Archaeologists uncover a room containing many small clay weights. One explanation is that the room was used for weaving, because similar weights can hold threads under tension. Another is that the objects were stored there after being used elsewhere. Their presence establishes that the objects reached the room, but not necessarily that the activity occurred in it. The team looks for the arrangement of the weights, wear on the floor, and other tools associated with weaving. A cluster still positioned as part of a loom would support a different inference from a mixed pile beside a doorway. An artifact is not a complete account of the action that produced its location. Its relation to surrounding traces can help distinguish use, storage, and later disturbance, turning a plausible story into a better-supported reconstruction.