I’m starting a new series on Freethinker’s: Awesome Scientists. One of the goals of this blog is highlight the interesting research being done by scientists in different fields. The inaugural post highlights Dr. Julie Schablitsky, historical archaeologist at the University of Oregon. She was profiled last summer by Nova ScienceNOW.
University of Oregon archaeologist Julie Schablitsky examines part of a ceramic dish unearthed at the Donner dig in July 2004.
Not all archaeology is ancient. Julie’s work focuses on forgotten stories from the historical period. You know the old saw about history, the winner writes it. Dr. Schablitsky is more interested in the tales from minorities, those who lacked a voice, or whose stories have been embellished or misrepresented by tradition. Julie has worked on documenting the life of Chinese immigrants to the US in the 19th century, and a reanalysis of the Donner Party disaster.
Her research caught my attention because she was part of a research team that used genetic analysis of bones found in a hearth at the Donner Party site, and demonstrated an absence of human bones. Instead, there were bones of deer, rabbit, rodents, even the family dog. The researchers concluded that the pioneers trapped in the Sierra Nevadas that winter exhausted every available resource prior to resorting to cannibalism to survive, and that by the time it became necessary, many of them had managed to leave. The gruesome and gory account of the Donner party was not entirely accurate, and Dr. Schablitsky and her team were able to use the scientific method to debunk it.
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Image credit: Guy Tasa, University of Oregon
