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Museum of Archaeology & Ethnology

Museum of Archaeology & Ethnology / Exhibits / Past Exhibits / Charlie Lake Cave / Additional Photographs

CHARLIE LAKE CAVE more  -->

A view of Charlie Lake.
A view of the Charlie Lake Cave site from the air. The site itself is situated between the sandstone bedrock cliff face (background) and a large chunk of sandstone (foreground) that detached from the rock face. Between the rock face and the large sandstone chunk, a deep rift was filled with archaeological sediments. The cave is hidden beneath the plastic shelter. The area above the rock face also contained some archaeological debris but most cultural materials had been washed downslope into the rift.
Excavations in 1990 began in May. A clear plastic shelter was erected to protect the site from the rain. Later in the season, a dark cover was erected to protect the excavators from the sun. Excavations were undertaken in natural levels -- that is, we tried to peel off layers in the reverse order that they were laid down. In this way, the history of the cultural and natural processes that formed the site could be recorded. All material excavated from the site was passed through 1/8 inch screen (seen in the foreground) to recover even small remains. Sediment samples were taken from each natural level and were analysed in detail at Simon Fraser University.

EXCAVATIONS

Dick Gilbert excavates a bison bone from deep in the site's deposits. Preservation of animal bone at the site was surprisingly good -- this piece of bone is over 6,000 years old and is as solid as the day it became deposited on the ancient , now buried, ground surface. Analysis of animal bone can often provide clues about the activities of people who occupied archaeological sites but left no written record.
Measurements were taken along the face of the large sandstone buttress as well. Here Martin Handly and Greg Sullivan record details that will later be translated into a profile drawing. Using the recorded information from the excavations, and the detailed profile drawings, the archaeological site can be 'virtually' reconstructed to provide a model showing the location in three dimensions of everything that was recovered from the site.
The process of excavation requires a variety of tools and techniques. Most digging is done by hand with small trowels but occasionally the buried sediments are so hard that hammers and geologist's picks are required to loosen the deposits so they can be removed. The archaeologist's tool kit usiually includes a variety of trowels, dental picks, spoons, brooms and brushes, mirrors, flash lights, and all sorts of make-shift gadgets for solving excavating problems

Early in the excavations, we realized that identifying the different natural layers in the excavated profile was going to be difficult so we began labelling each layer on the profile itself. As each excavation unit was completed, a detailed drawing of all the layers on each standing profile was drawn to scale.  Because the process of excavation itself is destructive, a complete record of all aspects of the excavations was maintained that included drawings and photographs of the various levels and profiles. The exact location in the site of each piece of cultural material was recorded and correlated to its natural layer.  Samples of every type were taken and are presently archived in a controlled environment for analysis at some later date.  The process of analysing the data from the excavation can take years; but, as a general rule, every hour in the field will require 8 to 10 hours of preliminary analysis.

The cultural deposits at Charlie Lake Cave were almost 4 meters deep. Here, some of the natural layers can be seen in the excavated profile as it is prepared for drawing.

The 1990 crew goes on a field trip. Fortunately we left a trail of bread crumbs to help us get back to camp.

Here, the camp director, Jon Driver, and Martin Handly are shown knitting a large sweater out of rope. 

We had to build a jail in the back of the pickup for archaeologists who were acting up. Unfortunately, they outwitted us by 'climbing over the wall'.