Pacific Northwest Coast archaeology

Ethnohistory 2009
In 2003, construction began on a graving dock that would bring marine projects to the Olympic Peninsula and provide family-wage jobs. It appeared to be a good fit for the city of Port Angeles, Washington, and its surrounding communities. Shortly after construction began, workers unearthed an approximately 2,700–year- old Coast Salish village and cemetery, claimed by the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe as an ancestral site. Significantly, indigenous reports of being haunted by the spirits of their disturbed ancestors and nonnative desires to bury the past and move forward resulted in intercultural conflicts and misunderstandings. Such struggles speak to the contested nature of history and the deeply rooted concerns about the region’s socioeconomic future following the decline of natural resource industries.

For the past several years the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon have partnered with the Confederated Tribes of Siletz lnctians, and the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs to assist Dr. Dale Croes of South Puget Sound Community Col lege (SPSCC) in providing stewardship and management over a unique site named the Sunken Village Site. This site is unique not just due to its preservation and content but also in that it has been an opportunity for International (Japanese sponsorship in this case), federal , state, and local agencies to work with Tribes in the preservation of a area that is geologically distinct and vitally important to the maintenance of the culture of the three Tribes involved. This world-wide partnership will not only allow us to better understand but also better protect one of the best wet sites on the Columbia River.

The dynamic environmental history and relative sea level (RSL) changes experienced on the Northwest Coast of North America during the early post-glacial period and the early Holocene resulted in significant archaeological visibility challenges for prospection of early coastal archaeological sites. This study offers an integrated methodological approach in support of locating palaeo-coastal sites by combining: (1) geomorphic interpretation of landscape attributes captured by LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) mapping; (2) GIS-based archaeological site potential mapping; and (3) local RSL history. The RSL history for the study site (Quadra Island, British Columbia, Canada) shows notable regression over the past 14,300 years from a highstand of at least 197 m resulting from post-glacial isostatic rebound. Late Pleistocene and early Holocene palaeo-shorelines are found inland from, and elevated above, modern sea level and represent key areas for archaeological prospecting. Bare-earth D...

This is my MA Thesis at WSU on the Ozette Baskets.  I attempted to do two parts of the scientific approach here, (1) observe and describe the 112 ancient Ozette baskets available at the time and (2) classify the basket attributes and types into explicit units of analysis for later use in the third part of the scientific approach (3)  explain and create hypotheses about these basket in comparisons to all other known Northwest Coast wet sites for my Ph.D. dissertation.  I also only do Ozette baskets in this study, and the Ph.D. dissertation also includes Ozette hats and mats.  To use the basket, hats, and mats classification and type designations, PLEASE USE THE 1977 and updated 2019 PH.D. DISSERTATION AS YOUR REFERENCE.  THIS MA HAD DIFFERENT TYPE NUMBER DESIGNATIONS, SO NOT CURRENT FOR COMPARATIVE WORK.

Here's how I describe this work in the original MA Thesis:

INTRODUCTION

The aims of this study are; first, to describe what has been found in the realm of baskets at the 0zette Site (45 CA 24), Cape Alava, Washing­ton; second, to establish a foundation for predicting what should be ex­pected in future excavations of baskets from this time period at 0zette; and third, to establish control of these data so that the 0zette baskets can be compared with both historic and prehistoric baskets in this area and elsewhere. This study will later be expanded to include the other forms of basketry--hats, mats, and cradles--and the cordage and knots at 0zette.

The baskets from 0zette were excavated from beneath a massive mudslide which, in prehistoric time (estimated to be about 500 years ago), covered a section of an occupied Indian village. The cultural material of this village closely resembles the historic materials of the Makah and Southern Nootkan groups. Almost all vegetal artifacts were preserved in a waterlogged environment under the mudslide. At present the area covered by the slide is being excavated and exposed from the seaward edge toward the center. The first longhouse encountered is nearly excavated. All the baskets in this house have not yet been recovered, but a large enough sample is available so that a basic study such as this can be accomplished. The collection of baskets used for this paper numbers 112 specimens [much higher for the 1977, 2019 Ph.D. dissertation]. The collection surely will be several times this size when excavations have been completed.

