Finding Common Themes in the Post 1848 Historical Archaeology of Denver

Summary

This is an abstract from the "City and Country in the American West:Post-1848 Historical Archaeologies of Denver and Los Angeles" session, at the 90th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

A remarkably small amount of historical archaeological research and excavation has been conducted within the City of Denver. This is due to what can best be summarized as a lack of interest in the historical origins of Denver and lack of community desire to preserve remnants of that history. All that changed in the 1970s when the threat of urban renewal was rapidly removing what was left of early Denver history and people realized that the need to preserve and protect historic resources was immediate. Current research in Denver has been shaped by these evolving processes at work on a national and international scale. A review of historical archaeological research in Denver highlights changes that have influenced opportunities and challenges in the way historical archaeology is conducted, and how it has emphasized the importance of a community-based approach focusing on human lives in distinct historical regions.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 90th Annual Meeting, Denver, CO (2025)   •
• City and Country in the American West:Post-1848 Historical Archaeologies of Denver and Los Angeles

Keywords

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 53293