Geoarchaeology of Lwalb Old Channel One (45KI815), South Park, Seattle, Washington

Summary

Lwalb Old Channel One, a shell midden, spans both sides of an oxbow within the historic Duwamish River floodplain. The oxbow is buried under the streets of the South Park neighborhood, Seattle, Washington. Also called 45KI815, the site’s shell component is light. Therefore, the midden does not mask contemporaneous geomorphological features of the oxbow and surrounding wetland. Visible soil features include the channel; vegetation effects on soil movement; midden migration; possible liquefaction scars; and even old shovel marks, potentially from shellfish harvest. The Duwamish River itself has undergone massive geographical changes. Natural forces governed these changes initially. During the turn of the twentieth century, however, humans significantly altered the landscape. Lwalb Old Channel One’s geoarchaeology opens a window into this transition.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 83rd Annual Meeting, Washington, DC (2018)

Keywords

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 18700