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The Archaeology of the Donner Party's Writing Slate Fragments University of Montana ScholarWorks at University of Montana Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers Graduate School 2008 A Clean Slate: The Archaeology of the Donner Party's Writing Slate Fragments Molly Elizabeth Swords The University of Montana Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd Let us know how access to this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation Swords, Molly Elizabeth, "A Clean Slate: The Archaeology of the Donner Party's Writing Slate Fragments" (2008). Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers. 26. https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd/26 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at ScholarWorks at University of Montana. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks at University of Montana. For more information, please contact [email protected]. A CLEAN SLATE: THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE DONNER PARTY’S WRITING SLATE FRAGMENTS By Molly Elizabeth Swords Bachelor of Arts, The University of Montana, 2003 Thesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Anthropology, Forensic Anthropology The University of Montana Missoula, MT Spring 2008 Approved by: Dr. David A. Strobel, Dean Graduate School Dr. Kelly J. Dixon, Chair Department of Anthropology Dr. Randall R. Skelton, Department of Anthropology Dr. Hipólito Rafael Chacón, Department of Art History Reader: Dr. Harry Fritz Department of History i ABSTRACT Swords, Molly Elizabeth, M.A., May 2008 Anthropology A Clean Slate: The Archaeology of the Donner Party’s Writing Slate Fragments Chairperson: Dr. Kelly Dixon Archaeological investigations into the whereabouts of the Alder Creek Donner family campsite yielded a number of artifacts. One type of artifact collected was writing slate fragments, the topic of this thesis. Why were writing slate fragments found at the Alder Creek camp? An investigation into writing slate in the historical record had to be conducted to address this question. The lack of pertinent research associated with writing slate posed a major obstacle, as it has been disregarded as a diagnostic artifact in historical archaeological literature. This paper addresses this problem by a history of writing slate and its uses, as well as including a discussion of precursors to writing slate, to provide a context for materials recovered from the Alder Creek site. It was first thought that writing slate was only used in the context of education, as might have provided a means of keeping the children busy during the Donner Party’s snowbound experience. However, this research indicates that a number of other activities can be associated with writing slate; including messages and notes, record keeping and accounting, gaming and gambling. The writing slate recovered from the Donner family camp is analyzed here using the results of the historical overview of this material and a cognitive archaeological approach. ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Dr. Kelly Dixon, thank you for opening my eyes to historical archaeology and fostering my aspirations in this field. Thank you for being the best mentor and friend. I am much indented to you for allowing me to be part of the Donner Party archaeological project. I would like to thank my other committee members Dr. Randy Skelton for always staying so positive and optimistic with kind words and helpful advice; Dr. Rafael Chacon for inspiring me to find beauty in everyday artifacts and Dr. Harry Fritz for instilling an appreciation of the history of the American West. I would like to thank my parents, Vivian and Michael Swords, whose unconditional love and encouragement has allowed me to pursue my academic endeavors and find my “niche”. Aunt Ginny and Uncle Daryll, who provided me with warm meals and lots of laughter during the writing of this thesis. All other Family, I thank you with love: Juanita and John McManus, Marion and Jack Swords, Katy Swords, and John Swords. Shannon Vihlene, the best friend that anybody could ever have and my archaeological partner in crime, thank you for listening to my ramblings and always being there for me. Amanda Haught, James Zimmerman, and my fellow graduate students I thank you all for being a sounding board for ideas and moral support. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................viii LIST OF FIGURES................................................................................................. ix Chapter ABSTRACT .............................................................................................................ii Chapter 1 .................................................................................................................. 1 INTRODUCTION ...........................................................................................................................................1 Chapter 2 .................................................................................................................. 6 HISTORY OF THE DONNER PARTY .................................................................................................................6 Chapter 3 ................................................................................................................ 17 METHODS AND ANALYSIS OF DONNER PARTY WRITING SLATE FRAGMENTS ..........................................17 Historical Sources...............................................................................................................................17 Identification of Writing Slate.............................................................................................................19 Donner Party Writing Slate Fragments ..............................................................................................20 Background.................................................................................................................................................... 20 1990 Writing Slate Fragments ....................................................................................................................... 21 2004 Writing Slate Fragments ....................................................................................................................... 27 1990 and 2004 Slate Fragments ..................................................................................................................... 29 Possible Remnant Writing?.................................................................................................................30 Chapter 4 ................................................................................................................ 33 HISTORY OF WRITING SLATE ......................................................................................................................33 Precursors to Writing Slate.................................................................................................................34 iv History of Writing Slate ......................................................................................................................41 Writing Slate Uses and Related Activities...........................................................................................51 Education....................................................................................................................................................... 52 Recreation...................................................................................................................................................... 53 Industry.......................................................................................................................................................... 56 Accoutrements for Writing Slate .........................................................................................................58 Conclusions.........................................................................................................................................60 Chapter 5 ................................................................................................................ 61 WRITING SLATE IN THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL RECORD ................................................................................61 Schoolhouse Archaeology...................................................................................................................61 Military Archaeology..........................................................................................................................63 Mining Town Archaeology..................................................................................................................64 Chapter 6 ................................................................................................................ 66 COGNITIVE ARCHAEOLOGY AND CHILDREN IN THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL RECORD .......................................66 Cognitive Archaeology........................................................................................................................66 Children ..............................................................................................................................................70 Discussion...........................................................................................................................................73 Chapter 7 ...............................................................................................................
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