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James OnuskaDr. BoldurianArchaeology CapstoneDraft 1 Submitted November 30, 2015

Thru the Field Farm (36WM0915)

Leather Assemblage: Description and Analysis

James W. Onuska

University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg

ABSTRACT

For three days in March 2008, emergency salvage excavations of a massive historic midden feature were performed at the Thru the Field Farm site (36WM0915) to salvage any artifacts during renovations of a home which occupies a historic house structure. Emergency action was taken to discover, stabilize, and preserve anything of cultural significance. Amongst the thousands of artifacts discovered within several layers of a trash midden was roughly 30 assorted leather artifacts of various kinds/types that have yet to be analyzed, categorized, and identified. This research project’s main goal is to render credible identification of the “unknown” objects in the miscellaneous leather assemblage so that nineteenth century life may be better understood.

INTRODUCTION & BACKGROUND

The demolition of an 80 year old concrete porch in a Ligonier Township farm house in

March of 2008 took place that revealed thousands of artifacts. These artifacts were the contents

of a trash “midden” or discarded garbage heap from the owners of the house that were unwanted

for a hundred years or so. The midden was an unintentional time capsule filled with many

broken and decaying artifacts and ecofacts that had been covered up for over a century. The

artifacts and ecofacts had been well preserved under roughly 7 centimeters of concrete, 40

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centimeters of rubble, and 12 centimeters of massive clay deposits that helped in the

preservation. In the fourth stratum the buried refuse consisted of over 7,500 artifacts and

ecofacts including pottery shards, glassware, animal bones, peanut shells, shoes, newspapers,

toys, and a mummified mouse. Amongst all of these artifacts were 30 miscellaneous leather

artifacts. The property owner, Steven Patricia, believes the area near the home’s summer kitchen

and back door served as the dumping pile for the family. Since there was no organized method

of cleaning up garbage, broken items were merely tossed out of the window or door. The lead

archaeologist that rescued the artifacts Dr. Anthony Boldurian believes that the objects were

deposited from 1857 to 1927 three years prior to the porch being paved. Dr. Boldurian along

with his wife and son rescued these undisturbed artifacts before the farm house was renovated

and the dig would be re-covered. By analyzing these artifacts, Dr. Boldurian says we can “fill

out a bigger picture of the life and times of an everyday working farmstead in Ligonier Valley”

(Pickels 2009). What better way to study a person’s past lifestyles and existence than what they

threw away? It gives archaeologist a good representation of what was used and how they were

repaired and discarded when they were thought to be unusable.

LEATHER SOURCES

Animal skin is a fibrous living material that protects an organism from the environment.

It contains hair, sweat glands, fat and blood vessels as well as collagen fibers. These fibers are

made of coil-like molecules built of tiny fibrous strands that are intertwined and overlapping to

create a strong structure. Skins and hides of animals are a part of a class of natural materials

called skin products. Leather is one type of product that can be produced by particular tanning

processes. These products have made up many objects and materials that humans have used to

clothe, protect, build, and create basic fabric for many different uses (Richards 2000:2).

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Leather structure is made up of three dermal layers of skins including the epidermis,

corium (dermis), and the fleshy subcutaneous adipose. The epidermis is the outermost layer of

skin and contains all of hair, feathers, or scales that are normally removed before being worked

with. The dermis or corium is the layer of skin that contains the tiny coil-like molecules that are

intertwined and connected. It has two layers: the first layer containing grain membrane where

hair membrane and pores are located. The second layer contains collagen fibers which make up

the ground substance that connects the dermal structure. The dermis also consists of a ground

substance or fluid that surrounds the fibers along with fatty tissue. The thickness and strength of

the piece of leather is in the fiber network layer which is consists of the mesh of collagen fibrils

that are formed perpendicular to the surface layer. Fiber structure varies with different skin parts

and different species (Dempsey 1947: 21).

Different animals can all produce beautiful and unique types of leather. Most leathers are

made of mammal skins of animals such as cows, bison, horse, deer, sheep, goat, and pig. Each

animal has a different thickness, softness, durability, and pattern that leaves the tanner the option

to use a certain type for a particular object. Cow hide is normally used for shoe soles, belts, and

trunks because of the thickness and durability. Calf skin is used for more thin materials like

upholstery, shoe uppers, clothing, and book bindings because it is so soft and malleable. Bison

hide was used for Native American shields, boots, and other thick clothing. More exotic animal

leathers come from animals like reptiles, fish, and seal. These leather types have their explicit

uses but were mainly used for decoration or status. It really depends on what is available at the

time and what they artisan is trying to make (United Glove).

