Abstract:

Considering the source and context of palaeoethnobotanical remains is a critical component of understanding site formation processes. At the Keatley Creek pithouse village site, located on the British Columbia Plateau, excellent preservation of charred and uncharred botanical remains allowed such an analysis. I examined the abundance and distribution of archaeobotanical remains in the roof, rim and floor deposits of a large, a medium and a small housepit. By considering the source and context of the remains, I was able to reconstruct in detail how these deposits were formed. These results allow cultural interpretations not only of the archaeobotanical remains, but also the other remains recovered from the houses.