Hand-painted porcelain dolls, animal bone toothbrushes and antique medicinal bottles at the new Transbay Archeology Exhibit open a window into 19th-century daily life in San Francisco.
The artifacts are from an archeological excavation at Minna and Natoma streets where the new Transbay Transit Center is being built.
“It’s a chance to see the material parts of history,” said archeologist and Project Director Paul Farnsworth.
As the city planned the new Transbay Terminal a team of archeologists looked for spots underground that were likely to reveal city life.
A teapot and an animal comb excavated from a Chinese laundry on Minna St. lie neatly together in the exhibit.