Ochre Quarrying as Placemaking in British Columbia

Summary

In coastal and interior British Columbia, ochre was a key component of local traditional knowledge among hunter-fisher-gatherer communities. Ochre pigment quarries are found in alpine, lowland, and alluvial geologic deposits, and each are uniquely storied locations that carry ideas about history, tradition, and place. The procurement, trade, and use of ochre from each of those locations is deliberate, and embedded within a complex set of ideas and decision-making. Provenance-based analysis of ochre quarries and artifacts from associated archaeological sites has demonstrated continuity and change in the use of specific sources, preferential selection of some quarries over others, as well as variability in the extent and direction of ochre exchange networks.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Traditional Knowledge and Lithic Resources   •
• Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)

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Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 15316