Power Point presentation - Department of Archaeology

TITLE SLIDE
INLAND LIFEWAYS OF THE LARGER ISLANDS OF XÁADLÁA GWAAYEE / Haida
Gwaii / The Queen Charlotte Islands, BC, a LANDSCAPE LEVEL ARCHAEOLOGICAL
STUDY
An archaeological investigation into the pre-contact lifeways of the xáadáa
By: Karen Lovisa Church
Bachelor of General Studies, with Honours in the Archaeology Field School, in the
Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Simon Fraser University, 2009
Certificate of Proficiency in First Nations Languages, with focus on the Haida
Language / xaad kil, First Nations Studies Department, Simon Fraser University, 2010
Master of Arts student, Department of Archaeology, University of Calgary
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OVERVIEW
Research done towards my Masters thesis will be explained in this presentation. The
significance of my research in terms of the archaeological and cultural record is
described. The tools I use to conduct my research and some products of the research
are listed on this slide and will be described in the presentation.
My Master’s programme Supervisor is Dr. Gerald Oetelaar, Department Head,
Archaeology, University of Calgary. I have also been given significant academic
direction and input from Dr. Marianne Boelscher-Ignace, First Nations Studies
Department, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, BC.
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LOCATION
The study area, xáadláa gwaayee, BC is located on the northern northwest coast of
North America. These islands are separated from mainland British Columbia by the 80
kilometer wide Hecate Straits. These straits are known for turbulence due to them
being relatively shallow and due to relatively extreme tides and weather, particularly
in the winter months.
HAIDA LANGUAGE / xaad kil
In my thesis and this presentation, words written in the Haida Language, which is
named xaad kil, (literally ‘people speak’) are provided in italics. I use the Old Massett
dialect and orthography of xaad kil throughout the presentation and in my thesis in
general. This is because it is the dialect that we focused most attention on during our
classes. xaad kil classes were facilitated by Dr. Boelscher-Ignace of Simon Fraser
University in Old Massett between 2004 and 2010. The classes were always attended
by elders of the Old Massett community who are fluent in the language, and they
assisted we, the learners, in our vocabulary, pronunciations and grammar. The
mentors included Claude Jones, Mary Swanson, Stephen Brown, naanii Adelia, Gertie
White and other fluent speakers from the North end of xáadláa gwaayee and the
southern Alaskan Islands.
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LOCATION
xáadláa gwaayee is an off-shore Pacific archipelago consisting of 150 islands, 5 of
which are relatively larger than the rest. Graham Island, the largest island, averages
80 kilometers in breadth. To the north the islands are separated from the southern
Alaskan islands by the 70 kilometre wide Dixon Entrance. The southern Alaskan
islands are part of the broad study area because the homeland of the ancestral and
modern xáadáa extends into this region.
xáadláa gwaayee , the landform, has a different geologic history than the mainland
because it was at the edge of the great Cordilleran glacier and the glacier melted off
this region earlier than it did off the mainland. One of the results of these processes
was the deposition of deeper, richer soils than other coastal regions of Canada, and
this has produced unique forest environments, and trees of massive dimensions.
Due to isostatic effects, as the ice melted off coastal locations before the mainland,
these islands were once connected for a relatively brief period to the mainland,
between 13,500 – 12,000 BP. It has been suggested that it is during this time that
people walked to the islands, and were eventually stranded there.
f Loon to the
Time of the Iron People)
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ENVIRONMENT
The islands have rich and deep soils in many areas which, along with high
precipitation and a temperate climate have produced some of the largest Sitka
Spruce, Western Red Cedar, Nootka Cypress (Yellow Cedar) and Western Hemlock
trees on the northwest coast.
The largest sub-species of black bear in the world lives only on xáadláa gwaayee.
Several sub-species of plants and animals have been identified here due to the long
term separation of the islands from the mainland; more than 10,000 years. According
to recent studies out of Simon Fraser University, by roughly 3500 years ago, cedar
trees on xáadláa gwaayee were large enough to be used for making ocean-going dug
out canoes. The Western Red Cedar tree on the left is an example of a culturally
modified tree (CMT) located on the Begbie Peninsula in Massett Inlet, Graham Island.
The hole in the tree was created using a metal axe, and one of the purposes of the
hole was to test the tree for soundness; to see if it would be a good candidate for
falling and for eventually creating a dug out canoe. It is speculated that once the
xáadáa could create their own canoes from local trees, they became extensive
travellers and traders up and down the mainland coast. Prior to this time however,
the people of these islands were more isolated at their island home. Out of this
history came a unique culture.
