How Do Archaeologists Figure Out What Ruins Were? | The Cliff Mine Archaeology Project

Рет қаралды 36,472

Жыл бұрын

If you came across the ruins of a copper mine in the forest, how would you figure out what you were looking at? To learn more, I spent an afternoon with Dr. Sean Gohman, who started Michigan Tech University's Cliff Mine Archaeology Project. I thought this conversation was fascinating, and I hope you enjoy it.
✨ Want to support my work? Well, hey, thank you so much. You can learn more about how to keep this thing going at / alexisdahl .
☕ Find this series valuable, but Patreon isn't for you? You can also help keep this thing going at www.buymeacoffee.com/alexisdahl.
🥳 The Thank-You Section:
Thanks to Dr. Sean Gohman for all of his time and insight into this topic! And for helping me animate the stamps more accurately. Special thanks as well to Amanda Makela at 2nd Sandbar Productions for the gorgeous drone footage of the cliff!
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#archaeology #Michigan

Пікірлер: 121

@C.Schmidt Жыл бұрын

Throughout the entire video I was blown away by how Dr. Sean Gohman could gesture to or point at a feature while describing it. And it's like he could "see" back in time through the lens of context he's gathered from all the archeological work he and the team have done. It just makes it seem that much more "real!" But I was so excited to see a longer video. I loved it!

@AlexisDahl Жыл бұрын

Thanks, Chris!! I appreciate that all around (especially the note about the longer video). 😊 Also, that's such a thoughtful observation - and I totally agree with you!

@awarre Жыл бұрын

18:50 I believe this is the stamp mill my great-great-great grandfather Henry Warren (a Cornish immigrant) built. "This place is why we are all here," is very true in my case.

@AlexisDahl Жыл бұрын

That's incredible! 😱 Thanks so much for sharing about this! You might also enjoy a blog post Sean did in 2012 about excavations at the Warren mill: cliffmine.wordpress.com/2012/06/20/the-warren-mills-stamp-room-then-and-today/

@TeagueChrystie Жыл бұрын

What a fantastic educator. Thanks for this video!

@charlesbittman7683 Жыл бұрын

Love the history. My grandmother and her 7 siblings were born in Ahmeek. My uncle still owns the house. I’ve been going to the Keweenaw for 60 years.

@bjdefilippo447 Жыл бұрын

For folks that have caught the archaeology bug, I recommend a British series called Time Team. They explore a wide variety of sites from different time periods, Bronze Age kist burials, Victorian pottery works, Roman mosaics, and much more. I love the classic digs, but they recently started a new set of explorations with the latest tech, and it's fascinating!

@skimusic3773 Жыл бұрын

Thanks to the two of you for loving and illuminating this wonderful spot!

@dustintaylor9157 Жыл бұрын

I used to go up to the cliff mine when I went to tech. So cool to see all the old ruins and to think of all the people who lived and died there. The area is full of these stories.

@robwells9601 Жыл бұрын

Thank you so much for these videos. I am born and raised in Michigan and I really appreciate learning about this state. Thanks

@nerdgarage Жыл бұрын

I love how you and the people you bring in break your subject/s down to the very basics. I don't mostly need such myself as geology and related things (volcanoes/earthquakes/etc) have been subjects of casual interest since I was a very young child, but I love how you do it, and I love THAT you do it. By breaking it down the way you do, it enables people who don't know how geology/etc work to still get a good idea of what you are talking about and why it's important. Another home run video. I introduced a friend to your channel via the precurser to this video after he brought up ancient volcanic activity in america and like me a year or two ago he was immediately grabbed by your style and knowledge. With any luck, another dedicated viewer.

@dynac8012 5 ай бұрын

Copper from the UP was mined and traded as far back as 2,000 years ago. Look up "Old Copper Complex" and you'll find a trail that takes you much further in geography and back in time than the 1800's. Indian mounds as far away as the Gulf Coast contain artifacts made from copper originating in the Lake Superior region. It's quite fascinating.

@sierrafoxtrotgolf3638 8 ай бұрын

I came up from MN again to visit my friend in Eagle Harbor. We spent time on 10/7/23 climbing up to and then around the stacks and foundations. This video was the inspiration for our exploration. Thanks for this incredibly informative video. I'd like to see you produce a video on the old White Pine Copper mine. There are old ball mills still there though the building that housed them are long gone.

