The year is 3001 A.D., I John Seay, Archeologist have come across a most interesting site. In the recently discovered city of Ottawa, we have found a dwelling that may shed new light on social activities of many of our ancestors who lived so many years ago. As any archeologist familiar with this site is aware of Ottawa was covered in sand almost one thousand years ago in the great sand storms that swept the continent. During these sand storms there was an explosion in a glue factory close to our newest find. A giant wall of glue swept across neighboring buildings, covering them, and keeping them in pristine condition for the last millennium. Only now have the decedents of those who survived the great sand storms started to excavate the land to try and discover more of their heritage that was lost so long ago.

The structure itself was a large building capable of holding many people at a time, as well as many objects used by these people.

Inside we found many artifacts most of which are still common place in life today. There were and abundance of chairs, as well as tables ranging anywhere in size from small, which could be used by two people. There were also larger tables that would be capable of holding many more people. Perhaps the most abundant thing that we found were bottles. There were bottles ranging from 350ml to as high as 1.75L The bottles came in a number of different colors and shapes as well. Because the artifacts found within were in such good condition, we were able to read the writing on them after a number of cleaning technics. It came to our attention that most the bottles contained an alcoholic substance at one time or another. These alcoholic substances ranged anywhere from 0.5 percent in wine coolers, to 40 percent in stronger alcohol such as Vodka or Rum. As we continued our dig we came across technology that is far less advanced than ours today, but which was obviously used for music. Large speakers found in the corners of the room, as well as wires connected to them. The wires led to a sound system. Other sound equipment such as microphones and a kareokee machine were found in a smaller room which appeared to be used for storage. In this room we found still more bottles as well as tools such as mops, brooms, and various solutions, all of which were used for cleaning. Back in the main room we found larger tables that differed from the ones we had found earlier in the dig. The first type we found was by far the largest we had uncovered, we later found out that this artifact was a pool table. To prove our hypotheses correct, we also found various colored balls in or around the table. Also there were long stick which are called cues that could be found hanging on the wall. This game is still quite popular and played in many cities. The next type of table we found was smaller than the pool table but still larger than the other tables in the dwelling. The tables surface was covered in a slippery coating, and had two openings at the end. We deduced that this table was used for a still popular game of air hockey. The last table found was smaller than the other recreational tables found, and smaller than most of the dining tables for that matter. This table had a sunken surface with metal bars protruding from the sides. Inside the table the metal bars had small paddles on them used for hitting a ball back and forth trying to score on ones opponent. The concluded this game to be another familiar game called fusball. We also found a large abundance of broken glass on the floor. It is believed that during the sandstorm and the explosion in the glue factory nearby the windows and glasses had been shattered leaving us no whole glasses but remains to prove that they had been there. There was also a lot of colored glass showing that some of the alcohol bottles had been broken as well. The largest amount of broken glass was found behind a large wooden counter which we believe to have been the bar. This concludes the Artifacts, as well as the Ecofacts that we found inside the newly excavated structure.

Judging by what had been found in the structure, if one wanted to find similar Artifacts and dwellings, the best bet would be to look in cities. More specifically, densely populated areas with a high abundance of night time recreational activity. Taking into account what we have found, and the current location of such dwellings in our society, a structure such as this is common to cities with large groups of middle aged people.

The most interesting artifact that we found in the dig, I believe was the Pool Table. We classified it as follows:

Description: Large rectangular table with six holes and raised banks, as well as a flat surface.

Outer Material:

Frame- Wood ( more expensive, more sturdy)

Plastic ( less expensive, less sturdy but last longer)

Surface- Slate ( very expensive, better playing surface)

( considerably less expensive, not as durable or as good a surface)

Covering- Felt ( all pool tables covered with felt, relatively expensive, good playing surface).

Pockets- Leather ( expensive, durable)

Plastic ( Cheap, durable)

Color: All of the tables found were brown due to the wooden frame, and had green surfaces due to the felt covering.

After analyzing this table and the rest of the artifacts that we had found during our excavation, we decided that the table could be classified in many different categories, but two seemed more practical. The first was the tables size. Of all the objects that had been uncovered, this was the largest, however all of the tables that had been found were relatively large in size. The second category that we put the table into was the tables use. The table had been used for recreation. This falls into the same categories as two of the other tables found.

All of the artifacts, and ecofacts as well as the dwelling seem to suggest something about the social ranking of the people who would go to such a place. Pool, Air Hockey, Fusball, drinking, none of the activities require superior intelligence, nor do they require that someone be rich to enjoy it. If nothing else this find helps to illustrate how the ordinary people in 2001 enjoyed their spare time. Whether one worked in an office environment, or whether they were the guy who re-shingled your roof, anybody could go to a place like this and be treated as equals. This helps to show that not all parts of society were unfair or bias, this is a perfect example of a place where people could simply go to enjoy the company of one another.

Tables for recreation

Written By: John Seay 300374

Submitted To: Professor Rutherford

Teaching Assistant: Julie Belanger

Date: October 29, 2001

Anthropology 54.100C

Group one

Department: Sociology/Anthropology