The specific construction of the tule mats — documented in the Wheelers’ notes and photographs — could be compared against the known traditions of Great Basin textile production.

The moccasins’ construction could be analyzed as objects of specific cultural significance.

The burial position and the layering of materials could be interpreted in light of later knowledge about Great Basin burial practices.

None of that reanalysis would have been possible if the 1940 documentation had been careless.

The Spirit Cave story is, among other things, a story about the value of doing archaeological documentation right — even when, at the moment of excavation, the significance of what you are finding is not yet apparent.

The Wheelers thought they had found a burial approximately 2,000 years old.