The stuff of history is all around us, one just needs to look. The Holy Grail can be found anywhere. Just be open to the idea that things are meant to be discovered and the best is yet to come.”

There is so much potential to find something and there are so many mysteries to solve but the expert wouldn’t dare to guess what the next big find could be. Although based on previous discoveries he believes “it will be in the least likely place. Some kid will find it while hiking with his dog, or some archivist will discover a new letter she overlooked before.”

Such crazy stories truly happened before, “Someone finds an original copy of the Gettysburg Address inside an old book, a Picasso on the wall of a rented apartment in Chicago, or an early photograph of Edgar Allen Poe at a garage sale.”

While major discoveries might happen by accident, historians and archeologists will still conduct research and choose somewhere to start from, “There are many hot fields of research right now.  In my particular area of study, much history has been ignored, such as African American History, Native American History and other neglected subjects. This offers a world of history to be discovered.”

If you don’t hear about new knowledge about our past being discovered, it doesn’t mean that historians and archeologists are vacationing, “We are discovering the stories and related artifacts on subjects like the Underground Railroad, Slavery and the private lives of individuals. In other fields discoveries have been made in Egypt, Central America and Eastern Europe.”  

Actually there is so much action going on that the historian thinks “we are on the edge of a new age in discovery!”

So while we wait for new announcements about lost cities, important people’s tombs and ancient secrets being discovered, let’s remember what we already know. Which of the artifacts in this list you found the most fascinating and surprisingly well preserved? Are there any other artifacts that weren’t on this list but are no less impressive? Let us know in the comments!