The universe for this study is from the first buried house exca­vated at Ozette (house B70 in the excavation series). This house is similar to the long shed roof structures of historic Makah, Nootka, and other coastal peoples. It is 66 feet long and about 36 feet wide, or approxi­mately 2,375 square feet in area. Baskets in the house were generally
found around the inside wall, along the bench-bed platform area where most of the household activities took place. Baskets found outside the house were generally broken, discarded ones. This analysis differs from previous studies of basketry in terms of the analytic techniques used. Nonetheless, the various attributes of baskets and the terminology used to describe them are standard and have been developed and used in studies of basketry over the past 70 years.

Abstract:  The Hakluyt Society (founded in 1846) is the premier English historical society when it comes to the Age of Discovery.  Its 2 volume Hakluyt Handbook is a comprehensive guide, first proposed by Dr. R. A. Skelton and Professor D. B. Quinn, consisting of materials and the sources of Richard Hakluyt’s nearly 300 volumes of primary records regarding the Age of Discovery voyages, travels and other geographical material.  In the early 1960’s the Council of the Society set up a committee to work on the project and began enlisting contributors for the guide. After years of hard work by its members, The Hakluyt Handbook was completed and finally published in 1974. The Handbook Preface by C. F. Beckingham, Hakluyt Society President, stated that there had never been a comprehensive study of Rickard Hakluyt’s works along with the background of his sources.  Beckingham’s hope was that the correlation between overlapping disciplines of the handbook be used by various scholars would give rise to further study.  This is one such study.

Recent research in southern Haida Gwaii examining the late pre-contact through maritime fur trade periods indicates that the maritime fur trade increased the Haida focus on the hunting of sea otters, altered the Haida seasonal round, and introduced new items of material culture.  Surprisingly, this period had relatively little impact on the Haida subsistence economy.  Pre-contact Haida subsistence patterns persisted, while most introduced material culture was non-utilitarian or was incorporated into existing cultural practices.  In contrast, European traders were forced to adopt a degree of Haida trade practices, and in many cases were dependent on the Haida to meet their own subsistence needs.

The Qwu?gwes wet site is located at the very head of Puget Sound in Washington State, USA (fig 1). Puget Sound has been referred to as an inland sea, but is better termed as a large glacially cut fjord that is approximately 145km long, running north to south, where the ocean salt water from the Pacific mixes with fresh water draining from the surrounding watersheds. Puget Sound was formed into the north–south fjord it is today by glaciers that advanced from the north at least four times, scouring and carving it for millions of years (Waitt & Thorson 1983). The Vashon Stade was the last major advance, reaching its maximum about 18,000 years ago, covering everything between the Olympic and the Cascade mountains and spreading as far south as our specific region of study. As the Vashon Stade retreated, its melting ice created a massive fresh water lake that released through the Black Lake spillway at the head of Eld Inlet, our site location, and down the Chehalis River drainage to the Pacific Ocean. Once the glaciers melted far enough north, the Straits of Juan de Fuca were open and salt water from the Pacific Ocean entered Puget Sound, making it the salt water ‘inland sea’ it is today (fig 1).

Our research area encompasses the southern reaches of the traditional territory of the Lushootseed-speaking Coast Salish People and language family, sometimes referred to as Puget [Sound] Salish (Suttles & Lane 1990, 485–502; Thompson & Kinkade 1990, 38; fig 1). Few systematic archaeological investigations have occurred in this region, especially in the southern section of Lushootseed traditional territory, so this paper should be considered a much needed synthesis of a well-preserved waterlogged site. Qwu?gwes forms the main reference point for our synthesized presentations, and this work is based on the original papers presented by the authors at the 11th International Wetland Archaeology Research Project (WARP) conference in Edinburgh (21–24 September 2005). This joint investigation of the Squaxin Island Tribe and South Puget Sound Community College has been ongoing for several years and provides both a scientific and cultural perspective of the many findings. Earlier publications stress the basis of this joint co-operative effort and the need for co-ordinated scientific and Native cultural understandings and explanations (Foster & Croes 2002, 2004).

