Viewing The Landscape Through An Archaeologist's Eyes

Diane Tipton, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks Statewide Information Officer

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“Montana is one big archaeological site, interrupted by lakes, rivers, and streams,” said Les Davis, Curator of Archaeology and Ethnology at the Museum of the Rockies.

How does the average person learn to “read” the stories of ancient people locked in the landscape, plants, wildlife, and rocks of Montana?

Davis suggests that one way to connect with the lives of ancient people is by applying skills good hunters of today use.

“Being aware of and recognizing important landscape features is a good way to begin,” Davis said.

For example, where do big-game herds pass and what are their seasonal and migratory patterns? Where are the sheltered mouths of canyons or gulches with good sources of water and fuel? Where might people make temporary hunting camps, as compared to places suitable for longer-term camps?

Family groups would naturally camp where water, fuel, and food were easily accessible—just as we would today. But lacking down sleeping bags, bug repellent, compasses, hunting rifles, and other modern paraphernalia—they had to be more aware of their surroundings and the animals sharing it. Prominent land features that served as buffalo jumps -- where hunters drove bison over cliffs to others waiting below -- were important, as were quarries to obtain chert, a glass-like stone needed for toolmaking.

Some studies show that 50 percent of the prehistoric campsites in the Helena area are within three miles of a source of stone for making tools and weapons, including chert, agate, and quartzite.

An estimated 28 species of mammals were hunted in central Montana, including the now extinct mammoth and woodland muskox.

Botanists estimate that there were over 200 useable plants in central Montana, and more than 100 of them were potentially edible. Most of these plants are here today.

“Facts are important to the degree that we can establish them. Archaeologists rely on systematic processes to analyze, document and interpret materials such as bone fragments, stone points for lances and stone tipi circles,” Davis said. “But when it comes to the lives of the people who used these materials, the best we can do is apply knowledge drawn from anthropological theory and ethnohistoric studies.”

So, why take the time to wonder about these ancient people, or imagine their lives?

Davis says it has to do with perspective and roots.

  “They survived prolonged and devastating droughts, extinction of species and other extreme changes. And, like us, they knew and loved this dramatic landscape we know as home,” Davis said. “Being aware of their existence helps me feel more a part of Montana and connected to something much bigger than my day-to-day life.”