Format: In-Person
Author(s):

• Bryn

  Letham

  - Simon Fraser University
• Duncan

  McLaren

  - Department of Anthropology, University of Victoria; Cordillera Archaeology
• Daryl

  Fedje

  - Department of Anthropology, University of Victoria
• Christopher F.G.

  Hebda

  - Hakai Institute
• Angela

  Dyck

  - Cordillera Archaeology
• Alisha

  Gauvreau

  - Associate Principal, Community & Culture, Two Worlds Consulting
• Jim

  Stafford

  - Coast Interior Archaeology

The Northwest Coast has been recognized for decades as a key route into the American continents following the Last Glacial Maximum, as well as deep-time homeland to coastal First Nations living along the coast through to today. Paleoenvironmental evidence indicates that the coast was navigable and hospitable to humans coming from Beringia perhaps several millennia before any overland route from north to south. Despite a widening rejection of the ‘Ice Free Corridor’ hypothesis for the earliest peopling of North America, and a generally more popular embrace of the ‘Pacific Coastal Route’ hypothesis, it remains that no archaeological site on the Northwest Coast has yet been identified with reliable dates to empirically ‘put the nail in the coffin’ of the debate. In this presentation we review current archaeological evidence for late Pleistocene occupation of the Northwest Coast and critically reflect on the strength of the different types of evidence. We discuss where we think archaeologists might productively turn to attempt to push the chronology of human occupation beyond the temporal boundaries required to settle the age-old debate.

Format: In-Person
Author(s):

• Duncan

  McLaren

  - Cordillera Archaeology Inc.; Department of Anthropology, University of Victoria
• Rebecca

  Wigen

  - Pacific Identifications
• Bryn

  Letham

  - Department of Archaeology, Simon Fraser University
• Christopher F.G.

  Hebda

  - Hakai Institute
• Daryl

  Fedje

  - Department of Anthropology, University of Victoria
• Mark

  Hunt

  - Quatsino First Nation
• Richard

  Hebda
• Lindsay

  Worden

  - Department of Geography, University of Victoria
• Jim

  Stafford

  - Coast Interior Archaeology
• Angela

  Dyck

  - Cordillera Archaeology Inc.

Gah-ahs-galx-hahx is a limestone cave on northern Vancouver Island where we undertook controlled excavations to investigate late Pleistocene faunal remains found there during initial testing. Pollen and spore assemblages, fauna, lithics, and 41 radiocarbon ages reveal it preserves remains that date to the late Pleistocene and early Holocene. Six stratigraphic units are present with deposition beginning at the following median ages: I) 10,010 cal BP; II) 10,900 cal BP; II/III) 11,520 cal BP; III) 13,880 cal BP; IV) 14,340 cal BP; and V) 14,480 cal BP. The oldest stratum includes the remains of black bear, brown bear, marmot, and salmon. Mountain goat and red fox, no longer present on Vancouver Island, appear soon after. Cultural material first appears in Stratum IV. A bear humerus directly dated to 14,020-13,612 cal BP exhibits clear cut marks and further indicates a late Pleistocene human presence at the cave, a time characterized by a tundra-like wooded environment. This environment is shown to have supported large land mammals and salmon as early as 14,800 years ago with people arriving shortly thereafter.

Format: In-Person
Author(s):

• Laura

  Termes

  - Simon Fraser University
• Dr. Michael

  Richards

  - Simon Fraser University

The BC Megafauna Project presents a synthesis of the temporal and geographic distribution of mammoth (Mammuthus sp.) remains in the Late Pleistocene of British Columbia. Through a systematic survey of existing specimens and identification of new remains, 40 individuals were radiocarbon dated, producing a six-fold increase in the known chronological range of mammoths in BC. New genomic data further illuminate the interconnectivity of mammoths across the central and southern interior regions, highlighting a potentially rich faunal corridor west of the Rockies.

Format: In-Person
Author(s):

• Angela

  Younie

  - Far Western Anthropological Research Group, Inc.
• Evelynn

  Combs

  - Healy Lake Tribal Council
• Heather

  Smith

  - Texas State University
• Elaine

  Chu

  - Texas State University
• Ted

  Goebel

  - University of Kansas
• Kelly

  Graf

  - University of Kansas

Chindadn bifaces have long been seen as a mystery in terms of their shape, use, and relationship to archaeological patterns throughout Beringia. We conducted analysis using geometric morphometrics (GM), which statistically explores significant patterns in the shape of projectile points, but found the simple Chindadn shape makes it a poor candidate for traditional landmark approaches. Here we present an analysis of Chindadn point shape using Elliptical Fourier analysis as an alternative to landmark GM and test if chronological, geographical, and technological factors influence variation in an assemblage including points from the Tanana and Nenana River valleys. We also discuss how future research for this project has been designed to incorporate community learning and heritage management at Healy Lake Village, where Chindadn was originally defined. Finally, we will discuss research by coauthor Evelynn Combs on the inclusion, and exclusion, of indigenous perspectives in official anthropological narratives, and how the story of Healy Lake reflects these issues.

