Long-term culture landscape development at (EkTb-9) Triquet Island, British Columbia, Canada

Summary

EkTb-9, a Heiltsuk First Nation village site located on Triquet Island, British Columbia, Canada, has an occupation span of over 11,500 calendar years. Archaeological and palaeo-environmental research indicates that local sea level was relatively stable during that time. EkTb-9 is rich in archaeology strata including a five meter deep shell midden and nearby water-logged deposits which contains perishable materials, most notably parts of bent wood and compound fish-hooks and wooden bi-point technology. Preliminary faunal analysis suggests that diversified marine-based subsistence occurred for millennia; although shell is mostly absent from the peat deposits, an abundance of periostracum reveals that shellfish were intensively used over time, and that an early focus on sea mammal hunting later shifted to fishing rockfish and other species between 7,000-5,000 BP. Two distinct layers of sand revealed in the stratigraphy suggest that the site experienced two extreme high tide and/or tsunami events. This data, coupled with Heiltsuk First Nation’s rich oral traditions and system of prerogatives, is used to explore and build on the notion of "persistent places" and to gain a more thorough understanding of land use and occupation of the region from the early Holocene until the present day.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)   •
• Archaeology of Stranded, Intertidal, and Submerged Shorelines on the Northwest Coast of North America

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 16304