'Strata as a Complex Patchwork": Stratification and Stratigraphic Analysis of the Weir Site

Conference Paper

Abstract

The Weir site, located on the Bliss Islands in the insular Quoddy region of southern New Brunswick, is a large deep, complexly and distinctly stratified shell midden in an unusually intact state of preservation. The site was occupied from ca. 2400 B.P. to ca. 1200 B.P. An excavated area of 22m2 contains 15 major layers and features, most of which are internally stratified. The site has been analyzed using the techniques developed by Edward Harris, Principles of Archaeological Stratigraphy. In this paper the stratigraphy of the site is summarized, and some general issues in the stratigraphic analysis of anthropogenic deposits, such as shell middens, are addressed.