The Zooarchaeological Study of Sculpin (Cottidae) at an Ancient W̱SÁNEĆ Village Site

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dc.contributor.authorBartel-Ens, Skye
dc.date.accessioned2025-07-07T21:53:25Z
dc.date.available2025-07-07T21:53:25Z
dc.date.issued2025
dc.description.abstractZooarchaeology, the study of animal remains within an archaeological context, allows us to uncover the human-animal relationships that existed in the past. This zooarchaeological study uses a sample of 2,099 fish bones recovered from the later occupation (15th to 18th centuries) of ȾEL¸IȽĆE, an ancient W̱SÁNEĆ village site, to investigate how the people at this site engaged with the lands and waters around them. Analysis of this pre-contact study sample revealed an anomaly in the abundance of sculpin (Cottidae) at ȾEL¸IȽĆE, when compared with other sites in the Salish Sea. Investigations into why we see so many sculpin at ȾEL¸IȽĆE, and how they were harvested and processed, revealed remnants of an ancient Indigenous sculpin fishery that had been left out of history. Sculpin, making up 64% of the fish at ȾEL¸IȽĆE, were highly abundant in waters along Cordova Bay Beach, leading to their use as a primary and/or supplementary subsistence source for the W̱SÁNEĆ peoples living at this site. Additionally, the abundant presence of sculpin in a prominent hearth feature suggests that the people at ȾEL¸IȽĆE were processing sculpin directly at the site, potentially using pit cook cooking techniques. The ancient sculpin fishery at ȾEL¸IȽĆE was an intentional, well-established subsistence practice, and needs to be incorporated into W̱SÁNEĆ marine use claims and boundaries.
dc.description.reviewstatusReviewed
dc.description.scholarlevelUndergraduate
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/1828/22470
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherUniversity of Victoria
dc.subjectIndigenous
dc.subjectAncient Fishery
dc.subjectSculpin
dc.subjectBullhead
dc.subjectW̱SÁNEĆ
dc.subjectCordova Bay
dc.subjectDepartment of Anthropology
dc.titleThe Zooarchaeological Study of Sculpin (Cottidae) at an Ancient W̱SÁNEĆ Village Site
dc.typeHonours thesis

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Undergraduate Honours Papers (Anthropology)
 
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We acknowledge and respect the Lək̓ʷəŋən (Songhees and Esquimalt) Peoples on whose territory the university stands, and the Lək̓ʷəŋən and W̱SÁNEĆ Peoples whose historical relationships with the land continue to this day.