Whaling was a central aspect of Nuu-chah-nulth, Ditidaht and Makah culture on the northwest coast of North America. Not only was it economically important, it was vital to chiefly prestige. Art and ceremonial life were dominated by themes related to whaling. Thunderbird, the great supernatural whaler, was the source of hereditary prerogatives held by chiefs, including names, dances, regalia and rights to display images of thunderbird and whale. This paper argues that human observations of predatory behaviour by orcas (or killer whales) led to these animals also being perceived as non-human whalers from which chiefly prerogatives could be obtained. Wolves, the main figures in Nuu-chah-nulth ceremonial life, had the power to transform into orcas, explaining their frequent presence in the art with thunderbirds and whales. This paper presents archaeological evidence for orca in the context of whaling and offers interpretations based on the extensive ethnographic and oral historical records. It also places perceptions of animals, the role of the hunter’s wife and beliefs about orca in a broader context involving hunting societies in northwestern North America.

Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting

Albuquerque, New Mexico

Saturday, April 13, 2019

[340] Forum · #METOO IN ARCHAEOLOGY (SPONSORED BY SAA ETHICS COMMITTEE)

110 Galisteo

1:00–3:00 PM

Moderators: Heather Thakar, Jason De Leon and Pamela Geller

Participants:
Susan Chandler—Discussant
Christopher Dore—Discussant
Arlen Chase—Discussant
Lisa Lucero—Discussant
Julie Stein—Discussant
David Carballo—Discussant
Barra ODonnabhain—Discussant
Chelsea Fisher—Discussant
Laura Heath-Stout—Discussant
Valorie Aquino—Discussant
Michael Balter—Discussant - Replaced by Ryan Harrod
Heather Thakar—Discussant


Archaeology has for too long offered safe harbor to perpetrators of sexual misconduct, harassment and violence; this has long been known anecdotally and has been confirmed in recent years by more systematic research. Survivors of sexual violence in archaeology may feel pressure to keep silent about their experiences for many (valid) reasons. #MeToo in Archaeology will provide a platform for people to anonymously share their stories of sexual misconduct, sexual harassment, and sexual violence directly experienced on archaeological projects and/or within the archaeological community. A panel of archaeologists will read a selection of representative narratives aloud during this open forum. Making space for survivors to share their stories through the #MeToo conversation does more than simply acknowledge and validate their experiences: this conversation is a first step in a much longer path towards structural change. #MeToo in Archaeology pushes our discipline to confront the work we need to do to make archaeology a more intersectional and more feminist field. When done well, as we aspire to do with this forum, the #MeToo movement and its offshoots commit to an intersectional framework that is sensitive to the dynamics of race, gender, sexuality, and socioeconomic inequality underlying sexual violence.

The Nuu-Chah-Nulth's traditional land has a terrain of mountains that create inlets that flow into the ocean. This allows for food procurement inland through hunting, at inlets through fishing, and out in the ocean through hunting and fishing. Traditionally they have created advanced technologies like fish weirs, whale harpoons, halibut hooks, and herring rakes to more efficiently procure the food that they rely on. In some areas of food procurement like whaling, there are strict rights about who can hunt and ceremonies that must be followed. In important resources, like dog salmon and Salal-berries, procurement areas are owned by individuals.

Using cultural transmission (CT) models, I predicted a shift towards more restricted household learning in a wide range of technologies, not simply the prestige items typically associated with the emergence of peer-elite exchange networks during the Marpole period (2400-1000 BP). According to CT models, restricted access to technical knowledge should result in decreased stylistic and fine-scale metric variation through time in craft traditions. The presence of such a reduction in variation in formal stone tool technologies over time serves as evidence of a shift in learning practices having occurred in concert with the emergence of hereditary inequality. High resolution analyses of formed lithic tools from previously excavated archaeological collections was conducted to examine fine scale stylistic and metric variation in assemblages in sites throughout the Salish Sea. In addition, I also examined the impacts of additional factors on variation often not considered in CT research suc...

