Annalies Corbin study of the Missouri River
The study that Annalies Corbin conducted of the Missouri River was on its perception as a maritime highway, which was valuable in terms of advancing business and technology. The type of documents that she used to research shipwrecks on the river were historical maps, survey reports as well as aerial photographs, and the apparent changes in the course of the river over the past 100 years. The aim was simply to have an understanding of changes in the river migration as these documents did provide the important first steps in the development of models that predict the sites of the river wrecks. She was able to track the sites by laying her focus on the accuracy as well as the manner in which these historic surveys were conducted and documented, thereby allowing her to create a predictive model that enabled her to locate the potential wreck sites.
Brian Fagan presents his views on how some of the riverine sites were threatened by non- environmental factors. Fagan notes that individuals during the drought started coming down to the river sifting through the sands, thus finding artifacts and taking them away. These were the biggest threat to the riverine as they could lay claim as salvage rights. The response came in the form of an archaeological investigation as well as the signing of the Abandoned Ship Act of 1987. The artifacts that Fagan describes were dinner plates, suiter, spears, rusted cables, iron pipes as well as steel barges. The dates were established by the identification of the various items or materials that were found in the various ships, such as serving bowls and dishes that helped pin down the exact time when the items were in use.