Abstract

The recent discovery of a complete pair of precontact snowshoes (250 BP +/70) in a rockshelter near Hope, B.C. is the first of its kind known in the Pacific Northwest. The snowshoes, made entirely of cedar boughs and bark, provide fascinating information with respect to: technology; the preservation of normally perishable artifacts within protected landscape microfeatures; and the use of upland areas during winter months. The use of snowshoes in such an environment would allow the wearer to cover great distances over terrain which would normally be severely broken or sodden. This should prompt the investigation of areas not conventionally surveyed and encourage investigators to seek out elusive pockets of preservation in an otherwise hostile environment.