From the earliest movements of people onto the Northwest Coast of North America, black Katy chitons (Katharina tunicate) probably provided an important source of animal protein, as well as vitamin A and calcium. Archaeological studies often under-recognize their sometimes substantial contributions to the shellfish diet. A review of the ethnographic literature suggests their importance on the central and north coast; findings include a wide variety of recipes as a special meal, naming of high rank nobility “chiton,” and the very creation of women and all humans in some oral histories. This Native importance may reflect the deep-rooted transformation of this basic resource that helped support the First Peoples. Archaeologist may need to expand their bi-valve studies to better include the contribution of this eight valve/plate mollusk.

Coastal British Columbia is largely a rugged fjord-land archipelago. It has not always been so – over time, the coastline has changed configuration dramatically and the fauna and flora have seen multiple successions and extirpations. Through this, for the last 11,000 RCYBP years at least, resilient people made their living from the ocean and the land, shrugging off or taking advantage of environmental change. Similarly, archaeologists have worked the nooks and crannies of the coast for decades, surveying in the dense forest and digging in the deep middens, subject to similar environmental conditions as those they study and making quiet progress in regional culture histories. In more recent years, this area has been thrust to the forefront of research into the First Peopling of the American continents. As the Clovis First model began to be questioned, alternate modes and routes for the arrival of humans were brought in from the sidelines, including the hypothesized west coast route (e.g. Fladmark 1979). Not much research had been focused on this route, perhaps as Easton (1992) suggests, because of the terrestrial mindset of many archaeologists. Perhaps also, the prospects of finding sites on the deeply drowned landscapes or in the rugged, heavily forested hinterland was prohibitively daunting and led to a pessimistic outlook on success.

This paper is Chapter 3, pp. 35-45, of a 275+ page volume on How do we Reach More?; a free source book on trying to reach the public in the Pacific Northwest of North America: 
https://www.northwestanthropology.com/how-do-we-reach-more
This book is freely available for those that want to see what tended to work or not work in this effort.  Since PNWAS has been around for 36 years, a certain amount of success is demonstrated, including activism possible through a non-profit for education program.

Abstract for Pacific Northwest Archaeological Society (PNWAS) chapter 3:  As originally stated in our founding in 1985, PNWAS is a membership organization that “offers a means for individuals and organizations to declare their support for the preservation of the rich archaeological resources in our region and help to bring public archaeology programs to people of the Pacific Northwest. Benefits of membership include timely information on Northwest archaeological research, a bi-monthly lecture series, and opportunity to participate in professionally supervised research in the Northwest.” PNWAS was incorporated at that time as a non-profit organization in the State of Washington and has remained true to these original objectives. I have been the Executive Director throughout these 36 years, with a President, Vice-President, and other Officers on our Board.

"Croes describes his type of archaeology as 'generationally-linked.'  His collaboratin with Ed Carriere, Suquamish Elder and Master Basketmaker, brings tools of Western science together with Indigenous knowledge and research approaches to gain a deep understanding of the weavings they have recovered.  They are able to see that ancient knowledge has been handed down through hundreds of generations over thousands of years by comparing the ancient baskets to the techniques used by weavers today.

The extraordinary story of the Nahuhulk, a Tlingit/Tsimshian copper artifact of great power, prestige, and value.  This tale narrates the story of the Copper from its forging in a Tlngit village in the 1700s, its acquisition by the chief Wisaiks, and its subsequent dramatic history.

A rchaeological multi-site comparative analyses are a fruitful means of addressing the range and dynamics of spatial trends in human settlement, mobility, interaction, and land use through history. This potential has been recognized in Northwest Coast archaeology in various regionally or sub-

In Journal of Northwest Anthropology Volume 53(1):1–54, archaeologist Gary Wessen published an article on the precontact settlement of the Olympic Peninsula. In that article, entitled, “Makahs, Quileutes, and the Precontact History of the Northwestern Olympic Peninsula, Washington,” were many references to an article by anthropological linguists Dale Kinkade and Jay Powell, published in 1976, called “Language and the Prehistory of North America.” In that article, Kinkade and Powell discussed the utility of historical linguistics for archaeologists, with an example proposing the prehistoric occupation of the Olympic Peninsula based on linguistic evidence. Wessen claimed in his article that the available archaeological evidence contradicts, rather than supports, the arguments by Kinkade (now deceased) and Powell. Below, Powell responds to Wessen, who in turn replies to Powell—an uncommon scholarly dialog by recognized experts.

