Ancient Clam Gardens and Ecological Enhancement on Northern Quadra Island, BC

Summary

Clam gardens, anthropogenic rock-walled terraces built at the lowest intertidal, are part of an ancient system of mariculture of the Indigenous people of the Northwest Coast of North America. The construction of clam gardens increased shellfish production by increasing ideal clam habitat and creating substrate preferred for clam growth. On Northern Quadra Island, where there is a dense concentration of clam gardens, we assess bivalve productivity of clam gardens by 1) calculating how much clam habitat is created by constructing clam garden terraces; and 2) comparing the growth rate of clam shells from clam gardens with those from non-cultural contexts. In Kanish Bay, over 80 clam garden features result in an increase of 20,000 to 34,000m2 of clam habitat. Butter clam (Saxidomus gigantea) specimens spanning 11,500 years allow us to analyze patterns of clam growth throughout Holocene. By expanding our ecological understanding of clam gardens, this analysis enhances our understanding of the extensive ecological knowledge of marine environments held by coastal First Nations. 

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)   •
• Traps, Weirs, Ponds, and Gardens: Exploring the Social and Ecological Significance of Aquatic Subsistence Features

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 15448