Coastal and Island Archaeology

This dissertation examines multiple scales of Indigenous history on the Northwest Coast from the disciplinary perspective of archaeology. I focus on cultural lifeways archaeologically represented in two key domains of human existence: food and settlement. The dissertation consists of six individual case studies that demonstrate the utility of applying multiple spatial and temporal scales to refine archaeological understanding of cultural and historical variability on the Northwest Coast over the Mid-to-Late Holocene (ca. 5,000-200 BP). The first of three regionally scaled analyses presents a coast-wide examination of fisheries data indicating that Pacific herring (Clupea pallasii) exhibit a pervasive and previously under-recognized importance in Northwest Coast Indigenous subsistence practices. Next, I use zooarchaeological data from the southern British Columbia coast to identify a pattern of regional coherence in Coast Salish and Nuu-chah-nulth hunting traditions reflecting the scale of intergenerational cultural practice. The third study re-calibrates the settlement history of a small and historically significant locality in Coast Tsimshian territory (Prince Rupert Harbour) to clarify the temporal resolution of existing radiocarbon datasets and test inferences about social and political change. Following this regional exploration of scale, I document site-specific temporal variability in archaeological fisheries data from a Nuu-chah-nulth ‘big-house’ reflecting climatic and socio-economic change. I examine Indigenous oral histories and archaeological datasets to evaluate these parallel records of settlement in the neighbouring territory of an autonomous Nuu-chah-nulth polity before and during the occupation of a large defensive fortress. Finally, I demonstrate how everyday foodways are archaeologically expressed and reflect ecological differences and active management strategies within several spatially associated sites over millennial timescales. These linked case studies offer new clarity into long-standing debates concerning archaeologically relevant scales of cultural-historical variability on the NWC. They collectively demonstrate an enduring regional and temporal coherence for key aspects of Indigenous resource use and settlement and a historical dynamism at finer scales. I argue this has cultural, historical, and archaeological significance as well as relevance for contemporary understandings of the Northwest Coast environment. I conclude that a focus on the pervasive aspects of the everyday over millennia offers insight into individual actions across broader patterns of history.

Although it is now commonplace for archaeologists to study use-alteration patterns on ceramics, the same cannot be said of one of the most ubiquitous classes of hunter-gatherer artifacts, fire-cracked rocks (FCR). It can be shown, however, that many of the same methods and theories applied to the study of cooking ceramics are also relevant to the investigation of rocks used as heating elements. Because use alteration analyses of FCR are so scarce, I describe a range of attributes with the goal of helping researchers identify use alterations (e.g., sooting, reddening, various fracturing patterns) on lithic artifacts from sites worldwide and evaluate their potential function in various cultural practices. These attributes are also outlined in order to create a standardized terminology for describing FCR use-alteration patterns. I discuss my analysis of FCR from three Late Archaic sites (Duck Lake, 913, and 914) on Grand Island in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, followed by an interpretation of their cooking contexts, as a case study. The results indicate great intersite variability among FCR characteristics, cooking methods, and cooking facilities (earth oven, stone boiling, and rock griddle). This use alteration analysis can be applied in archaeological contexts worldwide where similar materials are recovered.

The dynamic environmental history and relative sea level (RSL) changes experienced on the Northwest Coast of North America during the early post-glacial period and the early Holocene resulted in significant archaeological visibility challenges for prospection of early coastal archaeological sites. This study offers an integrated methodological approach in support of locating palaeo-coastal sites by combining: (1) geomorphic interpretation of landscape attributes captured by LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) mapping; (2) GIS-based archaeological site potential mapping; and (3) local RSL history. The RSL history for the study site (Quadra Island, British Columbia, Canada) shows notable regression over the past 14,300 years from a highstand of at least 197 m resulting from post-glacial isostatic rebound. Late Pleistocene and early Holocene palaeo-shorelines are found inland from, and elevated above, modern sea level and represent key areas for archaeological prospecting. Bare-earth D...

Significant archaeological sites along England’s coast and on the foreshores of tidal estuaries are being lost from natural and anthropogenic forces, continually eroded by winds, waves and tidal scour. The Thames Discovery Programme and CITiZAN: the Coastal and Intertidal Zone Archaeological Network work with citizen scientists from local communities to provide systematic responses to these threats to coastal and intertidal archaeology. This paper will compare and contrast the methodologies employed by both projects to involve the public in the monitoring and recording of intertidal archaeological features, including standard single context recording as well as 3D photogrammetry and CITiZAN’s smartphone app, and discuss the implementation of standardised recording and monitoring using crowd-sourced data.

