D I S T I N C T LY M O N TA N A • W I N T E R 2 0 1 6
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organic artifacts are melting
out of ice patches all over the
world. Archaeologists have
recovered leather pouches and
shoes, a wooden knife handle,
baskets, and darts in Switzer-
land, Norway, Sweden, Canada,
and Alaska. In the Northwest
Territories, a piece of sinew had
archaeologists perplexed until a
member of the Shu´htagot'ine
Tribe recognized it as part of a
ground squirrel snare.
And of course you might remember Ötzi — the 1991 discovery
of a more than 5,000 year old man preserved in the Italian Alps.
Ötzi was probably a shepherd who appeared to be on the run when
he was murdered, and then buried by snow and ice only to be
found by a pair of hikers millennia later. Ötzi was so well preserved
that researchers were able to
determine his last meal — bits
of red deer meat and a handful
of cereal grains.
Recovering organic artifacts
like these have given archae-
ologists a rare glimpse into the
past where the archaeological
record is usually dominated by
stone and bone. ese findings
have also been important in
preserving Native culture and
heritage. But the field of ice patch archaeology is an urgent one.
Montana's ice patches continue to melt and some have disappeared
completely. Despite the urgency, only a fraction of ice patches in
Montana have been surveyed. e terrain is challenging, the field
season is short, and funding is perennially low, says Lee. "It's a race
with an uncertain finish line."
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CRAIG LEE
A collection of artifacts
