Rock Fortifications: Archaeological Insights Into Precontact Warfare and Sociopolitical Organization Among the Stó:lō of the Lower Fraser River Canyon, B.C.

Whether or not traditional centralized leadership existed among the central Coast Salish of the Gulf of Georgia-Puget Sound Regions is a topic of ongoing interest and debate among archaeologists, social anthropologists, ethnohistorians, and Aboriginal communities. Recent findings in the lower Fraser River Canyon of British Columbia of a unique class of archaeological site—rock fortifications, newly identified on the Northwest Coast—present an opportunity to address this discussion. Description of these features and analysis of their situation within the physical and social landscapes of the Fraser Canyon provides insight into the nature of Stó:lō warfare and defensive strategy. I propose the existence of a multivillage defensive network aimed at regulating access to the entire “Canyon watershed” rather than simply defending individual settlements. I present a “corporate family group” model of sociopolitical organization through which this defensive system operated—representing a minimum level of intercommunity governance traditionally known to the Sto:Lō of the Gulf of Georgia Region. This proposition provides an alternate view to the long-held belief that individual households were the traditional centers of economy, and by extension, of political authority among the Aboriginal peoples of the Northwest Coast. These results affect the current understanding and reconstruction of traditional expressions of Stó: Lō identity engrained in sociopolitical organization.

Climate Change and Culture Change on the Southern Coast of British Columbia 2400-1200 Cal. B.P.: An Hypothesis

The Marpole phase of the Gulf of Georgia, SW British Columbia (2400–1200 cal B.P.) is recognized by many archaeologists as a significant period of culture change. Concurrent with this cultural phase is a climatic regime characterized by a substantial increase in forest fires associated with persistent summer drought: the Fraser Valley Fire Period (FVFP). Culturally, the Marpole phase is characterized by the widespread appearance of large houses, standardized art forms, and elaborate burials. Interactions among people of this region intensified and were, as today, economically, socially, and ideologically linked to the lower Fraser River system. Ecologically, the FVFP likely resulted in a regional decline in salmon abundance and/or predictability, especially in small streams and offshore areas, but also more berries and wildlife, and easier overland access via trail networks. The ecological diversity of the lower Fraser region, both terrestrial and riverine, resulted in both more abundant and more predictable resources than surrounding areas during this period of changing climate. We hypothesize that social and economic networks throughout the Gulf of Georgia were solidified during the Marpole phase to ensure access to Fraser resources and allow social buffering of resource uncertainty. We suggest that the differential availability of resources also allowed and encouraged individuals who had access to Fraser Valley resources to gain relatively greater prestige.

Building Confidence in Shell: Variations in the Marine Radiocarbon Reservoir Correction for the Northwest Coast Over the Past 3,000 Years

In many regions, fluctuations have occurred through time in the local 14C activity of seawater. Evaluating these shifts and their effects on 14C age estimates is difficult, and, as a result, archaeologists working in coastal settings tend to preferentially date charcoal samples over shell. Our research on 18 charcoal–shell pairs from Puget Sound and Gulf of Georgia archaeological sites helps elucidate the spatial and temporal dynamics associated with marine reservoir effects in the Pacific Northwest. This analysis suggests that between 0 and 500 B.P. the regional correction value (ΔR) is 400 years, which agrees with the modern value determined by Stuiver and others. Between 500 and 1200 B.P., however, ΔR dips close to zero, possibly reflecting a decrease in offshore upwelling. From 1200 to 3000 B.P., ΔR returns to 400 years. These data are presented as a Puget Sound/Gulf of Georgia regional correction curve for the late Holocene, which local researchers may use to calibrate dates of marine shell. In addition, we detail our methods for constructing calibration curves and present guidelines for archaeologists working in other coastal settings to develop calibration curves for their regions.

Microblades: A Long-Standing Gulf of Georgia Tradition

Recent excavations in the Gulf of Georgia region have added microblades and microcores to assemblages of the Locarno Beach and Marpole culture types. The production of microblades is now seen as a regional tradition lasting from at least 1200 B.C. until around A.D. 400. Persistence of this technology may indicate more continuity of culture growth than has until now been ascribed to the Gulf of Georgia sequence.