Animal skin can be tanned or untanned to produce a workable material. Most of the

cured animal hide artifacts fall into four categories: non-tanned, semi-tanned, native-tanned, and

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fully-tanned. Non-tanned leathers include rawhide, parchment, and vellum. Semi-tanned leather

are oil-tanned leathers that have just been soaked in either oil or a potash aluminum mineral

saline. Native-tanned leathers include leathers that have been tanned using a smoke technique or

brain-tanning method which will be explained later. Fully-tanned leathers are tanned using

vegetable tanning or mineral tanning methods. The objective of tanning is to remove all of the

soluble material, and render the skin impervious to rot and resistant to water. The type of

tanning method as well as the material used determines the leather’s resistance to moisture,

flexibility, appearance, and longevity.

TANNING PROCESS

Traditional tanning processes took many weeks and even months to produce quality

leathers. The tanning process begins after the animal skin has been removed from the carcass. It

is imperative to quickly store the hide after removing it from the animal so that rot does not set

in. If the hide is too far putrefied it becomes unusable. Refrigeration for later use or curing must

take place as soon as possible to stop the putrefaction. Curing is the process of salting the hide to

preserve and stop decomposition. By salting and air drying the hide, it becomes slightly dried

out to begin removal of moisture. After a week or so of curing the hide, rehydration begins by

soaking the cured hides in water to remove any dirt and soluble proteins. After rehydration,

removal of the hair and fleshy parts to expose the fibrous inner layer. To help remove the hair,

the hide can be placed into a hot moist room to partially rot the fatty tissue for easier removal.

When all of the fatty flesh parts and hair is removed one is left with collagen fibrous

materials that are ready to be tanned. Tanning is the process of treating the hide with tannin also

known as tannic acid. Tannin is an amorphous substance that can be found in plant roots, stems,

wood, bark, leaves, and fruit of many plants particularly in the bark of oak species and in sumac

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and myrobalan trees (Britannica 2015). By soaking hides in tannin the water is displaced and it

binds to the collagen fibers to make the leather waterproof and strong. There are many methods

of tanning that have different results that can be used for specific types of leather. The most

common tanning process is vegetable tanning. This was discovered by the Egyptians and

Hebrews around 400 BC. Extracts from plants were rich in tannin and could remove the water to

make the leather water resistant. The hide would be placed into the vegetable tannin mixture and

soaked in there for a couple of days so that the tannin can set into the collagen fibers. Another

common primitive method is oil or brain tanning. This process includes fatty oils and tissues or

brain tissue being spread across and pounded into dry hide. A more contemporary method for

tanning leathers is mineral tanning (How Stuff Works 2009). Mineral tanning produces a light

soft leather by soaking the hide in a saline bath of different metal salts. Chromium, aluminum,

and zirconium salts are common mineral salts that allow the process of tanning to be shortened to

days rather than weeks. After the tanning process was completed, the hides were washed and

hung over wooden rods in a warm, semi-moist shaded are so that they may properly dry. The

leather hides were then pulled back and forth across the rods to soften and evenly dry. After the

whole tanning process was done they pieces of leather could be shipped to different

manufacturing companies or plants to be produced into various items (How Stuff Works 2009).

During the 19th century, Pittsburgh was famous for is tanneries. North Allegheny was the

center point for leather production in Pittsburgh and booms from the 1880’s to the 1920’s.

Western Pennsylvania was one of the biggest leather produces in the country concentrated on

producing thick leather soles with tanneries spread throughout the mountain valleys. In 1900

there were roughly 254 working tanneries in Pennsylvania producing $55.6 million worth in

tanned leather compared to its closest competitor being New York with 147 tanneries producing

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$23 million in leather products. Along with tanning plants, many bark processing plants were

located near the tanning plants to produce the vegetable tannic acids. Small “tan yards” popped

up where bark could be processed into tannic acid next to the leather tanning vats. Along with

the processing of bark, the other raw material, hides and skins, was easily accessible to tanneries.

