One more piece of information: a November 8, 1942 diary entry indicates that the colonists were given food in exchange for their labor. Each working head of household received a tin of meat and a tin of salmon or sardines weekly (see attached). That 5 inch by 2 inch can at the Seven Site sounds like a family-sized tin to me.
So, all in all, it seems likely to me that the tin was a colonist discard and reinforces the notion that they were the source of other items found there.
Your logic escapes me. The fact that the laborers were given a tin of meat each week makes the tins "family-sized" and somehow makes the single can found at the Seven Site one of those tins. Although the colony supplies are known to have come from Australia, the can at the Seven Site somehow reinforces the notion (whose notion?) that a bunch of 1930s-vintage American objects were left there by colonists.
Ric,
The important point in the last few posts I’ve made about the diary entries is that they tell us that the colonists had canned meat, and therefore that the notion that the can in question is a colonist discard, is worth serious consideration.
I feel that you are making a straw man argument in your response to my post. Since I feel you've mischaracterized what I've said, I'd like to clarify what I actually think.
-I called the can ‘family sized’ based on its size, not because the colonists received a can of meat per week. I was pointing out that the dimensions of the can indicate that it held more that a single serving. If you look at the diary entry discussing the weekly rations, you’ll see they mention ‘head of family’ and that additional ration items were provided to pregnant women. There seems to be an idea here in the diary that the food rations were intended for family consumption, whether or not that was how the colonists actually used them.
- I didn’t say that the size of the can ‘makes’ it a colonist discard. The existence of colonist work parties at the Seven Site, the reasonable expectation that they ate food while working there, the fact that the colonists had canned meat, all in all lead me to conclude that the best explanation is that the can is a colonist discard rather than a Coast Guard or castaway artifact. If you think a stronger case can be made for these two other alternatives, by all means, please do so. Keeping and open mind, objectively considering the evidence, being willing to change one's mind rather than clinging to a fixed notion, is what it's all about, isn't it?
-I didn’t say anything about “1930s- vintage American objects”, so I don’t know how you interpret my post as saying so. I did say that the can, which I think is best explained as a colonist artifact, reinforces the notion that some other items found at the Seven Site were of colonist origin. The items I was thinking of specifically were those Seven Site bird bones, which have been discussed on this forum and which Tom King discussed in a
January post on his blog. Tom King suggests that some birds were butchered by colonist work parties and taken home to the village, while others were butchered and eaten at the Seven Site -- but by the castaway, rather than by the colonists. It seems to me that the colonists might have eaten a few birds while working at the Seven Site, and since I think the can was a discard from a colonist meal, the can supports the notion that the bird bones are colonist meal discards too, rather than castaway meal discards.
So those are my thoughts on the colonists as the possible source of the Seven Site can. Forum readers will of course come to their own conclusions regarding the can.
BTW Ric, I am still not clear on whether we know of any cans that match the dimensions of the Sven Site can. At
reply # 3 on this thread you said
"The size and proportions of the can are quite unique and match the size and proportions of at least one brand of roast mutton that was produced in New Zealand"; My impression is that the St. George Mutton label shown as an attachment to that post is too small to fit the Seven Site Can. Do you know of a can or label that does actually matches the Seven Site can?