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ENVIRONMENT, SIGNIFICANCE of RESEARCH
The xáadáa accessed the forests of the islands for material resources from trees, for
plant foods and medicines.
Cedar was a very important tree to the xáadáa. They made clothes, matts, baskets
and other items from the inner bark. The outer bark of mature old growth trees was
used for roofing material, and temporary shelters when travelling inland. The trunk of
the tree could be used for poles, planks and ocean-going dug out canoes.
Forest plants and shrubs were also accessed for spiritual benefit. In order to obtain
some of the plants and tree resources, a journey inland was required.
In these pictures, left to right, there is CMT: the partially shaped remains of a canoe
that was left in the forest, and below that are a couple of north coast girls using a
smaller finished dug out from red cedar. The medicinal plant hllguugaa / Single
Delight provides an example of the array of forest plants used for food, medicine and
spiritual purposes. Next is a picture of Lovisa Thompson of Massett holding freshly
harvested red cedar bark bundles, and next to that, two example of the end products
of weaving strands of the bark.
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SIGNIFICANCE of RESEARCH
LOSS OF PARTS OF THE CULTURAL ARCHIVE
The ancient cultural significance of most inland areas is not well known.
Archaeological research on these islands has focussed on sites related to settlement
and the coastline and has rarely ventured inland. One survey that did some research
on inland sites was an Archaeological Inventory Study of the Naden Harbour area of
Graham Island by Jim Stafford and Tina Christensen of Millennia Research: The Naden
Harbour Archaeological Inventory Study (AIS) of 1999. Thousands of culturally
modified tree (CMT) sites have been recorded inland as part of the pre-harvest survey
requirements for proposed logging developments, but there is no published research
that takes a look at the nature and patterned distribution of these trees over the
landscape. The AIS was the first project that began this work of bringing together all
of the known inland archaeological sites by creating a Geographic Information System
(GIS) database and ethno-historical report on part of the islands.
Changes in the trading regime after the time of contact with merchant ships around
the mid-1700’s meant a great change of lifeway. The people moved to villages where
they would be able to see ships come and go, and be ready for trade. At this time the
people may not have completely abandoned inland activities, but they may have
been curtailed because the merchant ships did not visit West Coast areas with any
frequency due to weather, tidal action, and the lack of safe harbours, so the xáadáa
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moved to more accessible locations long the North and East Coasts of the
archipelago.
In addition, inland areas were no longer visited regularly because the local caribou
had been in population decline for hundreds of years. This is speculated to have been
due to habitat change of the late Holocene era, possibly combined with human
hunting impact. The caribou were stranded on the islands during the early Holocene,
ca. 12,000 years BP, as the islands separated from the mainland starting around
12,000 BP. These caribou, known since George Mercer Dawson’s visit to the islands
in 1871 as Dawson’s Caribou, became extinct in the early 1900s.
The most important reason that there is little left in terms of ethnography or traces
on the land to evidence inland activities is that here was a culturally devastating loss
of life due to disease epidemics of the contact and later period, ca. 1750 – 1880. The
population has been estimated between 9000 and 14,500 islands-wide prior to
contact, but by 1881 a census indicated a population of less than 600 people.
Therefore, 85 - 95 % of the local population died during this time. The historical
archive of the xáadáa was kept as oral history, as the language was not a written
language. This, combined with the changes of the post contact period noted above,
meant that most of the stories of this ancient, pre-contact lifeway of inland activity
were lost with those who died.
yan village, shown here, was one of the last villages that was inhabited prior to the
gradual movement of the people to the two current villages of Old Massett and
Skidegate. There are mass burials at yan that remain from the time of the epidemics.
The pictures here show the site of yan around the time it was left by the people in
1881, and the picture on the right is at the village site today. We took young people
to this site for an archaeological field trip in 2011 and here we see Annika Ingram and
Lovisa Thompson, both of Massett, in front of the last standing story pole at yan.
Evidence of burning at the bottom of this pole remains from the time of the
missionary influence and lowest population numbers in the late 1800’s, when the old
ways and spirituality were generally replaced with Christian values.
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SIGNIFICANCE of RESEARCH
ETHNOGRAPHIC STUDY
Ethnographic works regarding the xáadáa consist of missionary novels and journals,
ships logs and geologists notes. The most professional approach to ethnography was
done as part of the the Jesup North Pacific Expedition, a project that was overseen by
Anthropologist Franz Boas. Many other important contributions during the 1900’s
contribute to our understanding of the evolution of this culture to its modern day
form. The work on the xáadáa was done by John Swanton when he visited the islands
for a year in 1901. In several publications, one of them shown here, The Massett
Texts, Swanton has recorded some of the legendary stories, the gyaahlang of the
xáadáa, in both the Haida language and English. With the assistance of local
translators, Swanton has provided us with a record of the way the language was
spoken when telling stories.
