Reading Blog #1

              In Small Things Forgotten by James Deetz and “Building in Wood in the Eastern United States: A Time-place Perspective” by Kniffen and Glassie had common underlying themes in both of the works. I believe that the main underlying theme from this week’s reading was that architecture is in embedded with a lot of history and culture. When we think of historical artifacts we immediately think of letter, books, painting, clothing, etc. However, we forget about the structures that encompass these historical artifacts. The readings from this past week proved that not only were the materials used in the 1800s were influenced from European countries, we could also see the influence in our building structures as well religious objects. Kniffen and Glassie stated the “method of construction employed had its European antecedents” (Kniffen and Glassie, 178), thus one would derive from the point that there was a stronger European influence than one would think. Deetz references to the advancement in the Tombstone’s used which gave us great insight into the religious attitude that was present. When we look at objects we sometimes overlook any religious or spiritual history that could be associated with it, therefore when Deetz pointed out that the Tombstones were related to a secular religion that is a huge connection with European lifestyle. The typical American attitude is that we are very original and we are not influenced as much so it was very interesting that the readings showed how we are society has been greatly influenced by the European culture even though we try to state that our countries and cultures are not alike. In conclusion, I found both of the readings to be very enlightening because one can learn a lot from artifact, which includes buildings and tombstones.