Curators at museums have recently experienced problems with the preservation of plastic objects, almost all of which disintegrate over time. The Smithsonian collection contains the first-ever plastic toothbrush, which soon will be nothing more than a pile of plastic particles. This problem is leading many historians to worry that we will lose the history of our
A) symbolic culture.
B) signs and gestures.
C) linguistic relativity.
D) material culture.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Plastic objects falling apart over time poses a threat to the preservation of material culture, which refers to physical objects and artifacts that give insight into the beliefs, customs, and lifestyles of past societies. Losing these objects could result in losing important pieces of history and knowledge about the material culture of civilizations.

Curators at Museums Have Recently Experienced Problems with the Preservation