University of Montana doctoral student Megan Denis is advancing archaeological research into human cooperation, as detailed in an April 14 announcement from the university. Denis’s journey began as an undergraduate when she joined a field school led by Anna Prentiss, Regents Professor of Anthropology at UM, and participated in excavations at Housepit 54, part of the Bridge River Archaeological Project in British Columbia.
Denis’s work is significant because it aims to uncover how ancient peoples interacted and cooperated using clues found in layered archaeological sites. By analyzing artifacts such as stone tools, plant material, and animal bones from Housepit 54—a site once inhabited by the Xwísten people—she hopes to develop a mathematical equation that could describe patterns of cooperation across time and cultures.
The Bridge River site offers evidence about wealth distribution and social practices among its historic inhabitants. “I have this working theory that the appearance of bigger or more expensive materials – like obsidian – indicate wealth,” Denis said. She explained that items sourced from distant locations or those requiring specialized skills to produce might signal status within the community.
Denis was named one of the first EARTH Scholars by the British Council and Scottish Graduate Schools of Arts and Humanities in 2023, which allowed her to study environmental impacts on Scotland’s Rannoch Moor boglands with Professor Nicki Whitehouse at the University of Glasgow. She also collaborated with archaeologist Cynthia Larbey on plant cell identification techniques related to her dissertation research.
Prentiss praised Denis’s academic progress: “Megan Denis is an extraordinary student. Not only has she developed significant skills and experiences in Pacific Northwest archaeology, paleobotany and cultural evolutionary analysis, she also maintains a demanding staff archaeologist position on the Bitterroot National Forest.” Prentiss said she expects Denis’s dissertation “to be a tour de force in the application of archaeological data to address a major anthropological problem.”
According to the official website, the University of Montana operates as a public research university serving more than 11,000 students through undergraduate, graduate, and professional degree programs offered both online and on campus. The institution emphasizes academic excellence along with hands-on education for students based locally in Missoula or studying remotely via distance-learning options.
Denis continues her detailed laboratory work sorting botanical remains such as seeds and charcoal under microscopes—work she describes as piecing together “a massive puzzle.” Her ongoing studies focus on understanding how cultural traits are passed between groups over generations.
