In anthropology and archaeology, the term cache refers to a deliberately hidden or stored collection of objects, often left for future use, ritual purposes, or symbolic meaning. It’s a concept that bridges material culture, subsistence strategies, and ritual practice.

🌍 Definition

• Cache: A hidden or stored group of artifacts, tools, or resources intentionally placed by humans.
• Etymology: From French cacher (“to hide”).

🔑 Archaeological Contexts

• Tool Caches:
  • Prehistoric peoples often buried groups of stone tools (e.g., Clovis caches in North America).
  • Indicates planning, surplus production, or ritual deposition.
• Food Caches:
  • Storage pits for maize, nuts, or other staples.
  • Essential for survival in seasonal environments.
• Ritual Caches:
  • Offerings of pottery, figurines, or valuables buried in temples or sacred spaces.
  • Symbolic acts of dedication or communication with the divine.
• Burial Caches:
  • Grave goods sometimes grouped as caches, reflecting wealth or ritual practice.

📚 Importance in Anthropology

• Subsistence Strategies: Food caches show how societies managed resources and planned for scarcity.
• Social Organization: Tool caches may indicate communal storage or specialized craft production.
• Symbolic Practice: Ritual caches reveal belief systems and cosmological ideas.
• Comparative Value: Distinguishes intentional human storage from accidental deposition.

In short: A cache is a deliberately hidden or stored collection of artifacts, food, or valuables, serving practical, ritual, or symbolic purposes in human societies.