Anthropologically based studies are underdeveloped on the subject of people living in Montana during the Great Depression. During the summer of 2006, archaeological materials were retrieved from a Depression-Era trash dump at Coloma, Montana. From these artifacts and the available historical records about the area, this thesis postulates on the possible daily experiences of the people responsible for the creation of this dump. The data is then used as the foundation for a World-Systems perspective on the site, which, in turn, connects this mining camp to the world at large during the 1930s.

The application of non-metric forensic anthropological techniques produces results that are sometimes not always scientifically valid. Using the commonly accepted techniques to produce a biological profile (age, sex, ancestry, height, pathology and trauma), an application of the methods is utilized and critiqued in the analysis of The University of Montana forensic case 29 (UMFC 29). Using the accepted techniques in forensic anthropology, UMFC 29 was identified as a Black Male with an age range of 35-65 years and a height of 53-56. Possible skeletal trauma is found on the vertebral bodies, left 4th rib, and on the left scapula and there was no obvious pathology is present on the entire skeleton. Although using non-metric techniques in forensic anthropology is thought by some researchers to not always be scientifically valid, the techniques and procedures utilized in this analysis were found to be replicable and thus scientifically acceptable.

Archaeological investigations into the whereabouts of the Alder Creek Donner family campsite yielded a number of artifacts. One type of artifact collected was writing slate fragments, the topic of this thesis. Why were writing slate fragments found at the Alder Creek camp? An investigation into writing slate in the historical record had to be conducted to address this question. The lack of pertinent research associated with writing slate posed a major obstacle, as it has been disregarded as a diagnostic artifact in historical archaeological literature. This paper addresses this problem by a history of writing slate and its uses, as well as including a discussion of precursors to writing slate, to provide a context for materials recovered from the Alder Creek site. It was first thought that writing slate was only used in the context of education, as might have provided a means of keeping the children busy during the Donner Partys snowbound experience. However, this research indicates that a number of other activities can be associated with writing slate; including messages and notes, record keeping and accounting, gaming and gambling. The writing slate recovered from the Donner family camp is analyzed here using the results of the historical overview of this material and a cognitive archaeological approach.

Fort Owen was part of recent historical western expansion into Montana, influencing both the cultural and environmental landscape of the state and the forts own existence. The Fort Owen collection provided the opportunity to research the history and archaeology of Fort Owen as a contact period site and as the first historic-period agricultural center in Montana. Fort Owen provided goods and services to a variety of individuals and was the nexus of settlement for the region for several years during the latter portion of the 19th century. Six goals of this thesis were to: 1) inventory the Fort Owen artifacts and locate all associated excavation and research records; 2) sort, clean, and catalog Fort Owen artifacts that have been collected over the past several decades; 3) examine whether and how a poorly provenienced collection still had significant research value relevant to the study of Fort Owen; 4) use new archaeological excavations to help establish provenience data for unprovenienced artifacts by cross-referencing the new finds with artifacts recovered from the site during past excavations; 5) provide a comprehensive record of all known information relating to Fort Owen in one place and provide copies of that information to relevant repositories; and 6) use the Fort Owen collection to argue that the site is critically important to Montana heritage, inspiring future research related to Fort Owens historical landscape. One of the major steps related to the above goals required synthesizing data from past field notes and related historical resources, including census records, historical accounts, books, and newspaper articles. Here I propose that Fort Owen itselfas well as its unprovenienced collectionhave information potential if examined using a theoretical approach based on Fort Owens historical position within a zone of 19th and early 20th-century cultural interaction in Montanas Bitterroot Valley. In addition, I also argue that applying an interpretive framework of agricultural development to archaeological analysis of Fort Owen reveals a complex set of socioeconomic interactions at local, regional, and even national scales.

The Chinese immigrants who came to Montana during the 19th and 20th centuries forged a new community. The goals of this dissertation were to create a historical and archaeological context for Chinese Experience in Montana, and to frame the interpretation of these results within a social organization framework that highlights the role of Overseas Chinese voluntary organizations such as secret societies. Archaeologists and historians have studied the Chinese in Montana for a little over two decades, though nothing comprehensive has ever been attempted to sew together the various investigations. In addition, there has been no attempt to inventory all the known Chinese archaeological sites in Montana, and how these fit into the broad patterns of history. Between first large-scale gold discovery in Montana Territory during 1862 until 1900, the Chinese engaged largely in placer-mining endeavors and represented the largest ethnic group during this period. Federal Exclusion laws, statewide boycotts, and pervasive racism deeply affected the Chinese experience in Montana, and led to the states abandonment by the bulk of this immigrant population in the early 20th century. In overseas communities, the Chinese immigrants relied on voluntary associations to replace the traditional modes of social organization found in China. These organizations provided mutual protection to their members, and helped to organize resistance to the legal and social racism encountered in the United States and other diaspora communities. This dissertation interprets the history and archaeology of the Chinese in Montana in a framework that highlights the role of voluntary social organizations in the success of this population.

Tobacco has played an integral role in global history, and there are numerous historical records related to tobacco use over the past five hundred years. The odontological evidence recovered from the Custer National Battlefield infers a high frequency of tobacco use within the Seventh Calvary, yet nineteenth century historical records fail to mention such intensive use in the Seventh Calvary. This paper will briefly discuss late nineteenth century tobacco culture and apply that to a bioarchaeological research project associated with remains from the Custer National Battlefield to addresses this contradiction between historical and physical records.

The archaeological work completed by the Montana Yellowstone Archaeological Project (MYAP)at Cinnabar, Montana in part as a requirement for Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA). The project was conducted as a project between The University of Montana and Yellowstone National Park prior to the 2008 Boundary Land Re-seeding Project within Yellowstone National Park.

The Anthropology Lab at the University of Montana is regularly consulted by law enforcement agencies throughout the state of Montana on cases suspected to involve skeletal human remains. In this paper, how specifically Forensic Anthropology contributes to these cases is examined. Cases submitted to the UM Lab for analysis between the years of 1971 and 2004 are followed up and the agencies involved are asked specific questions regarding each case. Agencies responded to questions regarding 97 of the UMs 238 total cases. Results of this study show that of those cases containing contemporary human remains about 18% were identified after the UM performed their analysis, and about 60% had not been identified. With modern day forensic technology advancing at such a rapid rate, this paper aims to show that in Montana, Forensic Anthropology is a tool that has become less useful in its ability to assist in determining an unknown decedents identification, while being most useful in determining if a case in question is one that involves contemporary human remains to begin with.

No abstract

In the summer of 2003, the University of Idaho conducted an archaeological field school at the Nora Creek site under the direction of Dr. Mark Warner at a Swedish homestead just east of Troy, Idaho. The field school unearthed a plethora of historical artifacts including metal, glass, ceramic, and faunal items left behind by the inhabitants of the Johanson homestead in Nora, Idaho. Historical documentation indicates that the Johansons immigrated to America from Sweden in 1882 and they arrived in Nora in 1891. The research goal of this thesis is to determine whether and how a signature of Swedish identity may be manifested in the material culture of the Nora Creek site. The glass and ceramic assemblages, as well as the faunal collection, are integrated with historical research to examine this topic. In order to pursue an archaeology of Swedish identity, it is essential to consider the ways in which class, gender, and cultural identity contributed to a Swedish identity in the Nora Creek assemblage versus general homesteading assemblages contemporary to the time frame of the site.