Frontier Subsistence: An Example of Nineteenth Century Fur Trade Food Procurement

Authors

Leslie A. Perry, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

First Advisor

Warren W. Caldwell

Second Advisor

Frances A. Calabrese

Committee Members

James W. Mueller, Martin Q. Peterson

Date of this Version

5-1981

Document Type

Thesis

Citation

A thesis presented to the faculty of the Graduate College in the University of Nebraska in partial fulfillment of requirements for the degree of Master of Arts

Major: Anthropology

Under the supervision of Warren W. Caldwell and Frances A. Calabrese

May 1981, Lincoln, Nebraska

Comments

Copyright 1981, Leslie A. Perry. Used by permission

Abstract

The area of Frontier subsistence strategies holds considerable potential for explaining Euroamerican adaptation in North America between A.D. 1500 and 1900. This thesis examines the interrelationships between food procurement activities of a nineteenth century northern Plains fur trade post, Fort Union, and its environmental and economic settings. The subsistence strategy identified from ethnohistorical, archival, and archeological data illustrates the way in which inhabitants of the fort coped with a variable local environment and the demands of the fur trade. Evaluation of the effectiveness of the post's subsistence strategy indicates that both the subsistence strategy and the economic base of the occupation had limited adaptive value. Both are seen as transient forms of Euroamerican adaptation to the northern Plains. Finally, it is suggested that Frontier occupations like Fort Union provide useful insights into changes in basic human adaptive strategies as one progresses from pre-industrial to post-industrial cultural contexts.

Advisors: Warren W. Caldwell and Frances A. Calabrese