The object in a museum may once have been something a person was relieved to replace.

Museums are full of things somebody was glad to be rid of. The worn tool, the awkward pot, the uncomfortable garment, kept only because it was never quite discarded, now behind glass and treated as representative. The person who used it might be surprised to find it standing for their whole civilisation, and might have preferred you looked at the newer one they saved up for.

It is a useful correction when a display makes the past feel dignified or alien. These were objects with opinions attached, and most of the opinions were practical. Look at what shows wear, because that is where the actual life was.