Project Goals
The project was undertaken in response to unauthorized collection and degradation occurring in this portion of the site. Objectives were to:

• Identify the range of archeological resources at the site and their physical locations.
• Reconstruct the landscape/land use plan for the hotel.
• Identify site elements impacted by past and current park, public, and natural actions.
• Recommend possible interpretation alternatives.
• Provide an educational opportunity for the public to participate and learn about archeology.

A quick visual survey of the river prior to the students' and teachers' arrival identified the best area for investigation and the site’s land-based archeological grid was extended over the Firehole River. Numbered pin flags marked prospective transect margins on each river bank every 5 m grid north.

At the start of each day, fieldworkers stretched ropes across the river from flagged points to create 5 m wide inventory transects. Boundary ropes were divided into 5 m intervals using large and highly visible yellow plastic ear tags commonly used to mark cattle.

Inventory teams searching for artifacts.

With the corridor established, the crew was divided into two survey teams. Each team incorporated a least one archeologist, 5 high school students, and one high school teacher. A graduate student participated in the inventory and worked with students as the survey took place. An undergraduate volunteer participated as a crew member and documented the work with a digital camera.

Survey teams worked in lines from opposite ends of a transect. Artifacts were located using Plexiglas-bottomed buckets, snorkel masks, or simply by feeling the bottom for objects. Teams had a data recorder for a each transect with volunteers rotated through this position. Data for each transect included crew names, inventory date, transect number, distance of object from the east bank, object name, manufacturer's markings or product markings, and notes if an object was photographed or collected.

Artifacts were returned to the river after documentation except where they had potential value for public interpretation or were considered collectable. A few with manufacturers marks requiring additional research were also collected. Collected artifacts are cleaned and stabilized using special methods developed especially for object recovered from the Firehole River's thermal and highly mineralized environment. Once analysis is completed and reports are prepared, these artifacts will be returned to Yellowstone National Park for permanent curation. NEXT >>