Documenting 6,000 years of Indigenous fisheries and settlement as seen through Vibracore sampling on the Central Coast of British Columbia, Canada
Date
2022-01
Authors
Duffield, Seonaid
Walkus, Jennifer
White, Elroy
McKechnie, Iain
Mackie, Quentin
McLaren, Duncan
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
American Antiquity
Abstract
This article highlights the utility of vibracore technology to sample deep shell midden deposits on the Central Pacific Coast of British Columbia, Canada. Analysis of six core samples and 21 radiocarbon dates revealed that the archaeological deposits extended to a depth of 544 cm below surface and that occupation began approximately 6,000 years ago, continuing into the sixteenth century AD. Zooarchaeological identification of fine screened (2 mm) sediments shows that fish constitute 99.8% of identified vertebrate fauna, with a focus on herring (Clupea pallasii), salmon (Oncorhynchus sp.), rockfish (Sebastes sp.), and green- ling (Hexagrammos sp.), followed by a variety of other fish taxa utilized throughout the occupation of this site. Despite a much smaller examined volume relative to conventional excavation, vibracoring was effective in recovering deep, stratigraphically intact, and adequate samples of zooarchaeological fisheries data as well as a considerable number of stone, bone, and shell artifacts (an estimated 550 artifacts per cubic meter of cultural sediments). These results show a persistent and sustainable ancient fishery through six millennia until the contact period. The field and laboratory methods described are especially con- ducive to sampling large and deep shell midden deposits repetitively.
Description
Keywords
Northwest Coast, zooarchaeology, vibracore, shell midden, fauna
Citation
Duffield, Seonaid, Jennifer Walkus, Elroy White, Quentin Mackie, Iain McKechnie, and Duncan McLaren 2022 Documenting 6,000 years of Indigenous fisheries and settlement as seen through Vibracore sampling on the Central Coast of British Columbia, Canada. American Antiquity 87(1):168–183.