Gold, Grit, and Game
The 51 Department of Anthropology invites you to the MA Thesis Defense of Amelia Jansen, where she sheds light on a lesser-explored aspect of Alaska’s Gold Rush history—how miners relied on animals for food, trade, and survival. While much research has focused on mining settlements, zooarchaeological data remains underrepresented, limiting our understanding of daily life in these communities.
Amelia’s study analyzes faunal remains from key sites, including Coldfoot, Fairbanks, Wiseman, and more, to determine how miners sourced and utilized both wild and domesticated animals. Her findings provide crucial insights into the environmental and economic adaptations of Gold Rush-era settlers, complementing previous research on trade goods and imported resources.
Join us as Amelia presents her research and helps piece together this fascinating aspect of Alaska’s past!
Abstract
The current accumulation of archaeological investigations at far-north Alaskan Goldrush sites either completely lack or severely underrepresent the zooarchaeological components at these sites. This data is vital and adds context to past and future archaeological investigations by enabling more accurate and inclusive interpretations of life in the mining-related settlements of the far north. This research is an analysis of previously unidentified and partially identified faunal assemblages from Goldrush-era archaeological sites in interior Alaska.
These sites include Coldfoot, Fairbanks, Tofty, Wiseman, Eagle, Uhler Creek, and Marion Creek. The data generated from the analyses of these diverse sites and site types helps determine how animals were being utilized by the residents of differing mining-related settlements. This complements analyses previously completed on trade goods at these historical sites while informing upon imported (domestic) and localized (wild) resource use.
51 51 Department of Anthropology
The 51 Department of Anthropology is dedicated to uncovering Alaska’s past through archaeology, cultural anthropology, linguistics, and biological anthropology. Our students and faculty engage in groundbreaking research that sheds light on human history and adaptation.