Pittsburgh had a thriving meat production district with slaughterhouses and butcheries that kept a

steady supply of hides and skins. Raw material plants processed both bark and hides and skins.

These plants mainly harvested hemlock and oak bark where the bark would be ground into a fine

powder and placed into a pit where the tannic acid would be leached out. The tanning process

would take roughly four to six months to complete. Once they were finished tanning they would

be taken to a finishing room where they would be treated with oils and coloring dyes and cut into

whatever shape needed. Leather from cattle was made into saddles, harnesses, shoes, and belts.

Sheepskin leather was made into pocketbooks and travel bags. Pig skins were high in demand

and were made into gloves and book covers. This was a process that gave a lot of jobs to

working Pittsburgh natives although people did not prefer to be live near these plants because of

the putrid smell the factories gave off. These factories produced a lot of goods for the local

population as well as shipped leather materials across the country as well as England and

Germany (Rotenstein 1997: 35) .

METHODS & PROCEDURE

Amongst the numerous artifacts recovered at the Thru the Fields Farm were 30

miscellaneous pieces that were cleaned and preserved. Dr. Boldurian kept the artifacts in a clean

temperature regulated room for a couple years until I chose to analyze, describe, and categorize

them. The assemblage was kept in a clean plastic box and was handled with powder free gloves

in the archaeology classroom. I took extensive notes that recorded the color, shape, size, length,

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width, thickness, and any other notable landmarks that each piece had. Each piece was different

and exhibited many different styles of leather as well as a couple of metal nails and a buckle

attached to the leather. I arranged the pieces in the box and labeled them 1-30. After all of the

pieces were arranged I took a picture of the entire assemblage and began to examine each piece

individually. Each piece was measured in centimeters for maximum length and width as well as

maximum thickness in millimeters and a picture was taken next to the ruler to show scale.

RESULTS

For the results portion I will share the dimensions as well as the descriptions of each

piece. Specimen 1 I described as a long leather strap section. It was rectangular in shape made

of dark very thick black leather. On both ends it was clean cut and showed sewing indentations.

Four separate sewing lines were observable with two separate sewing styles; two of each. The

“top” edge was clean cut but the “bottom” edge was jagged from one of the sewing lines.

Specimen 2 I described as a piece of a black shoe sole. The “bottom” of the sole was smooth but

the “top” was very rugged with evidence of matrix and deterioration of the leather. Along one of

the edges were nine distinct nail holes with six nails still puncturing the shoe sole. The nails

were oxidized and were barely still intact. Specimen 3 was a miscellaneous piece of leather. It

had a smooth tanned dermis surface and an unsmooth collagen “hairy” side. This piece of

leather was a natural brown color with a medium thickness but no distinguishable evidence of

any other significance. Specimen 4 was another miscellaneous piece of brown leather. This

piece also had a smooth dermal surface and a “hairy” collagen surface. On the left edge of the

leather piece it had very small intricate sewing holes. It was relatively thin but had clean cut

edges that shaped it into a kind of tapered rectangle. Specimen 5 was a thin dark black

miscellaneous leather piece with a smooth dermal surface. The other side of the piece was a

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little more rugged and course but still had evidence of a smooth dermal surface. All of the edges

were pretty clean cut and had intricate sewing holes along all of the edge margins.

Specimen 6 was a small dark brown leather shoe piece with a very distinct clean cut

pattern. One of the edges was a straight cut while the top part was a clean cut curved edge. It is

quite thin with a smooth dermal surface as well as a “hairy” collagen side. Intricate sewing holes

cover the curved edge as well as evidence of puncture marks in the center of the piece.

Specimen 7 was the same distinct pattern as specimen 6 however it was the mirrored opposite.

This piece also had a smooth dermal side but had more evidence of deterioration and cracking.

Specimen 7 also had evidence of puncture marks in the center of the piece very similar to

specimen 6 but the puncture marks did not match up perfectly. Specimen 8 was a very thin, dark

brown with reddish edges where it was ripped. On all of the edges there was intricate sewing

holes with a smooth dermal side and one “hairy” side. The sewing pattern has a very distinct

“V” shaped sewed into the left side. Most of the edges were clean cut but the right side was torn.

