Forces of Change: The 19th Century U.S. Fur Trade on the Upper Missouri River (and its Mid-20th Century Archaeological Investigations)

Author(s): Lotte E Govaerts

Year: 2018

Summary

The Upper Missouri Basin was part of the territory acquired by the United States through the Louisiana Purchase at the beginning of the 19th century. The Missouri River was the main route of transportation into the northwestern part of this new territory. US companies established trade posts along the river where they exchanged manufactured goods from the eastern US and Europe for furs or skins with local populations. For several decades, this was a high-volume business. In order to learn about the evolving role of the fur trade in local and global contexts, I investigate archaeological collections associated with 19th century fur trade sites along the Upper Missouri. These collections were generated during the River Basin Surveys, a large-scale, mid-20th century salvage project.

Cite this Record

Forces of Change: The 19th Century U.S. Fur Trade on the Upper Missouri River (and its Mid-20th Century Archaeological Investigations). Lotte E Govaerts. Presented at Society for Historical Archaeology, New Orleans, Louisiana. 2018 ( tDAR id: 441503)

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

Spatial Coverage

min long: -129.199; min lat: 24.495 ; max long: -66.973; max lat: 49.359 ;

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 938