For the last decade, Thames Discovery Programme has worked with volunteer Foreshore Recording and Observation Groups (FROGs) to monitor and record the fragile archaeology of the Greater London Thames foreshore. Since 2015, its sister project CITiZAN has employed similar methodologies on a country-wide scale to record vulnerable sites in detail and regularly monitor their fate. Coastal erosion can rarely be halted but the hope of Thames Discovery Programme and CITiZAN is to involve the public as citizen scientists to help ensure archaeological sites can be recorded before they are destroyed.

geopark naturtejo Meseta Meridional, geology and Paleontology office, centro cultural raiano. Av. Joaquim Morao 6060-101 idanha-a-nova, Portugal 2 Dipartimento di Scienze dell’Antichita, universita di trieste, via lazzaretto vecchio 6, 34123, trieste, italy universita di udine, via Palladio 8, Palazzo Florio, 33100 udine, italy natural history Museum of the lesvos Petrified Forest, Sigri, lesvos island, greece cnrS, cerege, universite Aix-Marseille, europole de l’Arbois, BP 80, 13545, Aix-en-Provence, France corresponding author e-mail: andrea@tracemaker.com

The book (in Estonian) describes the life and lore of the coastal dwellers in north Estonia and Hiiumaa about a century ago. It also includes 32 photographs from the collections of the Eesti Rahvamuuseum (Tartu, Estonia; www.erm.ee) and Nordiska Museet (Stockholm, Sweden; www.nordiskamuseet.se).

See raamatuke talletab ja ühtlasi loob killukese Eesti rannapärimust, keskendudes umbes sajanditagusele argisele ja erilisele Mandri-Eesti ja Hiiumaa põhjarannikul. Sel ajal elasid sealsed rannakülad üle kiireid muutusi, ent rahva mälus oli veel arvukalt eri paikadega seotud lugusid ja uskumusi ning teada kombeid ja tabasid. Isegi kui neid enam vanamoodi ei peetud, seda usinamalt asusid teised neid talletama ja nii on mõndagi värvikat sajandi tagant meieni kandunud. Raamat on pühendatud tänuga kõigile neile, kes mind sellel kogumise teel on juhtinud – 20. sajandi esimesel kolmel kümnendil sündinud randlastele, nende mälestusele.

In a recent ISJ paper, “Island Archaeology: In Search of a New Horizon”, Boomert and Bright (2007) argue that the field of “island archaeology” should be replaced by an “archaeology of maritime identity”. We disagree and counter that although islands share many physical, biological, and cultural similarities with continental coasts, coastal zones also grade uninterruptedly into riverine, lacustrine, and terrestrial landscapes, raising questions about the validity of their concept of the archaeology of maritime identity. In our view, island archaeology (the application of archaeology to island settings), regardless of past biogeographical underpinnings, has made major contributions to understanding the historical ecology, human impacts, and cultural developments of islands around the world. A focus on islands by archaeologists has encouraged scholars to study the history of island and maritime societies within a comparative framework that is useful for breaking out of the often provincial focus on a single island or archipelago.

3D seismic data from the Dogger Bank, North Sea, allow the mapping of Late Pleistocene and Holocene depositional systems in unprecedented detail. The data demonstrate that glacial processes resulted in the development of incised tunnel valley systems during the Weichselian and that these were subsequently modified by fluvial processes in a pro-glacial setting. Subsequently, the Dogger Bank formed an emergent plain during the Holocene with a complex meandering river system, associated tributary or distributary channels and lakes, dominating the region. Prior to the sea level rising sufficiently to submerge the Dogger Bank around 7500 yr ago, the meandering river system was replaced by a dendritic channel network of potential fluvial, estuarine or intertidal origin. As the Holocene depositional features bear no systematic relationship to the bathymetry this study demonstrates that previously published bathymetry-based models for the Holocene palaeogeographic development of the North Sea require modification.

This short news paper article is not written by me, but describes a landscape walk through the northern Netherlands coastal clay area, the former terps area. Oscar Borsen and I introduce the landscape and point out the relics of a dynamic past, many centuries before the dikes were build.

During the Late Holocene, important changes can be identified in the social dynamics of hunter-gatherer populations in different regions of the southern Andes. These transformations are associated with processes of demographic growth, territoriality, increased social complexity, technological innovations, and intensified exploitation of the environment. One of the technological transformations associated with these processes is the popularization of bone instruments. In this study, we discuss the functions of bone tools made by Late Holocene coastal hunters-gatherers of North-Central Chile, by carrying out a morphological characterization and identifying use-wear patterns on their surfaces. Our results show that bone technology was used for hunting, fishing, and gathering activities, from flint working to processing vegetal fibres and hide. A reduce number of artefacts had an ornamental use as well. These results suggest a varied and intensive exploitation of the surrounding space by coastal groups, where bones of land animals constituted an important part of the raw materials used in bone industry. Also, we argue that some bone artefacts were elements structuring social relations, as they participated in flows of information and social networks. We conclude by arguing that the popularization of bone industry reflects the dynamics of social complexity, as well as how bone was integrated as a productive, economic, and social resource in the process of coastal hunters and gatherers who inhabited the area.

