Answer:
If you don't mind me going into more detail...
Artifacts predating 1600 can help historians theorise as to the:
1: Lifestyles of people in those times
2: Any historic events
3: The beliefs, values and attitudes of those people
4: The social hierarchy and how it was represented in their society (leader, chieftain, shaman, ect)
5: Their diplomatic relations with nearby settlements/tribes/pioneers (Were they at war? Was there widespread trading? Those kinda things)
6: To determine how big an area of influence they had in the area (were they a small tribe? A large village? Did they have a small "empire"?)
Hopefully this helps
Good luck
