Making the Frontier Home: Stories from the Steamboat Bertrand

Summary

"Making the FrontierHome"is a digital project comprised of both traditional research methodology and photogrammetric digital reconstructions interwoven to explore gender roles and identity on the frontier during the mid-nineteenth century.  The project analyzes domestic artifacts excavated from the cargo of the Steamboat Bertrand, which sank in the Missouri River near DeSoto Bend, Iowa in 1865 on its way to the mining communities of Montana.  The Bertrand serves as a case study to explore life in marginalized frontier communities, while also providing material to explore methods for digitally preserving and analyzing archaeological materials.  In addition to conventional techniques, photogrammetry was employed to create digital 3D representations of select artifacts, which were integrated into a multimedia project exploring gender and agency during the Victorian period.  As it grows, this study will craft a better understanding of historical agency and increase public access to a unique collection in a remote area.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Paper / Report Submission (General Sessions) 2017   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2017

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Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 519