@bangler62 Жыл бұрын

Love your work and especially the deep historical dives like this. I'm from southeast PA and it is an area where there is truly history underfoot. And not only one layer but many, going back hundreds of years and it is very easy to live your life and never appreciate it. What you are doing in bringing history and geology to life in a simple, easy, and enjoyable way is so valuable and I hope it catches fire in a good way. Keep it up.

@AlexisDahl Жыл бұрын

Thank you so much! I appreciate that.

@davidvanderwood9649 Жыл бұрын

Thanks for the well told story from your MTU expert and yourself. Alexis I think you make all if us that are physically able want to explore all if the wonders in our (Michiganders) back yards to learn what we have missed. Your destined to tell larger tales to the world keep it up

@curiousfirely Жыл бұрын

I just doscovered your channel, and I'm so grateful! I grew up in West Michigan and am loving the chance to re-connect with my home state!

@walksexplorationsnewzealan6144 Жыл бұрын

Excellent documentary video! 😊 I explored around there a long time ago., very fascinating location. I remember the trees were not as tall back then either!😆 Looking forward to your next adventure!😎👍

@raayna6630 Жыл бұрын

Thanks for another GREAT Vid. Excellent

@tangtaster 2 ай бұрын

The method used to fill mineshafts with junk was also used at nearly every Outhouse in the area as well. You start finding a lot of old stuff in the ground you found an old outhouse. The Barnes Hecker Mine would be another interesting video.

@edwinsparks2165 Жыл бұрын

Yo your videos are so dope !!!! Dr. Sean Gohman is amazingly smart and cool !!!! I will always have a special place in my heart for the U.P. some of the nicest people you will ever meet stay up there.... shout out to MICHIGAN my forever home!!!!

@brianwalker9185 Жыл бұрын

Loved your mini documentary...all of them actually. Born and raised in Arizona, copper was king. It's still mined but my interest was more into the older mines. One mine that peaked my interest was the Reymert mine. Many mines are found in a 50 mile radius but this mine started maybe 700 years prior by indigenous people's. When the the Spanish came they mined the area for about 100 years. In the 1870s, 1890s, 1910 and 1940 depending on price the mine started and stopped. We discovered some of the 1870 settlement and even saw evidence of the Spanish mine. Unfortunately a foriegn mining company moved in and started an open pit mine and no archeological work could continue. Sadly, they are processing the materials, more for building products. Thanks for this video.

@Ephem13 Жыл бұрын

This woman makes me want to visit the UP. A place I have never given any thought to but she makes it seen so worth exploring.

@fender7avrik Жыл бұрын

Great video! We discovered your channel after visiting Quincy mine. Entire family likes your content! Thank you!

@ocrow8079 Жыл бұрын

Great presentation. Thank you Alexis and Sean. I would be interested in knowing if Sean has found any evidence of ancient Native American mining at these early Euro-American mine sites.

@lylelay Жыл бұрын

Not just Sean. All but one or two of the mines in the Keweenaw were found first by the Native American's. It was common practice in the prospecting days in the Keweenaw for the prospectors to look for old Native mining pits.

@richardkuhn9130 Жыл бұрын

Mining consultant.the copper mining areas of Springbok, Nababeep and Okiep in South Africa have a great fascinating history for me. The copper Barons financed the mines of Nababeep. Best collection of minerals in the museum at Nababeep. The then copper Barons visited the place . The biggest producer of copper in WW II Only 9 per cent of the copper has been mined. All mines closed now Illegals mine now. Thanks for your video. R

@thomasbrewer4564 Жыл бұрын

Nice purple hair. It went well with your hat. I'm glad for your video and its nice that it's long. I'm really glad that there is one to watch. I have a list of videos I check every day for new content and I was beginning to worry that I was not going to see anything more from your site. Thanks for being there.

