Student Research and Projects Related to the Donner Party
Jack McShane. M.A.
“A Comparative Study of the Meadow Locale at Alder Creek and the Murphy Cabin at Donner Lake: Using the Historical and the Archaeological Record to Create New Donner Memory.”
The tragic story of the Donner Party, a group of emigrants traveling West for a new life in California, has been told by many people. Unfortunately, there is little archaeological data pertaining to the Donner Party. The collective memories of the Party’s survivors and the archaeological record have proved the location of the Murphy Cabin site at Donner Lake. There has been much controversy, however, over the location of the actual encampment of the Donner family. A strong historical and archaeological argument has been made for the Donner family’s encampment to be situated in an area referred to as the “Meadow Locale” at Alder Creek, six miles northeast of Donner lake (Hardesty 1997). More definitive conclusions may be developed to prove this argument. For example, a comparison of the artifacts between the Murphy Cabin site and the Alder Creek site may help settle this controversy. This thesis compares archaeological materials from the Alder Creek site, the Murphy Cabin site, and a handful of control sites to determine the meadow locale’s validity as an encampment associated with the Donner family. It then synthesizes historical and archaeoloigical materials to support the assertion that the “Meadow Locale” is, indeed, the place where the Donner family camped during the winter of 1846-1847.
Heidi Hill, Graduate Student, The University of Montana, Department of Anthropology
Soil analyses from forensic canine alert area
This research project was inspired by a visit from a team of handlers and human remains detection dogs from the Institute for Canine Forensics. These individuals took part in the summer 2004 archaeological investigations at the Donner Family Camp. Initially, they assisted the research team’s attempts to locate a campsite that should be marked by human bone; they were also called in with the hope that they may be able to help hone in on the lost grave site of George Donner. After the dogs alerted upon areas where the archaeology crew unearthed tiny bits of bone and an associated hearth, the value and skills of these canines became apparent. However, several of the dogs also alerted upon an area where no bones were found; in other cases, the dogs have been known to alert to soils that have been in contact with human remains. In order to discover what the dogs were sensing, the crew decided to collect samples of the soils from the area of alert, with plans to examine them at a later date.
These soils are now the being analyzed as part of a Master’s Thesis combining forensics and archaeology. This research will compare soils from various portions of the Alder Creek meadow with soils from the area where the canines alerted. This may help identify whether soils from the latter reflect a human signature which will require a series of experiments aimed at expanding the field of forensic geology. Furthermore, it will help build an understanding of the soils at the Donner encampment and may contribute to heretofore unknown information about what it is that attracts dogs to alert to soils that [at one time] came into contact with human remains. At the moment, there are no results. Given the scope of this project, the results may not be available until January of 2006.
The University of Montana’s Department of Anthropology has just received a grant from The University of Montana’s Office of the Provost to support a workshop given by the Institute for Canine Forensics. This workshop will provide archaeology and forensic students with insights into a rather rogue methodology. For the sake of the Donner Party Archaeology Project, the workshop will give the Institute for Canine Forensics to re-examine the sampled soils as a means of determining whether they still appeal to the dogs outside the context of the Donner site. This visit, then, will represent another facet of the soil analysis.
Molly Swords, Graduate Student, The University of Montana, Department of Anthropology
Research on writing slate
Writing slate fragments were recovered during the 2004 field season, as well as during the 1990 investigations. The largest fragment in the entire collection emerged during 2004. While no writing was visible, we realized that the slate could have contained the sole surviving bits of written evidence to be uncovered at the Donner Family Camp. Expecting to exploit this potential, we decided to conduct a study of the writing slate. The presence of wriiting slate, scattered near the north edge of the fire hearth, inspired research questions about why the slate fragments were present and if they might suggest examples of normalizing life in the Donner Family camp. Better yet, if one could find written evidence on the slate, and if that data could be associated with the Donner families on slate from the Alder Creek site, it would certainly help confirm the association of this “site” with the Donner Party. If written information suggested children’s play or lessons, there would be evidence to support an example of how this camp’s residents normalized their situation. Tamsen Donner was an accomplished schoolteacher and traveled with school supplies intended for a ladies seminary she hoped to establish (McGlashan 1880:139-143); it would not have been unusual for her to keep the children busy with lessons using objects such as writing slate. Microscopic tests attempting to read remnant writing on these slate fragments proved inconclusive, however.
