Historical archaeologists and others trying to date historical sites by means of the artifacts found on them are increasingly interested in common items manufactured during the lifetimes of people still living. This dating guide is intended to provide a simple source for the most common artifacts found in archaeological or historic contexts.
Cathy Spude compiled the following dating information for use by the public and professionals.
Cans, General
1934: Applied color label that could not wash off became commercially available (Kaplan 1982: 114).
1936: Soft drinks begin to appear in cans. Not very popular (Kaplan 1982: 114).
1940: Because tin became unavailable during World War II, the tin-free can was developed. Aluminum, tin-free steel, fiber/foil laminates were all developed during this period. A method for the very thin coating of tin was also developed. At least 9 different resins were also developed to coat steel cans (Sacharow 1978: 127).
1940 – 1945: Composite cans: foil lined paper board cans capped with metal were used for bisquits and motor oil (Sacharow 1978: 131).
1945: Aerosol sprays developed out of need for effective insecticides during jungle fighting (Sacharow 1978: 17; Kaplan 1982: 124).
1948: Resurgence in use of cans for soft drinks (Kaplan 1982: 114).
1950: Paper labels eliminated by applied color labels (Kaplan 1982: 114).
1953: Adoption of flat-top can for soft drinks (Kaplan 1982: 114).
1958: Only 17% of soft drink manufacturers using cans (Kaplan 1982: 117).
1959: Pepsi, Coca-Cola using cans (Kaplan 1982: 117).
1960: The last cone top cans were sold in the United States (BCCN 1985: 22; Sacharow 1978: 139).
1962: ALCOA introduced the pull tab opener: open ring design (Kaplan 1982: 117).
1963: Pull tab on aluminum can invented by Ermal Fraze (Petroski 1993: 199).
1963: Introduction of drawn and ironed aluminum can (Kaplan 1982: 120).
1969: 5% of cans aluminum (Kaplan 1982: 120).
1970: 90% of all soft drink cans had pull tab openers (Kaplan 1982: 117).
1971: Necked-in, soldered side seams, double decked (Kaplan 1982: 120).
1972: Two piece steel cans developed (Kaplan 1982: 124).
1974: Introduction of non-removable opener (Kaplan 1982: 120).
1974: 46% of beer cans aluminum; 20% of soft drinks are aluminum (Kaplan 1982: 120).
1978: Introduction of the “paper” can: plastic-coated, foil-lined, steel bottom, aluminum top (Kaplan 1982: 120).
1980: 66.1% of all soft drinks are sold in cans (Kaplan 1982: 120).
1980: Pull tab that does not separate from the can (Petroski 1993: 203).
1981: triple-necked cans (Kaplan 1982: 120).
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