@ricksrealpitbbq Жыл бұрын

At the same period in history, in the 1850’s copper was being mined in south eastern Tennessee in a place called Copperhill Tn. There are still remnants of the old “company houses” and miles upon miles of lateral mines covering portions of TN, GA, and NC. The mines were the only industry and it’s uncommon to find people who have no family ties to the mines. It really is a fascinating story of how our country as a whole prospered through mining. Sorry, I didn’t intend to hijack this video. I truly love all the history you bring us in your enthusiastically produced content. I wish I had a history teacher like you years ago when I was in school. 😊

@garyallen2296 Жыл бұрын

You are very good at this, Alexis! You keep me riveted. Anyone who knows me will tell you that it takes some doing. Thank you!

@slamrock17 7 ай бұрын

I would like to see the magnetic alignment of core samples taken throughout. Also a shoutout to Graham and Randall.

@neolexington Жыл бұрын

Love it! Would love a video on Central Mine or as they used to call it back in those days "Little Cornwall".

@MazichMusic Жыл бұрын

Your videos and guests never disappoint. You are a remarkable young woman.

@AlexisDahl Жыл бұрын

Thank you, George! That's very kind of you.

@brianhapeman9262 Жыл бұрын

Love archaeology! And this channel is fantastic!!

@AlexisDahl Жыл бұрын

Thanks, Brian! ☺️

@browngreen933 Жыл бұрын

Down the road at North American location you can still see stamp mill wooden gutters in the ground.

@johnnypatrick8252 Жыл бұрын

Great Job! Both of you combined to make Michigan mine archaeology interesting enough that my 6&9 yo daughters watched the whole thing with me : ) well, nearly the whole thing.

@AlexisDahl Жыл бұрын

Oh, my gosh! That's such an honor, genuinely. I'm so glad they stuck around for most of it! ☺️

@billanzell5962 Жыл бұрын

Love this place. Especially the cemetery. So much I'd like to know..

@brollyhessianovskov-ph1jc Жыл бұрын

UP for succession/ geology rules

@dank9296 Жыл бұрын

Well done! Thanks for this look at great Michigan history.

@shakascloset1700 11 ай бұрын

Excellent video. Michigan's history is not going to be forgotten with your amazing research and videos. Thanks so much for another wonderful video. 👍

@cicad2007 Жыл бұрын

Alexis, nice to see you again. Wonderful story about a place I never knew existed. Thank you. 🙂

@MikeOrkid Жыл бұрын

I live in NePa and have tons of remnants of anthracite mining remains and ruins. It's very similar to the landscape to what you're showing in this video.

@entangledmindcells9359 Жыл бұрын

neat seeing this story.. I have a shoe box of copper pieces I collected from the tailing piles at that site.. Wish I had known more about what was up on the hill. we would have explored it. But seeing this brought back some fun memories of "copper country cruising"

@marcsmith2708 Жыл бұрын

Another great video! I think what I found fascinating is how recent of history this really is but its literally takes an archeologist to interpret what it was. I also find it amazing how quickly nature has taken back over in such a relatively short period of time geographically speaking. (not millions or billions, but 100 years).

@wwisaacson4807 Жыл бұрын

I was born in 1955 and grew up in the Copper Country. I remember when they were filling in the old mine pits with cars etc. If I remember correctly people were going into the shafts and having to be rescued. There was a real concern about children falling in the ones near towns.

@mannahfarmandforge5225 Жыл бұрын

This is awesome! definitely going to go check it out this weekend.

@calparsons2502 Жыл бұрын

Very interesting subject, thank you.

@johnjunge6989 Жыл бұрын

Glad your back and I guess you waited for sunshine? Ha If you got half of the Rocky MT snow, your still shoveling! Great stuff as usual!

@tomhenkel2311 Жыл бұрын

Love this stuff! good job Alexis.😊

@brianjonker510 3 ай бұрын

In NY & NE barns are definitely made out of stone. At least the animal portions and the upper portions for hay/grain storage are made of wood.

@dillon8212 Жыл бұрын

Really cool video! I like the longer video format, especially with guests like Sean who bring a wealth of information and passion for us to enjoy. The UP has some cool history!

@AlexisDahl Жыл бұрын

Thanks, Dillon! It's great to hear that you liked the longer format, especially. It's something I'd like to try out when the occasion calls for it!

