Event Details
For an estimated 600 generations, people lived and thrived in what is now Montana, without modern conveniences or technology. The traces they left behind are subtle, easy to overlook, and right under our feet. On Tuesday, October 13 at 7:00 PM, the Lewis and Clark County Historical Society invites the public to discover them at "The Precontact Archaeology of Lewis and Clark County, Montana," a presentation by archaeologist Patrick J. Rennie at the Lewis and Clark County History Center, 618 Helena Avenue.
Rennie, of the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, will guide visitors through the kinds and distribution of Native American archaeological sites dating before 1805 A.D., in Lewis and Clark County and across Montana. Attendees will learn how people adapted so successfully to this landscape at a so-called Stone Age level of technology, and how to recognize the quiet evidence of their lives.
Rennie's passion for the past began in childhood, hunting for "arrowheads." He earned his bachelor's degree from Montana State University and his master's degree from the University of Montana, and has worked in both the private and public sectors. He regularly collaborates with avocational archaeologists. For the past 32 years, he has served as archaeologist for State School Trust Land in Montana.
"Understanding Native American history is essential to understanding Lewis and Clark County. Following Indigenous Peoples' Day, this presentation offers our community a chance to see this place through the eyes of those who knew it first and for far longer," said Karen Henderson, Executive Director of the Lewis and Clark County Historical Society.
The program is free and refreshments will be served. For more information, call 406-422-0546 or visit l-cchs.org/.
The Lewis and Clark County Historical Society, home of the Lewis and Clark County History Center and the McCahon Memorial Gallery, preserves and shares the history of Lewis and Clark County through exhibits, programs, and community partnerships.