The evolutionary model of westward expansion expounded by Frederick Jackson Turner in 1893 still has adherents among the archaeological community. Although this model may be relevant to an agricultural frontier, such as the Mississippi Valley, settlement of the Rocky Mountain West presents a radically different problem.
Based on documentary evidence, a settlement model relevant to the spatially static mining frontier is postulated. Environment played an insignificant role as a determining factor in the society of the mining frontier. More important was the economic correlation to cultural complexity. The model proposed has been corroborated to date by excavation within the Idaho mining frontier.
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