Inland activities however, are only mentioned in a few stories and there is little
information on routes inland. Stories such as those listed in the slide, ‘The Woman
Who Became a Shaman’, ‘The Woman Who Married the Artisan’ and ‘The Bear
Hunters’ give us a small window into inland activities. As per these stories, humans
may atone for cultural indiscretions by going up into the forest on what may be called
a vision quest, to the tops of watersheds. People walked up into the forest and later
became chiefs. They walked into the forest and found love and some of them never
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came back.
Linguist John Enrico along with Ethno-musicologist Wendy Stuart, published the
‘Northern Haida Songs’ book in 1994, and 2 songs within this work refer to inland
activities. A song recorded at Hydaburg, Alaska in 1963 as sung by Lydia Charles, Viola
Morrison, and George Nix went like this:
There are preparatory chants and then the song translates roughly to:
‘ I used to go around to the children of ts’eehl ‘laanaas / You think of me like an
ancient trail now’
The second reference is a song recorded at Massett in 1963, and the singer was
Robert Davidson:
Chanting, before each line, translates to ‘Which trail / should one turn to / to see
his dear one?’ (A comment on the song says that the composer, neelans, composed
it after the death of his first wife.)
Ethnography regarding inland areas is not extensive and not very specific. Therefore,
in order to develop a landscape model for archaeological potential for inland
archaeological and cultural sites, a broad landscape approach must be the starting
point.
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ETHNOGRAPHIC STUDY
ORAL HISTORY
Barney Edgars, pictured here next to a Spruce CMT has been my colleague and
informant on the ancient xáadáa culture for the past 10 years. His lineage is xáadáa
and Scottish. His naanii / xáadáa Grandmother mentioned a trail to the west coast of
Graham Island that started in Naden Harbour on the North Coast. This is the only oral
history reference that I have for my Case Study for this thesis.
We have worked together for years and discussed the meaning of CMTs and their
place in the landscape at length, and we have seen hundreds of these sites together.
Barney has taught me, my family and many others, how to harvest the inner bark of
cedar in his traditional way.
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RESEARCH BACKGROUND
KAREN CHURCH
Bachelor General Studies, Arts and Social Sciences, Simon Fraser University, 2009
Certificate of Proficiency in First Nations Languages, First Nations Studies, Simon
Fraser University, 2012
Masters of Arts student, Department of Archaeology, University of Calgary
I have lived and worked on the Queen Charlotte Islands /xáadláa gwaayee for the
past 22 years. I began my work as an archaeologist when culturally modified trees
(CMTs) became protected archaeological sites and recognized as in the Heritage
Conservation Act of British Columbia, and by extension, the Forest Practices Code of
BC, that became law in 1995. Trained by both professional and local First Nation
Archaeologists and cultural advisors, I was one of about a dozen archaeological field
workers that began a career in CMT inventories at this time. I continued to work for
the Haida Tribal Society for the following 10 years as a field crewperson and Manager
of the Heritage Program.
In the photos in this slide are my youngest daughter Lovisa and her cousin Annika.
My children were born and raised on the islands, within the contemporary xáadáa
culture. The culture is still a somewhat isolated one. The price of importing food and
the abundance of local wild foods precipitates a modern hunter gatherer lifestyle.
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My research background is in CMT research and interpretation for the islands, but I
completed my archaeological field school on the t’kemlups / Kamloops Reserve, in
the Heritage Park, in archaeological site EeRb-77, an interior pit house village site.
Through my study of the ancient inland Salish people I began to better understand
ancient trade networks that extended from the Northwest coast to the mainland
interior.
The picture in the middle, taken by colleague James Stanley, shows me examining a
wood chip that remains within the test hole cavity of a Western Red Cedar CMT in the
Davidson River watershed. The picture on the right, taken by colleague Larry
Thompson, shows my hand next to the marks left when a black bear climbed this
massive red cedar in the Lignite Creek valley. Both of these pictures are within my
case study area in the Naden Harbour watersheds.
Other experience that I bring to this project is as a participant in an interview team
for the Archaeological Overview Assessment of Northern Haida Gwaii, North of Gwaii
Haanas, 2001 (AOA 2001). I was responsible for providing maps for elders to view,
taking notes during interviews as required, and transcribing the interviews to maps.
In 2010, I was awarded Certificate of Proficiency in First Nations Languages, with
emphasis on xaad kil / the Haida Language, SFU. This was a 10-course certification
that took over 3 years to complete as a part-time student, with all classes taking
place in Old Massett.