Format: In-Person
Author(s):

• Martin

  Magne

  - Ecofoc Consulting BC Limited, Retired Parks Canada
• Zebedee

  Kawei

  - Ecofor Consulting BC Limited
• Joss

  Clifford

  - Ecofor Consulting BC Limited
• Bob

  Dawe

  - Royal Alberta Museum

The Tlingit Homeland Energy Limited Partnership is building the Atlin Hydro Expansion Project in northwestern British Columbia to supply the Yukon energy grid. Ecofor Consulting BC Ltd. has undertaken archaeological impact assessment and mitigation studies within the Surprise Lake - Pine Creek project corridor since 2021, recording 59 new sites, revisiting 8 previously recorded sites, and undertaking mitigative excavations at 32 of these. The assemblages include several with well represented microblade technology, others with Northern Archaic material, and a few with intriguing lanceolate points strongly comparing to Mesa and possibly Sluiceway complexes from Alaska. These complexes are thought to represent a Late Pleistocene/ Early Holocene “Paleoindian” tradition that dates 12,900 to 11,200 years Cal BP. This paper offers morphological and metric data for the THELP project Mesa/Sluiceway projectile points and discusses implications of a possible focus of these complexes in this region.

Format: In-Person
Author(s):

• Zebedee

  Kawei

  - Ecofor Consulting Ltd, Lakehead University
• Clarence

  Surette

  - Wanikan Archaeology and Analytical Services, Lakehead University

In archaeology, it is often difficult to determine the precise uses and functions of artifacts. Tackling this challenge requires multiple lines of evidence and thus, the inevitable application of diverse analytical approaches. This study examines two contrasting artifacts: one identified as an obvious tool type, and the other considered more ambiguous in function. By applying targeted microanalytical techniques, this research highlights the methodological considerations and challenges associated with different artifact types, ultimately aiming to improve interpretations of function as well as contributions to a more nuanced understanding of past human behavior.

Format: In-Person
Author(s):

• Robin

  Woywitka

  - MacEwan University

The role of the ice-free corridor in the study of the peopling of the Americas fluctuates. The corridor was a central component of the “Clovis-first” model that lost support around the turn of the 21^st century in favour of late glacial dispersals following the west coast. More recent work has focused on determining the timing of the viability of the corridor, the spread of lithic technology into the region, and the potential for pre-LGM dispersals. There are also researchers that still support the corridor as the initial route into the Americas ca. 13,000 years ago. Despite its prominence in models of human dispersal, the age of human occupation in the corridor is constrained by ages from very few radiometrically dated sites. This paper presents age modeling of published ages associated with these sites to better constrain the interval within which humans are known to have inhabited the corridor. The results are discussed in the broader context of peopling of the Americas studies and used to develop survey designs geared to finding additional Late-Pleistocene sites in the region.

Format: In-Person
Author(s):

• Nicholas

  Woolsey

  - Lakehead University
• Jessica

  Metcalfe

  - Lakehead University

Stable isotope analyses of ancient animal remains provide insights into how animals utilized changing habitats over time. In Alberta, tracking environmental change within the ‘corridor’ between the receding Laurentide and Cordilleran ice sheets is important for understanding subsequent interactions of flora, fauna, and people. In this study, we use Pleistocene and Holocene bison (Bison spp) bones to characterize isotopic differences between grassland, parkland, and boreal forest regions of northern and central Alberta. So far, our results suggest predictable decreases in δ¹⁵N and δ¹³C values for C₃-dominated habitats at sequentially higher latitudes, potentially due to increased canopy cover. Meanwhile, δ³⁴S values do not show predictable variation across the locations we have studied. Using these habitat-related variations and modern north-central Alberta bison as a baseline, we can interpret temporal changes in bison diets and habitats in particular geographic areas. Our future work will focus on the Peace region of northwestern Alberta because of its central importance as one of the first areas to be deglaciated, and because it is the traditional territory of our community partners.

Format: In-Person
Author(s):

• Grace

  Kohut

  - Lifeways of Canada Limited, Calgary, Canada
• Vanessa

  Ockerman

  - Department of Anthropology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada
• Tatiana

  Nomokonova

  - Department of Anthropology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada

The Fletcher Site, a well-known Cody occupation in Southeastern Alberta, is one of the oldest bison communal hunting locations in the province. It has been subject to multiple phases of excavation over the decades, including the earliest headed by Richard Forbis in the 1960’s. Our study, and the topic of this presentation, revisits the materials recovered during excavations from 1963-1964 in which nearly 56,000 fragments of bone have been unassessed until now. Through zooarchaeological analysis, insights into Cody Period peoples’ reliance on bison are explored, including herd demographics, bone modification, and skeletal portion quantification. Additionally, we present an updated radiocarbon date for this site, directly on bone, establishing the Fletcher Site as one of the oldest among Cody Complex sites at 11,600-8,785 cal. BP. These findings represent an important record in understanding Indigenous peoples’ relationship to bison in the Early Holocene.

Format: In-Person
Author(s):

• John

  Ives

  - University of Alberta

One might expect early Clovis or stemmed point populations moving northward into the deglaciating Corridor to create a lithic “founder effect” as toolkits made with high quality Idaho obsidians, Montana cherts and porcellanites, and North Dakota Knife River Flint entered the archaeological record. With one exception, a Montana chert assemblage from Ni’taiitsskaa (DhPg-8, the Lone Fighters site, formerly known as Wally’s Beach), the opposite is true: fluted and stemmed points are overwhelmingly made of locally sourced, generally poorer quality toolstones in southern and central Alberta; tools were heavily maintained. In northwestern Alberta and northeastern British Columbia’s Peace Country, the pattern shifted to extravagant use of regionally available high-quality cherts and quartzites. Despite these patterns, there are isolated early period instances of Alaska, Idaho and Oregon obsidian occurring within Alberta. A contrary trend is apparent by Cody Complex times: Knife River Flint becomes a dominant raw material, even at distances of more than 1,000 km from the source area. Terminal Pleistocene populations entering the Corridor from the south seem quickly to have been relatively isolated in attractive new settings they inhabited permanently, although not without some extraordinary instances of long-distance obsidian transport. The Cody Complex era featured sustained, far-ranging social interactions.