A Zooarchaeological Analysis of Housepit 54 at the Bridge River Site (EeRl1), Middle Fraser B.C.

Summary

Housepit 54 at the Bridge River pithouse village in south-central British Columbia provides a glimpse into the complex cultural practices that occurred at this area in the past. This village, which includes approximately 80 semi-subterranean structures, was occupied during four periods, approximately 1800-1600 cal. B.P. (BR 1), 1600-1300 cal. B.P. (BR 2), 1300-1000 cal. B.P. (BR 3), and 610-45 cal. B.P (BR 4), firmly placing the site within both a historic and a pre-Colonial context. It is situated in the Middle Fraser Canyon region of the Canadian Plateau, which encompasses the Fraser and Bridge Rivers as well as the adjacent talus slopes, terraces, mountains and high valleys. The Mid-Fraser offers a plethora of fauna that could have been exploited spanning fish to large ungulates. This study incorporates data from the 2013-2016 excavations at Housepit 54 to examine the zoological remains in order to test alternate hypotheses regarding relationships between animal predation, processing strategies, household population and social dynamics.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)   •
• Complex Fisher-Foragers of the Interior Pacific Northwest: The Housepit 54 Project at Bridge River, British Columbia

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 14355