Making Colonial Forts Relevant in the Twenty-First Century

Presented by Dr. Michael Nassaney; Professor Emeritus, Western Michigan University and former Principal Investigator of the Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project.

In our fast-moving, technologically-advance era, one might ask “what can we learn from the decayed remains of a colonial fortification?” Surely life in days gone by was quaint and we might be nostalgic for simpler times. Yet archaeological investigations of colonial forts have revealed insights that may have relevance for charting a course in the twenty-first century. In this presentation I touch on some of the ways in which fort archaeology is contributing to a better understanding of the past and a vision for the future.