> Archaeologists study little known Sunshine Coast site
Archaeologists study little known Sunshine Coast site
Contact:
Dana Lepofsky, 604.414.4457 (from June 6 on); dana_lepofsky@sfu.ca
John Welch, welch@sfu.ca
Marianne Meadahl, PAMR, 778.782.4323/3210 (to help arrange interviews before or after June 6)
Dana Lepofsky, 604.414.4457 (from June 6 on); dana_lepofsky@sfu.ca
John Welch, welch@sfu.ca
Marianne Meadahl, PAMR, 778.782.4323/3210 (to help arrange interviews before or after June 6)
June 2, 2008
Archaeologists from Simon Fraser University and members of the Tla’Amin First Nation on the Sunshine Coast will begin working together this summer to uncover details about the region’s rich archaeological history.
During June and July an excavation at a small island in Scuttle Bay once used as a look-out – and which is believed to still have an ancient structure on it – will be the first full scale excavation of its kind in B.C.
In addition, archaeologists will locate and map sites in and around Grace Harbour, a more remote location within Desolation Sound Park.
“While the Tla’Amin have extensive oral knowledge about their history, this area is largely unknown from an archaeological perspective,” says SFU archaeologist Dana Lepofsky, who together with colleague John Welch will work with Tla’ Amin experts, and researchers from other institutions, to bring together oral traditions and information from archaeological and archival investigations.
The project will be run as an SFU summer field school with elder and youth programs being conducted by the Tla’Amin.
The research will focus on traditional resource management (clam gardens, fish traps and inter-tidal plant gardens) as well as understanding the history of conflict and long-term land use.
The project will also train Tla’Amin youth and SFU students in archaeology and heritage stewardship. It will encourage the exchange of heritage knowledge and experiences between Tla’Amin elders and youth, and advance their goals of self-governance and self-determination.
“These sites are gifts left by our ancestors,” says Michelle Washington, a land use coordinator with the Tla’Amin First Nation. “Some of the 500 registered sites have been dated at over 4,000 years old. Each site unlocks clues to how our people thrived in unity with the land, traded with their neighbors and organized their complex societies.
“As the land around us gets more populated and developed, it is more important than ever to locate, document and pay respect to the heritage sites that have survived this long to tell their story.”
The excavation at Scuttle Bay is highly accessible and starting in mid-June local school groups and nearby visitors can tour the site. Visitors can screen for artifacts and process soil to recover ancient bits of plant and animals.
“The area is extraordinarily rich in archaeological sites, including fish traps, residential settlements, pictographs, clam gardens and refuge sites,” Lepofsky explains. “Not surprisingly, this area is of great heritage importance to the Tla’Amin. Many of the Tla’Amin elders also have a strong connection to the main settlement at Grace Harbour.”
More than 50 sites have been recorded at Grace Harbour but little is known about their specific attributes, notes Lepofsky. Researchers will map sites and dig cores to retrieve charcoal that will enable them to estimate the age of sites.
The researchers’ goal is to determine where people lived, so that B.C. Parks officials and the Tla’Amin First Nation can together better manage the sites in the provincial park.
During June and July an excavation at a small island in Scuttle Bay once used as a look-out – and which is believed to still have an ancient structure on it – will be the first full scale excavation of its kind in B.C.
In addition, archaeologists will locate and map sites in and around Grace Harbour, a more remote location within Desolation Sound Park.
“While the Tla’Amin have extensive oral knowledge about their history, this area is largely unknown from an archaeological perspective,” says SFU archaeologist Dana Lepofsky, who together with colleague John Welch will work with Tla’ Amin experts, and researchers from other institutions, to bring together oral traditions and information from archaeological and archival investigations.
The project will be run as an SFU summer field school with elder and youth programs being conducted by the Tla’Amin.
The research will focus on traditional resource management (clam gardens, fish traps and inter-tidal plant gardens) as well as understanding the history of conflict and long-term land use.
The project will also train Tla’Amin youth and SFU students in archaeology and heritage stewardship. It will encourage the exchange of heritage knowledge and experiences between Tla’Amin elders and youth, and advance their goals of self-governance and self-determination.
“These sites are gifts left by our ancestors,” says Michelle Washington, a land use coordinator with the Tla’Amin First Nation. “Some of the 500 registered sites have been dated at over 4,000 years old. Each site unlocks clues to how our people thrived in unity with the land, traded with their neighbors and organized their complex societies.
“As the land around us gets more populated and developed, it is more important than ever to locate, document and pay respect to the heritage sites that have survived this long to tell their story.”
The excavation at Scuttle Bay is highly accessible and starting in mid-June local school groups and nearby visitors can tour the site. Visitors can screen for artifacts and process soil to recover ancient bits of plant and animals.
“The area is extraordinarily rich in archaeological sites, including fish traps, residential settlements, pictographs, clam gardens and refuge sites,” Lepofsky explains. “Not surprisingly, this area is of great heritage importance to the Tla’Amin. Many of the Tla’Amin elders also have a strong connection to the main settlement at Grace Harbour.”
More than 50 sites have been recorded at Grace Harbour but little is known about their specific attributes, notes Lepofsky. Researchers will map sites and dig cores to retrieve charcoal that will enable them to estimate the age of sites.
The researchers’ goal is to determine where people lived, so that B.C. Parks officials and the Tla’Amin First Nation can together better manage the sites in the provincial park.