Defining what it means to be American today can seem like an impossible task. We are, after all, a big and unruly nation, prone to acting in extreme and contradictory ways, often at the same time. And yet Americanness is easy to spot. It lives in our mannerisms (big smiles) and our worldview (bullish). And it is imbued in our things – the gadgets, food, tools and household clutter that surround us. Just as the relics of ancient Mesopotamians provide insight into their way of life, who we are as a culture and as a nation can be uncovered by sifting through our giant piles of stuff.
