Video
Fort Union Trading Post NHS Archeology Collection
Transcript
[BELL RINGING] Hello, my name is Brittany. And I'm Nikki. We are part of a team that takes care of museum artifacts here at Fort Union, get ready to learn about the archaeology collection. Old dishes, 80's comb, and broken bottle, these are not the things you keep as precious family heirlooms. But these are the types of objects archaeologists find that reveal our shared history. Here at Fort Union trading posts we preserve and store a large collection of archaeological artifacts. Many details were never recorded in journals or business inventories. So archaeologists and conservators pieced together clues that tell us about what life was like at before. In 1968, archaeologists began digging. Their discoveries help us accurately reconstruct the buildings you visit today. Where were the actual buildings, what types of food did they eat, what did they wear? These are the types of questions artifacts can answer. For example, the mystery of the Bell Tower. Journals mentioned a bell but didn't say where it was. No one could find evidence of its original location until a researcher found this 1851 drawing by Rudolf Kurz. It's the only original image that shows where the Bell Tower was located. Eventually a portion of the bell was found. This is a portion of the bell clapper; a bell clapper is the device inside of the bell that makes a charm as it strikes. The existence of a bell clapper hopes to prove there was a large belt here. So where was the bell? Behind the bush White House. If you are wondering what types of food were served at mealtime, wonder no longer. Archaeologists found thousands of broken animal bones. These findings verify reports that force staff raised cows, pigs, and chickens, but most of the butchered bone was bison. Besides hunting bison men ventured further from the Fort to hunt grizzly bears, we know that they hunted grizzly bears for more than meat because their teeth and bones were made into ornaments or jewelry. Archeologist uncovered this grizzly claw necklace; bear claw necklaces were symbols of honor worn by chiefs or elders of the plains tribes. A man who killed a grizzly bear was viewed as a powerful warrior. Ornaments were made of materials besides bone, at first conservatives were puzzled while examining this box of ceramic fragments. The gold gilding and hand painted patterns didn't resemble popular styles of dishware. When these pieces were reconstructed, they looked like metal Gorges that were popular trade items. Historically warriors wore Gorges around their necks to protect them in battle. They were typically made of metal or leather, engraved with elaborate designs. The guards at Fort union are unique because they were made of porcelain for decorative purposes. For union trading post is one of the few archeological fur trade sites in the world with ceramic Gorges. You've only seen a few items from our archeological collection, other artifacts include beads, pipes, ceramics, bone, metals, Buffalo robes, and moccasins. There are many opportunities for research. If are interested in performing culture research at Fort union, please contact us. Thank you.
Description
Archeologists found thousands of artifacts as they excavated the remains of Fort Union! This video reveals some of their discoveries.
Duration
3 minutes, 36 seconds
Credit
NPS / Brittnei Sherrod
Date Created
12/11/2011
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