@russmonte5176 Жыл бұрын

Glad for the new content 😅. binge watch all your other vids

@janwag6856 Жыл бұрын

Excellent!!

@CureSmileful Жыл бұрын

It's amazing how many topics are there to cover just about Michigan area I am watching probably fourth in a row video like that, because I'm binging your channel lol Keep up the good work, I hope you aare doing well :>

@cuddlepaws4423 3 ай бұрын

Considering it was a 27-minute video which is longer than your usual videos. It flew past. Very informative, fascinating, and it was interesting that you could see Social Stratification, even in such a small mining town. Thoroughly enjoyable. It always fascinates me how archaeologist can differentiate between natural and unnatural and what the unnatural is!!! I would probably stick my trowel through something very important and destroy it and not have a clue. 😣😣 But then that is why Dr Gohman has the doctorate and not me.

@RodneyDMohr Жыл бұрын

I really enjoy your presentations! They are always well-researched and presented. As a kid, I remember driving down a road on the school bus called Blue Ridge Road just south of Jackson. One of my elementary teachers studied geology and had told use the road was named after the Blue Ridge Esker. The remains of a river under the glacier. In some spots it's 70 ft tall. I would love to know more about it and thought it just might catch your interest. I'm looking forward to your next adventure!

@lylelay Жыл бұрын

Another Esker in southern Michigan is the Mason Esker - one of the longest in the world

@jaredknapp8886 Жыл бұрын

Thanks for the upload.

@winterburden Жыл бұрын

The Cliff Mine is super cool, thanks for sharing!

@sierrafoxtrotgolf3638 Жыл бұрын

Very informative. I'll explore this site in June.

@tedc7714 Жыл бұрын

I know very little but I do know that native tribes up there knew about copper. And even smelting. Copper artifacts were traded pretty far south of there. I don't think,the knew about bronze but know they did copper.

@robertfindley921 Жыл бұрын

Interesting as always!

@Hpfan3295 Жыл бұрын

This story is so interesting - the area looks just like a wild landscape, until Dr. Gohman starts painting the picture of what used to be there. New area to check out next time I'm up in that part of the state!!

@sierrafoxtrotgolf3638 8 ай бұрын

One of your best videos!

@Frisco1x Жыл бұрын

Absolutely beautiful!!

@HandTightGarage Ай бұрын

Keep up the great work!

@Mike-126 Жыл бұрын

Great information.

@Rabblewitz Жыл бұрын

Just a side note ... Michigan Tech started out as the Michigan Mining School, to train mining engineers.

@thomasdecker7631 3 ай бұрын

Great video. Well done and much appreciated. As long as I remember i've had an interest in industrial archeology. What was here? What did it do? How did it work? Not sure if you're familiar with Sanborn fire insurance maps. They're helpful in later periods than the Cliff mine (late 19th-first half of the 20th century) and often list quite specific details, covering things like industrial, railroad and other commercial structures. Just FYI.

@MeMyselfAndUs903 2 күн бұрын

What a great video!

@tender-warrior Жыл бұрын

I've been really enjoying this series about the copper mines and the copper rush in Michigan. I live in California like i think I've said before and so we learned lots about the gold rush growing up, and when I was living with my Dad in Nevada or visiting with my granddad in the eastern Sierras we toured around a bunch of old silver rush era mines. It's both nostalgic and fascinating to learn about the old mines in places out eat. Thank you for taking the time to share these with us, you're doing excellent work!

@AlexisDahl Жыл бұрын

Thank you so much! I appreciate you saying that. 😊 I also know next-to-nothing about silver mining, so maybe that's something I'll also have to read up on someday!

@tender-warrior Жыл бұрын

If you're curious and would like to read about some fascinating history (regardless of whether a video comes of it) you should look into the Comstock Lode and Virginia City, in Nevada. Mark Twain actually tried his hand at mining the Comstock before he got a job working at a local paper called, iirc, Territorial Review! And there were a bunch of really important advancements in the process and technology of mining at Comstock as well. It's absolutely worth at least a wikipedia rabbit hole hahaha :) Cheers!