John Kinsner, Graduate Student, The University of Montana, Department of Anthropology
Photodocumentation & passive conservation of metal artifacts
Over fifteen years have passed since many ferrous materials were collected from the Donner Family camp. Many of these objects now exhibit decayed, corrosive states; for example, many objects initially catalogued as one item have now crumbled into multiple pieces. We have addressed this problem by creating a photographic record for each catalogued object or set of objects to document their various states of deterioration.
Dirk Markle, Graduate Student, The University of Montana, Department of Anthropology
Cross-mending ceramic and glass artifacts
Due to the fragmentary nature of the Donner collection, we expected that cross-mending artifacts, particularly ceramic and glass objects, would aid artifact analysis. Ideally, cross-mending would allow us to see specific vessel types, as opposed to myriad shards. Unfortunately, we found that, even when using artifacts from the 1990 and 1992 investigations, the collection is too fragmented and weathered to reconstruct anything beyond a few shards. Even so, each mend is being photodocumented for the record.
Mended Artifact 1 Sprig Design - Accession Numbers: 17-14072-607; 17-14083-60, 128, 496
Ashley Wisehart,Graduate Student, The University of Montana, Department of Anthropology
Research on buttons and manufacturer marks
During the 2004 field season, several buttons of a similar style and with readable manufacturer information, were discovered around the fire hearth. Historical records suggest that the Donners used raincoats to help waterproof their tent. Indeed, one of our student researchers has recently discovered that these buttons were associated with coats. Further analysis of buttons will continue over the next few months; ideally this will shed additional light on primary and secondary uses of clothing at the Donner Family Camp.
Jack C. McShane, Eli Suzokovich, III, and Shannon Vihlene, Graduate Students from The University of Montana, Department of Anthropology
Artifact Databases
Completed the artifact database for the 2003 and 2004 collections. We have also created artifact databases for the collections recovered by Don Hardesty’s crews during 1990 and 1992.
The existing artifact database has been broken down into the four following segments:
DATABASE 1. Accession Number: 17-14072 (this accession number was given for the artifact assemblage collected in 1990; 392 artifact accession numbers were catalogued with this accession number as the prefix).
DATABASE 2. Accession Number: 17-14073 (this accession number was given for the artifact assemblage collected in 1992; 126 artifact accession numbers were catalogued with this accession number as the prefix).
DATABASE 3. Accession Number: 17-14074 (this accession number was given for the artifact assemblage collected in 2003; 94 artifact accession numbers were catalogued with this accession number as the prefix).
DATABASE 4. Accession Number: 17-14083 (this accession number was given for the artifact assemblage collected in 2004; 172 artifact accession numbers were catalogued with this accession number as the prefix).
Undergraduate Assistants and Research Projects
We also created a special database for the metal artifacts recovered from the Donner Family campsite; labels were made for each accessioned item based on the information in this specialized database (special thanks to former University of Montana Anthropology student Nicole Burritt for her help with this). As part of our passive conservation plan, we are removing metal objects from plastic bags, wrapping them in acid-free tissue, and placing them in acid-free containers (e.g., boxes, canvas bags). The new provenience labels are stored on the outside of each container to prevent ink from creating a deleterious microenvironment that might further degrade the metal artifacts in each acid-free container.
Former University of Montana Anthropology students Ichi Shibihara (left) and Nate Wilson (right) assisted with cataloguing artifacts from the Donner Family Camp.