I have worked with many archaeological and forestry consultants over the years of
managing the Heritage Program.
I HAVE WALKED THOUSANDS OF KILOJMETERS on this landscape and it is that
knowledge within my body that significantly informs all aspects of my thesis.
I began to be interested in ancient trails when working with Archaeologists Jim
Stafford and Tina Christensen on the AOA 2001. This report brought together all of
the CMT surveys for the islands into a Geographic Information System, from which
one could begin to see patterns of distribution of sites across the landscape that
reflected patterns of inland movement.
I am currently holding a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Joseph
Bombardier Canadian Graduate Student Award.
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CASE STUDY AREA
Graham Island has been the subject of hundreds of archaeological surveys since the
Forest Practices Code of British Columbia (FPC) came into effect in 1995. Even before
the FPC there were archaeological studies done on this island that documented and
interpreted CMTs (Bernick,1984). I chose Graham Island as my broad study area for
this study of little known inland lifeways because:
- of my already extensive field and research experience with the archaeological sites
and the landscape of this island, and in particular within my case study area
- there are thousands of CMT and other archaeological sites that have been
recorded and registered on this island and some of them are far inland. These
CMTs provide important base points for my study.
- of the relative size of this island to the others in the archipelago, and the
topography, which lends itself to inland activities
- of inland cultural resources on lakes, in rivers, and on the landscape that are
mentioned in ethnography for this island
- Graham Island was the homeland of the now extinct Dawson’s caribou which were
hunted by the xáadáa in ancient times
- there is little archaeological research in this area of the islands compared to the
south end
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CASE STUDY
Naden Harbour is on the North Coast of Graham Island. It has the xáadáa place name
need.aan, literally translated as ‘house watershed’. It has also been translated as
‘place of many settlements’. The Naden Harbour Archaeological Inventory Study,
1999 (AIS), documented settlement had been ongoing for millennia throughout much
of the shoreline since the early Holocene, at places that were near shoreline 9000 –
500 years ago. 9000 BP was the time of the highest sea levels of the post glacial
period, and at this time sea level was approximately 15 meters above current average
mean sea level (a.m.s.l.). There is high potential for archaeological remains of camps
and villages to be found between 20 meters above sea level to 1 meter above current
sea level. Recent erosion of coastlines has exposed some raised beach sites, and
many of these sites were discovered by the use of sub surface testing techniques.
Material Resources
- There are massive red cedar trees in this region that can be up to 1000 years old,
and 45 meters in height, several salmon spawning streams, as well as other sea
resources such as crab and sea lion. Hundreds of human modifications to these
ancient trees document use of the products of trees – their bark, the trunk, and
the cambium layer. Some of these CMTs are farther inland and have distribution
patterns that indicate routes inland.
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Inland travel
- Graham Island would have been difficult and usually impossible to circumnavigate
with dug out canoes or rafts at many times during the year and especially during
the winter months due to high winds and strong tides.
This research seeks to determine the route of an ancient inland trail that went from
Stanley Creek River estuary in Naden Harbour, North Coast Graham Island, to the
sandy beach at the end of Otard Bay on the West Coast, near the village tii.aan. The
approximate length of the trail is 35 kilometers, and to walk the entire trail would
have taken a few days, due to terrain, and when packing loads. For well seasoned
hikers without heavy loads it would have taken less time, perhaps 2 days. Identifying
where the trail existed will provide a baseline from which to develop an
archaeological potential model for this inland region. This model may then be used to
consider the archaeological potential associated with other inland routes.
t’aay.gahl, (‘TEGA’ as written by amateur ethnographer Charles Smith) is a place
name recorded for a point at Stanley Creek mouth in southern Naden Harbour. It
may translate to ‘trail head by’ (see Smith, C. 1930 and Lachler, J., 2009). Stanley
Creek mouth is Trailhead 1 in this study.
taaw k’aahlii / Otard Bay, West Coast is Trailhead 2. It is between these two points on
the landscape that my research is focussed.
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RESEARCH TOOLS
HISTORIC MAPS
In 1871 George Mercer Dawson created this map for the Geological survey. This is
one of the first maps that begins to make note of sites of inland activity on Graham
Island.
It is of interest to note what was recorded on this early map.
- Stanley River mouth / t’aay.gahl : ‘trail head by’, is labeled on this map. It is a small
river compared to the Davidson River and Naden Rivers that are nearby, and so it is
curious that it shows up on this map when the others do not.
