Archaeological Metrology: English, French, American and Canadian Systems of Weights and Measures for North American Historical Archaeology

E. Leigh Syms was Curator of Archaeology at the Manitoba Museum of Man and Nature, Winnipeg.

This is a compilation of tables presenting a great variety of measurement systems used in England, France, the United States, and Canada from the fifteenth to the nineteenth century. The systems are organized by country, by type of measurement (e.g., dry weight systems, liquid capacity systems, linear systems, etc.), and by period of use. An appendix gives the acts and ordinances regulating weights and measures used in Canada and its provinces from the seventeenth to the nineteenth century.

Although these tables and their interpretive comments were compiled for people doing research in historic Euro-American remains in North America (such as forts and containers), these tables will be of considerable use to those doing research on any aspect of commercial developments, those who want to identify units in the literature of the period, and those with an interest in measurement systems. Anyone caught up in the shift to metrification will appreciate the arbitrariness of weights and measurements systems and the plethora of systems that existed even in the nineteenth century.

Despite the fact that it is not an exhaustive list of measurement systems (and such does not appear to exist), it appears to be a fairly comprehensive and useful reference to have on hand. It proved unsatisfactory in my efforts to determine the relationship of the various French leagues and the English mile. Nevertheless, anyone who has to be able to identify a unit of weight or measurement, in any context, will find this to be a useful guide.