The tlakwa or Copper is a symbol of surplus wealth, cultural nourishment, conspicuous consumption and spiritual power among the Kwakiutl, the Tsimshian, the Tlingit, the Haida, and other indigenous peoples of coastal British Columbia. Names of high ranking people often contained references to copper, such as “Born to be Copper Maker Woman” and “Copper Maker.” Copper was also used as a decorative motif on garments, staffs, and crest carvings, where it represented wealth. The Copper was made of a large flat sheet of beaten metal cut in the shape of a flared shield, with a T shaped ridge beaten onto the lower portion. The shape perhaps reflects the trunk proportions of the human body, or possibly a filleted salmon. The Tsimshian thought it represented the backbone of an ancestor. The size varied in height from six inches to three feet.

To my chair and supervisor, Colin Grier, thank you for allowing me to work on the dog assemblage and at the Dionisio Point site, and for the guidance, patience, and friendship throughout the process of completing this project. Also to the Penelakut First Nations, thank you for the opportunity to participate in the ongoing work at this fantastic site. To my committee members, Erin Thornton and Brian Kemp, thank you for your comments and enthusiasm throughout this project and beyond. To Dr. Duff and the WSU Department of Anthropology, thank you for keeping me employed.

Substantial contributions to the archaeological study of gender in the Pacific Northwest have been made over the past 30 years. Despite these advances, considerations of gender—particularly those which embrace feminist epistemologies—continue to be markedly lacking. This article surveys gender/feminist approaches to archaeology in the Pacific Northwest by examining archaeological studies of and references to gender in published and grey literature. It also explores regional trends in research presented at annual Northwest Anthropological Conference meetings from 1990 to 2016. Results suggest that a diversity of approaches to exploring gender have been taken but there is considerable work to be done, particularly on the Southern Plateau which has the least engagement with gender, and in the realm of theory where practitioners have been reticent to embrace feminism and its potential for emancipatory change. Archaeologists in the Northwest are well positioned to more effectively embrace gender and feminist perspectives in their practice, mitigate sexism/androcentrism, and contribute
to contemporary discussions about queer/non-binary, female, and male dynamics.

This dissertation examines changes in Haida economic adaptations during the late pre-contact and early contact periods in Haida Gwaii (Queen Charlotte Islands, British Columbia). This was primarily achieved through the analysis of faunal and artifactual assemblages recovered from archaeological excavations at eight village sites in Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve and Haida Heritage Site (southernmost Haida Gwaii). In addition, extensive syntheses of early historic accounts, ethnographic descriptions, and previous archaeological work provide context for the interpretation of the archaeological data and complementary data on the economic responses of the Haida to European contact and the maritime fur trade.

The new archaeological data presented in this dissertation, combined with previously published results, form the basis of a detailed description of the nature of Haida economic adaptations during the late pre-contact period (ca. 500 AD to 1774 AD). Most notably, these data clarify a previously recognized shift from a more generalized, rockfish-oriented economy to a more specialised, salmon focused economy between 1,200 BP and 800 BP. These distinct economic adaptations, now widely demonstrated for southern Haida Gwaii, have been formalized as an earlier Xyuu daw Phase (ca. 2,000 BP to 1,000 BP) and a later Qayjuu Phase (ca. 1,000 BP to contact), both within the previously described late Graham Tradition.

While the maritime fur trade and the incorporation of the Haida into the European capitalist world system increased the focus of the Haida on the hunting of sea otters, altered the Haida seasonal round, and introduced new items of material culture, it had relatively little impact on the Haida subsistence economy. Salmon continued to dominate Haida subsistence, while the majority of the introduced material culture was non-utilitarian or was incorporated into existing cultural practices. In contrast, European traders were forced to adopt a degree of Haida tradition into trade practices, and in many cases were dependent on the Haida to meet their own subsistence needs. More profound changes to Haida culture, including the rise of Haida economic dependency on the world economy, arose during the subsequent period of increasing European encroachment and settlement.

