Perhaps I should first talk about the types of archaeology that are out there. Most people immediately envision a person dressed in khaki digging for dinosaur bones in the middle of the Sahara. While this is a type of archaeology, there is so much more to the field. Ever heard of ethnoarchaeology, what about underwater archaeology. I'm not kidding, there really is a whole field of under water archaeologists out there- just think about all those lost pirate ships filled with booty! There are also forensic archaeologists- trained in examining human remains, and zooarchaeolgists trained in examining faunal remains. The list goes on, but what we Historic Preservationists' are concerned with is....Historical Archaeology of course!
Historical Archaeology is the study of the material remains of past societies that have other forms of recorded history. Compare that with PRE-historic archaeology, and hopefully it starts to make sense. In prehistoric times, we have no written or recorded documentation of life. In historic times of course, we do. But then why would we need to employ archaeology to find out what was happening say 100 years ago if we have written records?? Well, we don't know EVERYTHING people may or may not have done in their daily lives. What was life really like in 1910? What kind of beer did they drink? What kind of toothpaste did they use? Did they even brush their teeth? What kind of T.V. dinner was the most popular? Wait, did they even have food in a box? We may know when Louisiana was purchased, and when Abe Lincoln was shot, but on a day to day basis, there are many things that archaeology can tell us.
This is especially important when we're trying to discover the history of an old homestead we're trying to preserve. We may have the house, and documents about who lived there when, but what really went on inside those walls? Or perhaps, maybe we don't know who lived there. Do you think prospectors climbing the Chilkoot trail in Alaska were concerned about documenting their stay? Doubtful, but it would sure be cool to find out! Enter Historic Archaeology.
Fortunately for us students at Colorado Mountain College, we have our very own 'laboratory' just south of town. The Hayden Ranch was purchased by the school a few years ago so that HP students would have a constant to lab to work on, not only for archaeology, but for the actual work of preserving buildings. And believe me, there's plenty of work to be done.
The ranch is really pretty big, with about 16 structures on the property. It was founded in 1859 and the buildings were constructed between 1880-1930
The Hayden Ranch operated mainly as a hay ranch through the 1890s, providing feed for the horses and mules serving Leadville's mining industry. Though many people have studied the history of the ranch, there is still plenty left unknown. In our attempt to learn as much as possible about this amazing place, we hold our archaeology class right on site during the fall. (Spring is way too cold and wet to excavate.)
The picture above shows the plot that I worked on this past fall. There are a couple of buildings that are no longer standing, and we're not exactly sure what those buildings were, or exactly where they were. We're going off of old hard to reach photos, sketches and documentations that aren't very clear. So we're using the archaeology to try and figure this out- what other buildings were there, and what exactly they were used for.
As you can imagine, archaeology is hard work. You must be very meticulous, and very patient. (It's hardly as glamorous as the movies make it out to be- in all of the digs I've been on, I've yet to see Indiana Jones and pits of snakes to keep me entertained). Regardless, it's still very interesting. In the plot that I worked on (along with my co-student Nick), we found lots and lots of small broken pieces of glass, some square nails, charcoal (indicating fires or hearths), what we think were animals teeth, maybe cow, and lots of ceramic pieces, among miscellaneous other items. I was most intrigued with the ceramic. There was enough of it, and large enough pieces that I began envisioning a kitchen or dining room of some sort. There were large pieces that suggested items like a plate, or mug, or serving platter. Coupled with the glass we found, it makes sense that this could have been a kitchen area of some kind.
We didn't get nearly as far in our excavation as I had hoped. With only a few hours a week to actually work on the plot, we only dug down a few inches on about 4 squares. Documenting the items you find takes more time than you'd imagine. So, we really aren't much closer to really finding out what the uncovered items mean, and their relation to the ranch. A considerable amount of work still needs to be done, a lot more digging of artifacts, and a lot of lab analysis needs to be done on all of the items. Once all of the artifacts are gathered, documented and analyzed, then we can begin to formulate ideas about what it all means. This takes a long time however, and needs to be coupled with whatever written documentation exists. You also need to consider the weather. At 10,200 feet, snow is often, and the times when you can actually dig are few. Sadly this all means that I may not know what once stood on my plot, at least not before I graduate from CMC. Hopefully the findings will be published however, as is the custom, and I'll be able to see if my visions of that kitchen are accurate.
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