Portuguese Houses

Non-invasive investigations at a no-dig fur trade site

Bibliographic Data

ID9216745
AuthorsRory J Becker (Eastern Oregon University), Rory Becker (0000-0003-4727-0932, Eastern Oregon University, corresponding author)
Year2018
Volume63
Issue246
Pages175-190
Publication date2018-04-03
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenuePlains Anthropologist (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0032-0447 • E-ISSN: 2052-546X
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/00320447.2017.1312886
OpenAlexW2751031211
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited27

The Portuguese Houses site is a fur trading post established in 1834 on Wyoming's Powder River. Unlike many similar Rocky Mountain posts, Portuguese Houses has not been subjected to secondary use which can blur or destroy the fur trade occupation at the site. This characteristic combined with minimal modern surface disturbance means the site represents an excellent opportunity to yield significant fur trade era data. However, Portuguese Houses also presents a unique challenge. The private landowners are open to archaeological inquiry on the site, but request no digging take place on the locality. As such, all investigations at the Portuguese Houses site need to be non-invasive in nature. The initial geophysical investigations identified not only the palisade walls and intact activity areas within them, but also possible evidence of occupation outside the fort's walls. These results demonstrate that further investigations are warranted

Archaeology · Digging · Disturbance (geology) · Economic history · Fur trade · Geography · Portuguese · Archaeology and Natural History · Geology · Geology and Paleoclimatology Research · History · Paleontology · Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology

Tools

Open DOISci-Hub