Specimen 9 was another thin brown miscellaneous leather piece with a yellowish collagen hairy

side and a glossy tanned dermal side. All of the edges were clean cut and had intricate sewing

holes with the same “V” shaped sewing pattern sewn into one edge. Specimen 10 was a fairly

large very thick piece of curved black leather. There were no signs of a clean cut edge, however

one edge had evidence of a rough cut. The “outer” side of piece was smooth and glossy white

the inside was rough and course. On the inside of the bottom edge there is indication of tool

marks.

Specimen 11 was a think yellowish-brown miscellaneous piece of leather. One of sides

had a glossy dermal surface and a “hairy” collagen surface side. One of the edges was clean cut

however the other edges were ripped. One of the edges had been creased back on itself with

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sewing holes to create a clean hemmed edge. Specimen 12 was another thin yellowish brown

miscellaneous piece of leather. One side had a cracked dermal surface and a “hairy” collagen

side. Two of the edges were clean cut and the other two were ripped. At the top portion of the

piece are four large holes equally spread with intricate sewing holes on the left portion.

Specimen 13 was a think dark brown miscellaneous piece of leather. None of the edges were

clean cut, however one of the edges had been folded back on itself and sewn to create a clean

hemmed edge. Pieces of thread are still visible on the hemmed edge with one side being a

smooth dermal surface and the other being “hairy” collagen. Specimen 14 was a thin black

leather miscellaneous piece with one smooth dermal surface and one “hairy” side. All of the

edges were folded back on themselves and sewn to create clean hemmed edges. On one of the

edges, puncture holes that are not uniform to the intricate sewing pattern are visible. Specimen

15 was a think blackish-brown miscellaneous piece with one side being “hairy” and the other

side had a light brown glossy finish that was peeling away to reveal the “hairy” collagen dermal

surface similar to the opposite side. One of the edges has a clean cut curved edge with intricate

sewing holes.

Specimen 16 was a thin brown miscellaneous piece of leather with one glossy dermal

surface and one “hairy” collagen side. One edge has a clean straight cut with intricate sewing

holes. On the finished side, the dermal surface is cracking to reveal yellowish-brown collagen

hairs. Specimen 17 are two intertwined leather straps. These two straps are very thick black

leather that are intertwined amongst one another and knotted together. One of the straps is cut in

the center with the other strap knotted in the slice that was created. All of the ends of the straps

are crudely cut with one side being very smooth and the other “hairy” with collagen fibers. The

smaller strap that is knotted inside of the other strap has evidence of bite marks. Specimen 18 is

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a red leather section with very thin red dyed leather. Both of the sides have a smooth dermal

surface with clean cut edges. One of the edges was folded back upon itself to create a hemmed

edge. The opposite side has a clean cut edge with sewing holes along all of the edges. On the

clean cut edge, there is indication of “lace” marks where the sewing holes indent into the leather.

Specimen 19 is a very thick black piece of leather in the shape of a rectangle with one curved

edge. One of the sides is smoother than the other with intricate punch sewing holes while the

other side has the same puncture sewing holes with piece of thread visible. There are four

separate sewing lines that laterally go from top to bottom parallel to one another. Three of the

sides are clean cut with one side having evidence of a crudely cut/ripped edge. Specimen 20 is a

very yellow semi-thin miscellaneous piece of leather. Two of the edge have evidence of clean

cut edges, however they are torn along the same edges. One of the sides has a glossy cracked

dermal surface while the other side has “hairy” collagen fibers.

Specimen 21 is a leather strap with a metal belt buckle through a hole. The metal buckle

is oxidized and is barley attached to the leather strap with the buckle pin through a hole in the

strap. There is one hole on the end without the buckle with intricate sewing holes about halfway

up the strap. One side of the blackish-brown leather strap is a glossy smooth dermal surface and

one side is “hairy”. Specimen 22 is a small thin black leather strip. The tow ends are torn but all

of the edges are clean cut and the entire strip has a smooth glossy finish. Specimen 23 is another

black leather strip with two torn ends. All of the surfaces were smooth and glossy but the overall

thickness was bigger than specimen 22. Specimen 24 is also a thin black leather strip with two

torn ends. All the surfaces appear to be “hairy” with no finished smooth surface. Specimen 25 is

a medium thickness black miscellaneous leather piece. Both of the sides have a semi-smooth

finish. One of the edges has a clean straight cut while the other three edges have all been torn.

