A Comparison Of Collections From Six Nineteenth Century Missouri River Trade Post Sites

Summary

This is a paper/report submission presented at the 2020 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

In this paper I compare six nineteenth-century Missouri River trade post sites in present-day North and South Dakota. This was done using artifact collections generated in the mid-twentieth century during large-scale archaeological salvage operations. The United States colonized the region during the period studied, resulting in significant environmental and demographic changes. Trade posts belonging to US companies were part of the colonization process, and they modified their business practices in step with the changing environment. Despite these established historical changes, the artifact assemblages failed to demonstrate pronounced changes over time. In contrast, location appeared have a stronger impact on assemblage composition. Moreover, investigation of circumstances surrounding the collection of these materials as a potential confounder revealed connections between historical events of the nineteenth century, the salvage work of the twentieth century, and present-day sociopolitical events in the region.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• 2020 SHA General Sessions   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2020

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Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 1044