dating area by amount of cans ??

[David Osborn]

When were cans first used for simple packaging of food items ? I'm finding no tin cans in the very old sites and more cans than bottles in the 20's to 40's sites. It might help me understand where to dig and what to pass up if someone would tell me more about cans and the amounts made in the differing decades. Also: Am i finding few to no cans in the older digs because there were none made or because they have disintegrated ? -Dave

 

[woody]

I date the cans by the means in which they were opened.
The can opener wasn't invented until well after the can was.

 

[IRISH]

If your cans have lead solder seams and a soldered top/base and/or a imbossed brass lable they can date back as far as the 1840s (some of the lables look good polished up too).