Internships in the Lab

Caleb Hinkle has recently joined the Dixon lab team. He is a second year anthropology student at the University of Montana.  This photo shows Caleb bagging a tagging artifacts for cataloging; a job that can be tedious but is truly one of the most rewarding.

Research of Ecological and Anthropological River Dimensions

The Montana Anthropogenic Research Cooperative (MT-ARC), via the Dixon Archaeology Lab, has partnered with the Institute on Ecosystems (IoE), via the Valett Ecology Lab, to look at the research of ecological and anthropological river dimensions. The project is combining historical data in ecological and anthropological features of the Missoula valley to address the interaction between people and their environment over the long term. We are looking at sites both in the anthroprogenically dynamic urban center, like the Underground and in the more ecologically dynamic areas near the confluence of the Bitterroot and Clark Fork Rivers. Human development has historically shaped the environment and contributed to landscape transformation by counteracting the natural complexity of river floodplains.

Dr.’s Kelly Dixon, Marc Peipoch, and Maury Valett surveying the research site while trying to determine the best plan of action for installing test wells for monitoring the river. This particular research site not only sits on the river and maintains relative ecological diversity, but it is within blocks of the hustle and bustle of the city and is in close proximity of significant archaeological and National Register sites.

This project is seeking to address when the complexity of the human actions and the complexity of the environment intersected and diverged; basically as human interactions in the Missoula Valley became more complex the environment became less complex and diverse. It is this point of convergence that we are seeking to quantify.

The project will be reaching out to local area schools hoping to share research and learning opportunities. A hands-on exploratory exhibit is currently under design for exhibition at spectrUM Discovery next fall that will conceptualize many of the ideas and concepts from this project and make them tangible for children of all ages. This project is all about human interactions and in that same vein we encourage comments, thoughts, ideas, and input on this post to help us as we move forward with this project.