@lylelay Жыл бұрын

@@AlexisDahl A fun place to start is Mark Twain's "Roughing It" He was there close to the beginning (in Nevada)

@maricogan2903 Жыл бұрын

I am really enjoying your U.P. vlogs. It would be interesting to lean when the Cornish came to the U.P., how they traveled there from southern England and if they were drawn there by advertisements.

@spamllama Жыл бұрын

Great, informative video! I was up there in 2021 and was actually kind of disappointed, because I had no context for what I was looking at (and had done no research). Thanks for filling that gap in my experience!

@AlexisDahl Жыл бұрын

Absolutely! I'm glad this was helpful!

@apextroll Жыл бұрын

Interesting video Alexis!! People see the trees and don't realize that the landscape once was disturbed and had a different purpose. I watched a video of a guy who was able to forensically analyse a New England forest by looking at tree growth patterns and other anomalous features of the landscape.

@introp5 10 ай бұрын

Probably Tom Wessels? His book "Reading the Forested Landscape" is an amazing tutorial on how to decode old rock walls, tree ages, etc.

@ibpositivemostly7437 Жыл бұрын

Cool video thanks.

@trep53 Жыл бұрын

Great video, the Social Science Department at MTU has a wealth of UP history to share. Their Industrial Archaeology Department is great.

@pizzicatoprod Жыл бұрын

Hi Alexis! Greetings from Arizona, also known as the Copper State. We have the largest open-pit mine in North America in the eastern part of the State.; the Morenci Copper mine. The town at the base of the mine is also named Clifton. I wonder if there is any link between the Michigan and Arizona sites(?) Did folks migrate down here from up there when the ore began to dwindle? Did Dr. Gohman mention any thing that might point to this during your time with him? The Morenci mine is still quite active.

@trep53 Жыл бұрын

My thought is the only people that may have a shared presents at both Keweenaw and Arizona copper mines would be the big money investors.

@TearyEyesAnderson Жыл бұрын

When I lived in Colorado, there was a coal mine that has been burning a subsurface fire of unknown origin, since 1910. In a place called "South Canon Number 1 Coal Mine", I think we went their as a school field trip. I also remember going to a marble mine, and seeing the equipment left behind. In Salina the town I was born in, for a while there was a marker showing were the first settler's Sod-hut was located. But sadly, I didn't see anything there recently, when I went there a few years ago. But our museum has a full-size replica of the sod-hut in their building. I was interested enough to see if I could find the location of the original place.

@benjaminscribner7737 Жыл бұрын

Miss really happy gal. Another really good video. I really enjoyed it once again

@larrylankton8114 Жыл бұрын

Nice job, guys!

@AlexisDahl Жыл бұрын

Thanks so much, Larry! I appreciate that, coming from you. 🙂

@_boils_8492 9 ай бұрын

Is that the man himself? Loved Hollowed Ground, it was a fantastic read!

@lylelay Жыл бұрын

Alexis, If you are bothered by people dumping junk down the old shafts think about the other common way to close them - Throw some boards over the hole and cover it with dirt, then add a hundred or hundred and fifty years. That's why us rock hounds are told "don't walk into shallow depressions", they could be a couple thousand feet deep, or just fifty, that's enough.

@wilbard6708 Жыл бұрын

Where would I go to find some of the site maps that Dr. Sean Gohman referred to that were made by Tech students when they were surveying the site? I really love going to the Cliff Mine area and trying to imagine what the buildings looked like, just the the overlay of the one building that held the steam engines made things clearer in my head as to what those foundations there were. My question from the first time I was there was who built the stone and timber buildings, how long did it take to build, what tools did they use, (cutting, shaping, lifting and placing the stones.) and what did those builders do after the buildings were done. If it weren't for their skills at building the cliff mine would be a pretty boring area, nothing to see but the waste piles. Sorry to run on, and thank you, thank you thank you for taking the effort to do these videos. My world would be much less without your seeking out questions about the land around us and putting the findings on a video for me to watch.

@gomie5353 Жыл бұрын

Well, there is a book that contains those maps. The Cliff: America’s First Great Copper Mine, Revisited.

@wilbard6708 Жыл бұрын

@@gomie5353 Thank you, I'll see if I can find it.

