Documenting 6,000 Years of Indigenous Fisheries and Settlement as Seen through Vibracore Sampling on the Central Coast of British Columbia, Canada

Abstract

This article highlights the utility of vibracore technology to sample deep shell midden deposits on the Central Pacific Coast of British Columbia, Canada. Analysis of six core samples and 21 radiocarbon dates revealed that the archaeological deposits extended to a depth of 544 cm below surface and that occupation began approximately 6,000 years ago, continuing into the sixteenth century AD. Zooarchaeological identification of fine screened (2 mm) sediments shows that fish constitute 99.8% of identified vertebrate fauna, with a focus on herring (Clupea pallasii), salmon (Oncorhynchus sp.), rockfish (Sebastes sp.), and greenling (Hexagrammos sp.), followed by a variety of other fish taxa utilized throughout the occupation of this site. Despite a much smaller examined volume relative to conventional excavation, vibracoring was effective in recovering deep, stratigraphically intact, and adequate samples of zooarchaeological fisheries data as well as a considerable number of stone, bone, and shell artifacts (an estimated 550 artifacts per cubic meter of cultural sediments). These results show a persistent and sustainable ancient fishery through six millennia until the contact period. The field and laboratory methods described are especially conducive to sampling large and deep shell midden deposits repetitively.

Estimating Volumes of Coastal Shell Midden Sites Using Geometric Solids

“…As discussed, empirical observations remain vital to refining this 3D shape characterization through systematic coring (Letham et al 2017) and, perhaps, application of geophysical methods (Cariou et al 2018;Kenady et al 2018), although heavily forested sites on the Northwest Coast can be challenging (but see Urban and Carter [2021] for a recent successful application). Coring and auguring provide a good balance of time and effort (Cannon 2000;Duffield et al 2020;Martindale et al 2009;McKechnie 2014), and greater attention to this methodology will allow for refinement of accurate volume calculations in different cultural regions and coastal settings.…”

“…This could shed light on the biomass represented in sites as well as the intensity of site use over time with implications for the modern use of marine resources (cf. Duffield et al 2022; Reeder-Myers et al 2022).…”