Use of Faunal Analysis to Examine Seismic Disturbance at 45WH10 in Birch Bay, Washington

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2023: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Faunal analysis and taphonomic observations of marine invertebrates in a legacy collection from 45WH10 in Birch Bay, Washington, demonstrated a shift in taxonomic abundance that we hypothesize may be indicative of seismic activity such as an earthquake-induced tsunami. Samples from three units showed a significant shift in the abundance of Nucella gastropods and Saxidomus bivalves, taxa that occupy different habitats. A high concentration of Nucella with postmortem bioerosion in specific levels suggests that they were not deposited as a result of human activity. In conjunction with the abrupt shift in taxa, this could be indicative of a natural high energy event related to tectonic activity on the Birch Bay Fault.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• SAA 2023: Individual Abstracts   •
• Society for American Archaeology 88th Annual Meeting, Portland, OR (2023)

Keywords

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 37280.0