Canadian Journal of Archaeology Volume 30, Issue 2

Journal canadien d'archéologie volume 30, numéro 2

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Articles
Book Reviews/Comptes-rendus
Editors Notes/Notes du rédacteur

Articles

Methodological Issues in the Use of Tsimshian Oral Traditions (Adawx) in Archaeology – Andrew Martindale

Abstract

Tsimshian oral records, called adawx, provide an example of the storytelling capacity within a system that has structuring and, thus, historically translatable referents. Although many can be anticipated, here I focus on chronological order and the creation of a relative sequence of events in the adawx that provide an index to history and the most obvious conjunction to archaeological analyses. I argue that the use of significant moments in history as a means of creating chronological order in oral records may be a universal attribute of cultural historiography that is derived from our use of events as touchstones of memory, a phenomenon that seems to be an aspect of all contextualizations of history.

Résumé

La tradition orale des Tsimshian, appelée adawx, est un exemple de la capacité de production de contes au sein d’un système structurant qui a donc des référents traduisibles en termes historiques. Cet article se concentre sur l’ordre chronologique et la création de séquences relatives d’événements dans l’adawx qui fournissent un index historique et donc la conjoncture la plus évidente pour les analyses archéologiques. L’utilisation de moments historiquement significatifs comme moyen de créer un ordre chronologique dans le registre oral est peut-être un attribut universel de l’historiographie qui dérive de notre utilisation d’événements comme aide-mémoire, un phénomène qui semble présent dans toutes les contextualisations de l’histoire.

Indigenous Historic Archaeology of the 19th-Century Secwepemc Village at Thompson’s River Post, Kamloops, British Columbia – Catherine C. Carlson

Abstract

This paper explores the way that theoretical ideas, particularly those situated in post-colonial theory, inform interpretations about Indigenous peoples’ contacts with fur traders in the Canadian Plateau of British Columbia in the early 19th century. The theoretical discourse on the archaeology of colonialism frames the interpretation of an archaeological excavation of an historic Secwepemc (Shuswap) village associated with an early Hudson’s Bay Company fur trade post at Kamloops established in 1811. Following a decade of seasonal trading, a permanent trading post was built in 1821, and a new Secwepemc village was established adjacent to it. House features, faunal remains, and material culture were recovered from the site (EeRc–22) during four field seasons of excavation. An overview of historical and ethnographic texts provides additional information pertaining to Aboriginal peoples on the Plateau during the historic period. The excavations of both the village, containing traditional circular semi-subterranean pithouses, and the adjacent trading post have provided comparative evidence of trading relations and cultural continuity and change in Indigenous and fur trader households in the first three decades of contact at Kamloops.

Résumé

Cet article explore la manière dans laquelle les cadres théoriques, notamment ceux issus de la théorie post-coloniale, vont influencer les interprétations que les archéologues font des contacts entre populations autochtones et commerçants de fourrure sur le Plateau canadien de la Colombie-Britannique au 19e siècle. La fouille archéologique d’un village historique Secwepemc (Shuswap), associé à un poste de traite des fourrures de la Compagnie de la Baie d’Hudson établi en 1811, est interprétée dans le cadre d’un discours théorique associé à l’archéologie du colonialisme. Après une décennie de commerce saisonnier, un poste de traite permanent a été construit en 1821 et un nouveau village Secwepemc a été établi à proximité. Quatre campagnes de fouilles sur ce site (EeRc–22) ont révélé des vestiges d’habitations, des restes fauniques, ainsi que divers éléments de la culture matérielle. Une revue des documents historiques et ethnographiques révèle des informations additionnelles sur les populations autochtones du Plateau au cours de la période historique. Les fouilles menées au poste de traite et aux deux villages, lesquels contiennent des habitations circulaires semi-souterraines, fournissent des données comparatives sur les relations commerciales, de même que sur les éléments de continuité et de changement dans les maisonnées des autochtones et des marchands de fourrure pendant les trois premières décennies de la période du contact à Kamloops.

Gender, Grave Goods and Status in British Columbia Burials – Meghan Burchell

Abstract

A gender-based analysis of burials from the coast of British Columbia shows that there are no significant differences in the frequency of burial, or grave goods between male and female burials. A total of 1,130 burials were examined to identify any differences in age, sex, and grave good types. When examined regionally, within the south, central and north coasts, local patterns in mortuary treatment become apparent. Although the results for the north and south coasts show no difference in the overall frequency of grave goods between males and females, it does show that the south coast has more burials with grave goods and especially burials with ornamental inclusions. The regional differences in mortuary practices are explored through a discussion of descent systems, social structure, and the influence of conflict on mortuary ritual.

Résumé

Une analyse basée sur le genre de sépultures provenant des côtes de la Colombie-Britannique démontre qu’il n’y a pas de différence significative dans la fréquence d’enterrement ou entre le mobilier funéraire des inhumations masculines et féminines. Au total, 1,130 sépultures ont été examinées pour identifier les différences d’âge, le sexe et le type de mobilier funéraire. Sur une base régionale, soit dans les régions de la côte du sud, de la côte centrale, ou de la côte du nord, les modèles locaux dans le traitement mortuaire deviennent évidents. Les résultats pour les côtes du nord et du sud ne montrent aucune différence dans la fréquence du mobilier funéraire entre les hommes et les femmes. Les sépultures de la côte du sud ont révélé plus de mobilier funéraire et particulièrement avec des inclusions ornementales. Les différences régionales dans les pratiques mortuaires sont explorées à travers une discussion des systèmes de filiation, de la structure sociale, et de l’influence du conflit sur les rites funéraires.