On the south coast of British Columbia in shíshálh traditional territory, an ancient burial ground (DjRw-14) contains the remains of richly decorated individuals dated to the Charles culture (4000-3500 B.P.). In addition to other grave offerings, the burials contain stone and shell beads ranging in numbers from hundreds to hundreds of thousands. Associated with these highly decorated burials is a faunal assemblage characterized by a low frequency of marine fauna and a high proportion of land mammal, particularly black-tailed deer. These proportions of animals are considered a-typical of Northwest Coast shell midden deposits and may represent specific mortuary or ritual activities associated with honoring the deceased. With an emphasis on deer remains, a zooarchaeological analysis assesses the possible role of animal remains in mortuary activities. In order to establish if the faunal assemblage from DjRw-14 is indeed unique, with its high frequency of deer remains and low numbers of marine fauna, the site assemblage is considered in comparison to other sites in the Gulf of Georgia with similar cultural components. Ethnographic and archaeological evidence of Coast Salish mortuary practices and beliefs are examined to better understand the ritual acts that took place at DjRw-14. The site ceases to be used as a burial ground with the termination of the Charles Culture, but patterns in fauna remain stable, attesting to the persistence of mortuary traditions. The social and political implications of continuing these traditions are considered in terms of creating and maintaining a social memory and an attachment to an ancestral landscape. The results of this study are critical to better understanding foodways and ritual expression in shíshálh funerary practice. The context in which we find animal remains offers the opportunity to explore expressions of mortuary customs and beliefs within the Salish landscape.

The fifth community archaeology workshop was held in June of 2013 on Cayo Sal in the Los Roques Archipelago, Venezuela. The workshop, designed for the students of the secondary school of Gran Roque Island, was the first historical archaeology initiative of the ongoing community archaeology program and the first initiative of its kind in Venezuela. The experience involved group-building activities and lectures by the team on archaeological methods and the history of Cayo Sal. This was followed by two days of excavation on the 19th-century archaeological site of Cayo Sal, located by the saltpans. Students were given the task of excavating, recording and documenting the dig and the materials as they recovered them in their units. An identification guide of diagnostic artifacts was given to each group which facilitated the understanding of what was being excavated in situ. Following the excavation, the students identified and analyzed the recovered material remains assisted by the archaeologists. Finally, they were encouraged to creatively juxtapose the material evidence and the historical background with their own experiences, to inquire on the quotidian life and work of the 19th-century Cayo Sal salt workers. The schoolchildren empathized with their direct past, identified its similarities and differences with their current realities, and communicated this through lively presentations that were both insightful and transformative for them and the archaeological team.

Slave cabins within two settlements at Bush Camp Field and Behavior on Sapelo Island, Georgia deviate from typical low country Georgia architectural and landscape patterns. Rather than poured tabby duplexes arranged in a linear fashion, excavations in the 1990s by Ray Crook identified two wattle and tabby daub structures—both with slightly different architecture, and both built in an African creolized style. A 2016 University of Tennessee project attempted to locate additional slave cabins in both settlements to test if these structures are pattern or anomaly. LiDAR, historical maps, pedestrian surveys, and shovel tests allowed for the identification of an additional cabin, also made of wattle and tabby daub. Following Crook’s analysis and using Geechee oral history, we argue that the nonlinear cabin placement and creolized African, Caribbean, and European architectural elements are both examples of one end of the spectrum of independence within 19th century low country slavery.

Anatomically Modern Humans (AMHs) dispersed rapidly through island southeast Asia (Sunda and Wallacea) and into Sahul (Australia, New Guinea and the Aru Islands), before 50,000 years ago. Multiple routes have been proposed for this dispersal and all involve at least one multi-day maritime voyage approaching 100 km. Here we use new regional-scale bathymetry data, palaeoenvironmental reconstruction, an assessment of vertical land movements and drift modeling to assess the potential for an initial entry into northwest Australia from southern Wallacea (Timor-Roti). From ∼70,000 until ∼10,000 years ago, a chain of habitable, resource-rich islands were emergent off the coast of northwest Australia (now mostly submerged). These were visible from high points close to the coast on Timor-Roti and as close as 87 km. Drift models suggest the probability of accidental arrival on these islands from Timor-Roti was low at any time. However, purposeful voyages in the summer monsoon season were very ...

This paper presents some preliminary results from a research
project designed to identify, for the first time, prehistoric
occupation sites in Mindoro Occidental, Philippines. The
aim of the project was to identify cave and rockshelter sites
with potential to contain undisturbed Pleistocene deposits
and thus the prospect to enhance knowledge about the
earliest settlement history of modern humans in Southeast
Asia. Over the course of the project a number of previously
unknown prehistoric sites have been recorded in the karst
limestone regions on the islands of Mindoro and Ilin. The
results of the first test excavations indicate that there is high
potential for the recovery of archaeological remains that will
provide exciting new insights into Holocene and Pleistocene
colonisation and economies, as well as the timing of early
settlement episodes in the Philippines. This project now
forms the basis for future collaborative work in the region.