Journal 4: Metal in the Museum of Appalachia

Our feild trip to the Museum of Appalachia was a beautiful discovery of the culture of the Appalachain Mountains.  I found how a plethora of materials used today were used then and how beautiful they still appear today.  

My main focus was metal and I found many guns and rifles used this material for practical purposes and decoration.  I learned that during the time the rifles were made, the more decoration and the fancier your gun, the better off you were.  

The guns were welded, made and owned by the locals of the time period ranging from the Revolutionary War to the 20th century.  The main type of metal used was iron.  The gun's uses vary from "squirrel rifles" to "hog rifles" and everything in between.  The use of these guns also show evidence of times of war and the need of protection while living in the Appalachains.  The museum is great for exploring the past of this area. It was great to see how home-made objects can sometimes be so much better than machine made objects even through the test of time.  The use of metal during this time was not only practical, but it seemed to also be a status of wealth.  The guns of Appalachia were more of a prized possession in the area due to their neccessity.