The Fauna from Ma’acoah (DfSi–5), Vancouver Island, British Columbia: An Interpretive Summary – Gregory G. Monks

Abstract

This paper summarizes the results of basic faunal identification and quantification at the Ma’acoah Site (DfSi–5) from Barkley Sound on the west coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Trends in faunal exploitation over time within the site are considered, and the relation of this assemblage to those of neighbouring sites is discussed. Three periods of faunal deposition are noted, with the most recent showing a dramatic increase in the abundance of taxa that are ethnographically described as important to the Nuu-chah-nulth. In particular, the recent increase in salmon and herring and corresponding decline in rockfish is noted. The data suggest that complex demographic and social processes have been ongoing among the Nuu-chah-nulth and that their subsistence and settlement patterns are equally complex and variable over time and space.

Résumé

Cet article résume les résultats de l’identification et la quantification sommaire des restes fauniques du site Ma’acoah (DfSi–5) situé dans Barkley Sound, sur la côte ouest de l’île de Vancouver. Des tendances dans l’exploitation faunique à travers le temps sont considérées et la relation entre cet assemblage et ceux des sites voisins est abordée. Trois périodes de déposition faunique sont observées, la plus récente démontrant une augmentation dramatique des taxons dont l’importance a été reconnue ethnographiquement pour les groupes Nuu-chah-nulth. Plus particulièrement, nous notons une augmentation récente des saumons et des harengs, accompagnée d’une diminution des sébastes. Ces données suggèrent que des processus démographiques et sociaux complexes ont marqué les Nuu-chah-nulth, et que les stratégies de subsistance et les schèmes d’établissement sont également complexes et variables dans le temps et l’espace.

Book Reviews/Comptes-rendus

Haida Gwaii: Human History and Environment from the Time of Loon to the Time of the Iron People (Daryl W. Fedje, and Rolf W. Mathewes, editors) – reviewed by Kenneth M. Ames

Prehistoric Native Americans and Ecological Change: Human Ecosystems in Eastern North America Since the Pleistocene (Paul A. Delcourt, and Hazel R. Delcourt) – reviewed by Gayle J. Fritz

Human Sacrifice, Militarism, and Rulership: Materialization of State Ideology at the Feathered Serpent Pyramid, Teotihuacan (Saburo Sugiyama) – reviewed by Helen R. Haines

The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Hunters and Gatherers (Richard B. Lee, and Richard Daly, editors) – reviewed by Donald Holly H. Jr.

Keeping It Living: Traditions of Plant Use and Cultivation on the Northwest Coast of North America (Douglas Deur, and Nancy J. Turner, editors) – reviewed by Natasha Lyons

Desert Peoples: Archaeological Perspectives (Peter Veth, Mike Smith, and Peter Hiscock, editors) – reviewed by Laurie A. Milne

A History of the Native People of Canada: Volume III, Part 1 (A.D. 500–European Contact) (James V. Wright) – reviewed by William C. Noble

Since Time Immemorial, “Our Story”: The Story of the Kitigan Zibi Anishinàbeg (Stephen McGregor) and Algonquin Traditional Culture: The Algonquin of the Kitchissippi Valley: Traditional Culture at the Early Contact Period (Kirby J. Whiteduck) – reviewed by Jean-Luc Pilon

The North Coast Prehistory Project Excavations in Prince Rupert Harbour, British Columbia: The Artifacts (Kenneth M. Ames) – reviewed by Katherine A. Patton

Myth of the Archaic State: Evolution of the Earliest Cities, States, and Civilizations (Norman Yoffee) – reviewed by Robert M. Rosenswig

Chasing Reality: Strife over Realism (Mario Bunge) – reviewed by Bruce G. Trigger

Bison Ethology and Native Settlement Patterns During the Old Women’s Phase on the Northwestern Plains (Trevor Richard Peck) – reviewed by Michael C. Wilson

Editors Notes/Notes du rédacteur

Editor's Notes: On historical relativity in archaeology – George P. Nicholas

British archaeologist Jacquetta Hawkes' now-famous statement that "each generation gets the Stonehenge it deserves—or desires" (1967: 174) encapsulates the contextualized nature of archaeological inquiry and its relation to the values of its day—whenever that time was or is. Since "the present" is something always in motion, so too is our point of reference. As novelist William Gibson has noted, "I only know that the one constant in history is change." The past changes. Our version of the past will interest the future to about the extent we’re interested in whatever past the Victorians believed in. It simply won’t seem very relevant (2003: 57). This essay is concerned with the degree to which "our version of the past" may reflect contemporary social trends, rather then being a completely objective (i.e., value-free) endeavor.

Languages

Canadian Archaeological Association / Association Canadienne d'Archéologie

Canadian Journal of Archaeology Volume 30, Issue 2

Articles

Book Reviews/Comptes-rendus

Editors Notes/Notes du rédacteur