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Specimen 26 is a small medium thick black leather strip. Specimen 26 is thicker than

specimens 22, 23, and 24. Two of the longer edges are clean cut while the other two ends have

been torn. One of the sides is smooth and semi-glossy while the other side is “hairy” with

collagen fibers. Specimen 27 is a thin black miscellaneous piece of leather with one smooth

dermal surface and one “hairy” side. On the right portion there is evidence of a one large hole

and indications of a second whole that was torn in half. None of the edges are clean cut and have

all been torn. Specimen 28 is another thin brown miscellaneous piece of leather. Both of the

sides have evidence of a glossy smooth surface but it has cracked and peeled away to reveal the

“hairy” collagen fibers. All of the edges have been torn giving no further evidence as to what the

piece may have been. Specimen 29 is a portion of a thick black leather shoe sole. One side has a

glossy finished dermal surface. The opposite side is unsmooth with a “fuzzy” cloth that has been

pressed into the surface. It has a clean cut edge that tappers down like the outer edge of a shoe

sole. Specimen 30 is a long thick black leather strap. This is the longest specimen in the

assemblage with two clean cut long edges and two crudely cut ends. Both of the sides do not

have a glossy smooth finish and show collagen fibers. There are four and half holes that are

placed along the strap for a buckle pin to fasten.

DISCUSSION

Each of the pieces in the assemblage has cultural significance in its own unique way.

With each piece one may learn a little bit more about what process it took to achieve the final

product that shines light onto life on a working farm in the Ligonier Valley. Unfortunately some

of the pieces have been so deteriorated that it makes it very difficult to determine what it was

before it was tossed out of the window into the trash pile. Knowledge of whatever they may

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have been may have been lost forever, but as a young, archaeology undergraduate student I can

make a guess to what they may have been as well as the type of animal hide used.

Specimen 1 was the thick leather strap section with different sewing patterns. I believe

this may have been a piece of cow hide because of the thickness as well as a decorative strap

because it was crudely cut into a section that also had no other holes for a belt buckle pin to go

through. Specimen 2 was most likely the sole of a shoe. The smoothness of the underside as

well as the nails as well as the overall curved shape are good evidence to determine this piece as

a shoe sole. Since it also was so thick, I believe this would also was made of thick cow hide.

Specimens 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, and 16 all have very small intricate sewing holes

that gives me the idea that they may have been used for shoe uppers or pieces of glove or a small

handbag. Since they are so thin and intricately made the specimens most likely were made to be

looked at and shown on a piece that wouldn’t go through a lot of damage. They all were

extremely thin that didn’t exceed 1 millimeter in thickness so they were probably made of calf

hide or goat. Specimens 3, 20, and 28 all are miscellaneous pieces of leather that were

unidentifiable. They had no significant markings or holes that would help determine what they

may have been other than just sections of hide. They were all of similar thickness and color

suggesting that they may have been a thin piece of cow hide. Specimen 10 was a thick leather

piece that was curved like the back heel of a shoe. It was oddly crudely cut but also had tool

marks indentations near the bottom that would serve as the connecting part to the sole. Since the

leather was so thick I am assuming it was thick cow hide. Specimen 17 was a very unique and

interesting piece. Both of the leather strips were fairly thick and had preserved well to show the

quality of leather. I cannot determine why these two pieces were knotted together but it was

clearly intentional to possibly connect two pieces to one another. Specimen 18 was the

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extremely thin red leather section I believe this piece was made of pig skin because of the color

as well as the thinness. The lace indentations suggest that the piece may have been a part of a

ball or glove. Specimen 19 was another piece of extremely thick cow hide that had sewing

indentations. I believe this was a section of something that had to put up with a lot of abuse

because of its thickness. Specimen 20 was the yellow miscellaneous leather section. I cannot

determine what it may have been besides a piece of goat hide because of its yellow appearance

as well as its softness. Specimen 21 was a very fascinating piece because of the metal buckle

that was still attacked. There were sewing indentations along the edges that had no real purpose

other than aesthetic appeal. Since it may have been made to look different than a normal leather

strap I believe that this piece may have been a dog collar. Specimens 22, 23, and 24 were all thin

leather strips that could have been used to lash something together or as boot laces. They could

have had many uses but it is too difficult to determine exactly what they may have been used for.

