The Archaeology of the Donner Party

by Donald L. Hardesty

Book Overview

The tragic saga of the Donner Party has inspired both legend and scholarship ever since the survivors were rescued from the High Sierra snows in the spring of 1847. When archaeologist Donald L.... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 087417290X
• ISBN13: 9780874172904
• Release Date: January 1997
• Publisher: University of Nevada Press
• Length: 156 Pages
• Weight: 1.00 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.4" x 9.6"

Customer Reviews

An extensively researched history of an ill-fated expedition to California in the winter of 1846-184

Professor of Historic Preservation and Anthropology Donald Hardesty presents The Archaeology Of The Donner Party, an extensively researched history of an ill-fated expedition to California in the winter of 1846-1847. Trapped by snow in the uppermost reaches of the Sierra Nevada, half of the Donner Party perished from starvation; the remaining half had to cannibalize their dead to survive. The tragedy became fuel for legends, folklore, and stories about westward expansion; but what truly happened? The Archaeology Of The Donner Party turns to the science of archaeology to unravel long-standing mysteries. Contributions by Michael Brodhead, Donald Grayson, Susan Lindstrom, and George Miller aid the author in gathering as much raw data as possible, some of which is offered in the form of charts for the reader's perusal; the result is an astute cross-examination of the telltale footprints of history. A handful of black-and-white The Archaeology Of The Donner Party is welcome not only for its meticulous reconstruction of a devastating tragedy, but also as an example of how archaeology can aid in the study of relatively recent history as surely as the history of civilizations from thousands of years ago.

Stunning history!

Read this book after reading "Frozen in Time" (about the Franklin expedition lost in the arctic) and "Alive" (about a 1972 plane crash in the Andes), both terrible and true tales of people forced to fight death and starvation.This book is as stunning as the other two!The book is well researched. Dramatic. Brings to light details and hypothesis of how these people coped in the face of death.It is interesting seeing this team piece together the Donner party's activities.Fantastic read if your into human adventure & spirit!