Tanning and Tanneries: An Introduction to Archaeology of the Leather Industry

Abstract

In his 1791 report on the state of manufactures and industries in the United States, Alexander Hamilton observed that there were “scarcely any manufactures of greater importance” (Welsh, 1964:13) than the leather tanning industry. The introduction and early history of this industry in North America was largely influenced by Old World traditions that developed during the medieval period. These traditions included methods of tanning, construction methods, and materials used to build tanneries, and even the places tanners chose to build their tanneries. Before these traditions can be explored, though, there needs to be an understanding of what tanning is, and how it is accomplished.