Specimen 26 was a small section of a leather strap. The clean edges give it a uniform thickness

that could have been a small section of a leather strap. Specimen 27 had no clean cut edges that

say that it was a ripped section of hide however the holes in it indicate that it was used to have

laces through it. Specimen 29 was another thick piece of leather that indicated that it could have

been a piece of leather sole. The outer edge was thicker than the rest of it that indicates to me

that it was the edge of the sole. The fabric that had been pressed into the unsmooth side also

indicates that it may have been glued to other sections to make up a shoe sole. Specimen 30 was

a finely made leather strap with four and a half holes for a buckle pin. Since the strip was so

long, I believe it was a long leather strap that had different holes to tighten whatever it was

attached to. All of these assumptions are just educated guesses as to what they may have been

based on the evidence that I observed.

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CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS

In conclusion, a lot of questions are still present. The different leather sections and

pieces were very interesting and unique and hopefully help provide some more insight into what

life was like on a farmstead in the 19th century. The discovery of the trash midden itself speaks a

lot about how different our culture is and how we have progressed. Instead of having garbage

men pick up what we no longer want, people just threw things that had broken out of the

window. Like I stated in the last section, the original evidence of what the leather pieces may

have been could have been lost forever. All of the identities of these pieces do help show what

19th century Americans used and how the times have changed. This project has helped me pay

close attention to small details that help determine cultural significance in the littlest artifacts. I

hope that these results will help future archaeologists rebuild what life may have been like in the

late eighteen hundreds and early nineteen hundreds.

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Leather Speciman Dimensions - Table 1

Speciman Numbers

Speciman Name Length (cm)* Width (cm)* Thickness (mm)*

1 Long Leather Strap Section 22.3 5 4

2 Shoe Sole Piece 12 4.5 3

3 Miscellaneous Leather 6.4 3.8 1

4 Miscellaneous Leather 6.4 2.8 1

5 Miscellaneous Leather 5 2.2 <1

6 Shoe Leather Piece 3.7 3.2 <1

7 Shoe Leather Piece 3.7 3.2 <1

8 Miscellaneous Leather 6 2.2 <1

9 Miscellaneous Leather 8.5 3 <1

10 Leather Sole Back 7.2 3 3

11 Miscellaneous Leather 3.6 2.6 <1

12 Miscellaneous Leather 3.2 1.3 <1

13 Miscellaneous Leather 3.5 1 <1

14 Miscellaneous Leather 2.2 2 1

15 Miscellaneous Leather 5 3 <1

16 Miscellaneous Leather 4 2 1

17 Intertwined Leather Straps 9.5 5.5 4

18 Red Leather Section 15.5 2.5 <1

19 Thick Square 10.3 7.3 4

20 Yellow Miscellaneous Leather 11.5 5.6 1

21 Dog Collar 9 6.7 4

22 Leather Strip 8.5 4 1

23 Leather Strip 16.6 4 3

24 Leahter Strip 9 4 1

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25 Miscellaneous Leather 4.5 2 3.3

26 Small Leather Strap 3.5 9 2

27 Miscellaneous Leather 4.2 2 1

28 Miscellaneous Leather 2.7 1.9 1

29 Thick Leather Sole 8.3 2.2 1

30 Long Leather Strap 3.8 2.2 2

*All dimensions were taken at the point of maximum dimension

REFERENCES CITED

Dempsey, M

(1947) The Structure of Skin and Leather. Journal of the Royal. Microscopical Society.

United Glove

Description of Animal Sources Used to Produce Leather. http://www.unitedglove.com/

Pickles, Mary

(2009) "Time Capsule" Unearthed at Ligonier Township Farm." Trib Live

Rotenstein, David

(1997) Leather Bound. Pittsburgh History

How Stuff Works

(2009) Tannins. HowStuffWorks.com.

Richards, Matt

(2000) Tannin and Tannin Sources. Bark Tanning: Tannins and Tannin Sources.

Britannica

(2015) Tannin. Encyclopedia Britannica.