Urban Archaeology: Missoula Historic Underground

Explore the mysteries hidden just underfoot. It’s urban archaeology in Underground Missoula.

This field school will expose participants to archaeological fieldwork in an urban setting. Learn field methods such as general survey techniques, map making, excavation, historic structure recording and historical record interpretation. Activities will include a general introduction to archaeology and the Missoula Historic Underground, a lesson in excavation, archaeological site survey, and site recording.

At the end of this class, you will:

• Have an in-depth understanding of Missoula’s historic Front Street district
• Understand the methods, techniques, and ethics involved with archaeological sites
• Get an understanding of the effects of an urban landscape on the surrounding ecosystem
• Understand the laws and techniques involved with archaeological survey and excavation

There will be a series of readings that will assist with this course; a list will be provided upon registration. For a sample please feel free to visit the projects website for its University of Montana student participants at: http://cas.umt.edu/anthropology/underground/default.php

Class will meet in the morning (location TBA) at 8:30am for a daily briefing and strategy session before heading downtown, there will be an hour break for lunch and class will conclude at 4:30pm. 

The preliminary itinerary for the week is:

Monday, June 24: Archaeology and the Missoula Historic Underground – participants will receive an overview of general archaeology. Guest Lecture – Dr. Richard Hauer, UM Director-Institute on Ecosystems and Professor of Limnology.

Tuesday, June 25: Archaeological excavation techniques and practice; downtown test site mapping and gridding.

Wednesday, June 26: Test site mapping and excavation of test sites in the downtown historic district.

Thursday, June 27: Test site mapping and excavation of test sites in the downtown historic district.

Friday, June 28: Test site mapping and excavation of test sites in the downtown historic district, wrap-up and closure of excavation units.

Please bring the following supplies: Automatic pencil (0.5 or 0.7 lead size), art eraser, pen, appropriate clothing for working outdoors and in dirty underground spaces (e.g. basements, sidewalk vaults, construction sites, etc.) we suggest long pants, layered tops, hats (wide brim or baseball), yard work style gloves, sturdy walking/hiking shoes, a portable folding camp chair/stool, head lamp, sunscreen, bug repellant, water bottle, camera, metric tape measure, compass, a trowel and brush (specifics supplied upon registration).

We will provide you with: a field notebook, drawing clip board, paper, rulers, and misc. excavation supplies.

Please make sure your tetanus shot is updated.  We may be handling a lot of old, rusty, sharp, metallic objects.

Activity Level:

This course is rated as Easy. This experience will entail walking several city blocks during the course of the day, stairs, sitting in the sun or in underground spaces (no one will be forced to exceed their own personal comfort level in regards to safety and small spaces). Most days will require several hours of standing and walking with intermittent sitting. During excavation there will be extended periods of stooping, kneeling and bending. With advanced warning most disabilities or limitations can be accommodated.

About the Instructors:

Dr. Kelly Dixon is an accomplished historical archaeologist and award-winning author of two books. She is currently an associate professor in The University of Montana's Department of Anthropology. Dixon specializes in frontier west archaeology and has worked at sites like the Donner family campsite in the Sierra Nevada mountains, the Boston Saloon in Virginia City, Nevada, Coloma Ghost Town in the Garnet Mountains, and Rosebud Battlefield in southeastern Montana.

Bethany Hauer Campbell, M.A., is an anthropologist specializing in interdisciplinary research and artifact curation. Campbell has served as The University of Montana's Anthropological Curation Facility curator and is the Project Manager for the Montana Anthropogenic Research Cooperative. She has taught anthropological collections management, care, and ethics.

Registration:

Registration is now OPEN. The deadline for registration is June 17, 2013.  Enrollment is limited to 6 participants.

This personal enrichment course is not offered for university credit.  Formal admission to The University of Montana is not required, and all participants pay the same course fee, regardless of state residency.

Photos were provided by the Missoula Historic Underground Project and may not be reused without permission. Top photo: Sealed doorway below the Missoula streets by mclainphoto.com.  Additional photos by Nikki Manning.