Sarah E. Cowie, an assistant professor of anthropology at the University of Nevada Reno, is heading an archaeological dig at the site of the St. Mary Louise Hospital in Virginia City. The hospital opened in 1876 and served the frontier mining community until the early 20th century. The hospital was operated by the Daughters of Charity, a Catholic order.
The dig is expected to last until August 15. Artifacts recovered will be taken to the university where they will be analyzed, cleaned, and preserved. Eventually, the artifacts will become part of the permanent collection at the university’s Anthropology Research Museum.
Dr. Cowie states, “This site has enormous potential to answer questions about health care, gender roles, ethnicity, and religion in the West.”
Dr. Cowie is the author of The Plurality of Power: An Archaeology of Industrial Capitalism (Springer, 2011). She holds a Ph.D. from the University of Arizona.