The Cultural Resources Division of the California Department of Parks and Recreation presents Publications in Cultural Heritage, No. 30, titled  Archaeology, Ethnography and Tolowa Heritage at Red Elderberry Place, Chvn-su’lh-dvn, Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park.. This volume is about the Tolowa, their deep past, their more recent history, and their rich cultural heritage as viewed from a single locality within Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park named Chvnsu'lh-dvn (TcuncuLtun), or Red Elderberry Place. Presented within is a unique blend of rigorous archaeological investigation, local history, and ethnography. This volume is the result of three years’ worth of research conducted by California State Parks, National Park Service, University of California, Davis, private cultural resource management firms, and local historical societies in cooperation with the Elk Valley and Smith River Rancherias and the general Tolowa community. The report represents a collaborative study for preserving and interpreting an ancient village site located on the banks of the bucolic Smith River. It contains archaeological, ethnographic, and historical data of this north coast indigenous people. The unique and ongoing partnership between all these parties has led to the discovery and documentation of an extremely long occupational history spanning about 8,500 years. Among other discoveries, this project has revealed the earliest plank houses and the only semi-subterranean sweathouse recorded to date in northwestern California.

A limited number of copies of this publication are available by contacting [email protected] or by calling the Cultural Resources Division at 916-653-2030.

Well-preserved waterlogged/wet archaeological site explorations have revealed a focused use of wood and fiber technologies spanning more than 10,500 years along the Northwest Coast of North America. Major artifact categories represented include those for subsistence (e.g., wooden shank fishhooks and nets), manufacture (e.g., wooden wedges, wood chip debitage, and basketry element debitage), containers (e.g., basketry and wooden boxes/bowls), and tying elements (e.g., cordage and binding elements). The kinds of plants used for tools at different sites are explored. Also, technologies and styles used often reflect long-term cultural continuities in different regions—with focus here on wet sites in the recently renamed Salish Sea shared between British Columbia and Washington state.

The “Beeswax Wreck” is the name historically given to a 17th century source of marked beeswax blocks and candles found along beaches of the north Oregon coast, and particularly the sand spit at Nehalem. This paper summarizes the historical and archaeological data supporting the identification of the Beeswax Wreck as an eastbound Manila galleon lost between 1670 and 1700, and specifically as the Santo Cristo de Burgos lost in 1693. Artifact analysis and archival research indicate the Beeswax Wreck was an Acapulco-bound galleon that wrecked near Nehalem Bay prior to AD 1700. Thought by several researchers to be the wreck of the galleon San Francisco Xavier of 1705, geoarchaeological research and the historically documented occurrence of wreck debris suggest the wreck is most likely the remains of the galleon Santo Cristo de Burgos which sailed from the Philippines on July 1, 1693 and disappeared. Spanish archives are clear that no trace of the vessel was ever found despite years of searching by the Spanish in the Philippines and along the Mexican coast, despite claims by Schurz (1939) and later researchers that the vessel burned in the Marianas Islands as reported by survivors.

During the nineteenth century, the Nuu-chah-nulth of Barkley Sound on Vancouver Island were severely reduced by disease, transformed by political amalgamation, and constrained through reserve allocation. Trade waxed and waned in successive fur, logging, and fishing industries. Yet, through these episodic social and economic shifts, the Nuu-chah-nulth continued to use their traditional territories and resources in creative ways. This thesis evaluates ethnohistorical descriptions of material change through an analysis of post-contact contexts at six village sites in Barkley Sound. Although the Nuu-chah-nulth were engaged in trade with Europeans from the 1780s onward, their material culture did not change dramatically until the last decades of the nineteenth century. The influx of glass, metal, and ceramic goods during this time represents new modes of engagement with non-indigenous economies, but the assemblage remained distinctly Nuu-chah-nulth, as it was reconstituted within sites defined over thousands of years of continuous occupation.