@user-el2nh5uo1w Жыл бұрын

According to Time team, and my ever so faulty memory, three stones makes a wall.

@BigMikeAudits Жыл бұрын

So I've heard one on the History Channel or something I can't remember it was sometime ago in the last 10 years that the copper in the Michigan was responsible for the Bronze Age.

@brollyhessianovskov-ph1jc Жыл бұрын

The tests that guys used on the copper to come that conclusion has been debunked from what I've seen and read.

@lylelay Жыл бұрын

@@brollyhessianovskov-ph1jc Yes, It's an old theory that has been disproved dozens of ways

@bookofrevelation4924 3 ай бұрын

Thank you, I'm interested in learning why my dad's dad came through Canada by train from Germany in 1924 at age 24 to work in the copper mines there, are there work records for employees? Eric Joseph Brieger started his naturalization for US Citizen there, then after 3 years moved to Milwaukee to get married to Anna Hedwig Hahn to flee Nazis in 1928. Maybe had deal with Henry Ford and US Government.

@ReggiesRainbow Жыл бұрын

You must be a sister or relative of Mark Rober You tuber. Yes or no? I just started watching all your videos are awesome. I was raised in the U.P. and I'm learning stuff I never knew. Thank you

@AlexisDahl Жыл бұрын

Glad you're enjoying the videos! I am not related to Mark Rober, but I see how you got there, ha. I think we just share enthusiasm and mannerisms. 🙂

@sadiejustin Жыл бұрын

Based solely on your enthusiasm, I could watch you read the dictionary. The fact that you tell very interesting stories? All the better!

@Audion Жыл бұрын

Seems like wrapping the water jug with duct tape would give it strength for resisting drop damage.

@slugface322 Жыл бұрын

Sure have missed your sweet melodious voice & pleasing countenance.

@jimknarr Жыл бұрын

I noticed that the prominent guy with the white hat and three piece business suit is at 0:25 and 23:56. Do you know who this guy is? He seems to be important to the Cliff Mine story. Consequently, these two pictures were most likely taken in the 1850s as that was the decade when black and white photography took off in the two cities (Boston and Philadelphia) which match the company's namesake at this time (Pittsburgh and Boston Copper Harbor Mining Company). 1850s was the decade of the copper boom and the black and white photography boom!

@jimknarr 10 ай бұрын

I wasn't able to identify the guy on the left at 0:25 but I did identify the guy on the right as James Watson. James served as Superintendent of the Cliff Mine in its formative years. In 1863, he assumed a similar position at the North Cliff Mine. -- from the Eagle River Museum I got to enjoy the same view that these two did from the top of Cliff Lookout this summer. With good clearance, you can drive most of the way to the top.

@henrywit6147 11 ай бұрын

Great video! But it's a mistake to think about "disregard" for the landscape, assuming you're coming from an environmental concern. More broadly, viewing events from the past via a modern lens is misguided. If we lived then, and were in business, we'd have all taken the same set of actions. These mining companies owned the land and had the right therefore to do what was necessary in their business operations. Again, this is a wonderful video that is clearly reverent regarding history and it's tie to modern times.

@TheBeingReal Жыл бұрын

You need some Husky wear!

@oussamalasfer4860 Жыл бұрын

Its fascinating how nature can cover human stractures in just little time nature scary 😂

@charliecapo3442 8 ай бұрын

I vote Dahl for Governor! 😆

@AutoReport1 11 ай бұрын

But people did make barns from stone.

@Audion Жыл бұрын

Don't forget the lead rush which preceded the California gold rush by decades.

@arthura.applegatejr.7145 5 ай бұрын

Dr Saen needs to give his doctorate back. Then come visit upstate New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. There he will find barns made of stone. Barns used to house animals and store hay and straw. Strong enough to drive wagons loaded with hay and straw into the second floor. But what do I know,I’m just a dumb farmer who became a dumb trucker who became a dumb miner ‼️

@haycreek 27 күн бұрын

Agreed. Choice of building material and technique was determined by the prior culture of the builders and material quality and availability on site at that point in time. It wasn't so long ago that European, Brit, Nordic and Icelandic peoples were living alongside livestock in stone crofts. Read Halldoor Laxness' "Independent People".