21. Fort Vancouver
I’ve written a lot about Fort Vancouver on this blog, but what is the deal with it anyway? Fort Vancouver was a British fur trade post from 1825-1860 in what…
Presentation update
I had been planning to give a presentation in February to present the results of my project to the community. During the lengthy government shutdown I was unable to schedule…
20. Regional database of archaeological sites
My fellow grad student and good friend Katie Tipton is creating a database of archaeological sites on private land and of private artifact collections in the region. Below is an…
19. Artifact Spotlight: Nails
Nails. Boring, right? No way! Nails give us tons of information at archaeological sites. During the search for the first Fort Vancouver nails have been at the top of my…
18. What were fur trade forts for?
People often ask if Fort Vancouver was a military fort. As you have likely learned from previous posts on this blog, Fort Vancouver was in fact a fur trade post.…
17. Artifact Spotlight: Amethyst Glass
While excavating at one of my project properties this week I found these lovely pieces of amethyst glass. They appear to be parts of a wide-mouth jar or bottle. Amethyst…
16. Harney Elementary Presentation
This week I got to visit Ms. Berg’s 4th grade class at Harney Elementary in Vancouver to talk about archaeology! These kids had such wonderful comments and questions about archaeology.…
15. Context is everything!
In my last post you may have noticed a picture of a small orange bead. The bead is similar to trade beads found at Fort Vancouver. Trade beads were used…
14. Project Update
Over the past several months I have been busy, busy, busy! I have interviewed several current and former residents who have provided rich details of how the Edgewood Park and…
13. Animals of the North American Fur Trade
Animals desirable for their pelts during the North American fur trade era included, among others, mink, otter, lynx, fox, muskrat, deer, raccoon, and the highly-valued beaver. Beaver fur was especially popular…