- Eden Lake is named as well, though it is not correctly plotted as it is actually much
further inland and to the southwest. There is one ethnographic reference to Eden
Lake suggesting that there were people living by it. This is significant because there
are very few references to inland habitations on xáadláa gwaayee. Eden Lake is 10
kilometers inland and on the course of the Naden River. It is along one leg of the
ancient trail being considered in my study.
- The mountain range shown on the right, very close to the shores of Naden
Harbour and Stanley Creek mouth is actually closer to the West Coast than Naden
Harbour, which may indicate that the map maker found this mountain range of
interest to his work, but also that the range seems very close to Naden Harbour
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when viewed from a boat in the harbour, or on the North Coast at Virago Sound.
(Naden Harbour itself is not labelled on this map and it is presumed that is it
encompassed by the place name ‘Virago Sound’)
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RESEARCH TOOLS
HISTORIC MAPS
Charles Smith, Off Shore View Map, 1930
Charles Smith was a Lighthouse Keeper and a local Informant, created this map of
points of interest and place names.
Mountains, points of land used for navigation, rivers, harbours and inlets have xáadáa
place names.
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RESEARCH TOOLS
HISTORIC MAPS
Charles Smith, Off Shore View Map, 1930, Detail
Place Names and Landmarks on historic maps indicate places of importance on the
landscape at that time. Stanley River, a small creek, is again named on this map just
like it was on Dawson’s 1871 map. The place name ‘Tega’, is given to a point at
Stanley Creek mouth. This is the only reference found for this place name which, as
noted previously, may translate as ‘trailhead by’. It has been translated differently
(see Dalzell, 1973) but that translation does not seem accurate.
Significantly, mountains and mountain peaks are named. Klidow Klijaaw may be
written in the current orthography as tlàdaaw tlìjaaw, and may be translated as
‘invitation-to-kill mountain’. Other peaks and even West Coast locations are named,
as they are viewed from this off-shore vantage point. Points of land are the most
common place name type and this simply indicates that water travel along this coast
was extensive and the importance of named points of land and peaks were what kept
travellers oriented.
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RESEARCH TOOLS
HISTORIC MAPS and GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS (GIS)
Program: ArcGIS10 with the Arc Scene Extension
Charles Smith, Off Shore View Map, 1930, Detail
In ArcScene, aerial photographs may be ‘draped’ over a Digital Elevation Model (DEM)
to create a more 3 dimensional view. In this example, I have slightly exaggerated the
DEM in order to see more easily, how accurate Charles Smith’s off shore view map is,
and it turns out to be very similar to the ArcSCENE version. This version is created
from geo-referenced data, and is therefore accurate to current mapping standards.
We can see that Charles Smith’s map is very accurate in terms of topography, and this
lends support as well to his place naming accuracy.
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RESEARCH TOOLS
HISTORIC MAPS
This slide shows how historic map information overlays and details. Note again how
the mountain must have seemed very close to the shore of Naden Harbour when
viewed from off-shore. The mountains and mountain peaks are named places that
would have been used as visual guides while on the inland trail.
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RESEARCH TOOLS
HISTORIC MAPS
This 1916 Geological Survey Map shows a trail that was used for oil exploration. It
appears to have been simply sketched in without significant reference except that it is
shown clearly within the Davidson Creek watershed / syne.aandlee. At the time that
this map was created there was a post-contact settlement and whaling station on the
north shore of Naden Harbour and therefore the trail begins at that settlement and
runs by the Stanley Creek mouth on its way to Otard Bay, and then to tii.aan.
tii.aan village is known ethnographically as a sea otter kill site. Sea otters were of high
value to the maritime fur trade of the mid to late 1800’s. xáadáas harvested this
species and traded the furs, and may have used the inland trail during this period to
move their goods out to the north coast.
- Note: Historic trails often follow the routes of ancient trails
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RESEARCH TOOLS
HISTORIC MAPS
The Pre-emption map of 1919 shows the trail in a slightly different location, but again
simply sketched in. Several additional trails, perhaps ‘feeder’ trails to the main trail,
were seen on the Otard Bay side, as per survey notes (Surveyor of Lands, BC)
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RESEARCH TOOLS
HISTORIC MAPS
Details showing the trail and the Trailheads. Surveyors notes that provide details on
what was seen while mapping the pre-emption boundaries have been obtained from
BC Lands for my research.
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RESEARCH TOOLS
HISTORIC MAPS
One more example of historic maps and their contribution to my research is this 1945
‘Map of the Dominion’, details shown here, which has several inland trails sketched in
including the one in my study area. It is not indicated what these trails were being
used for at the time the map was made.
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RESEARCH TOOLS
GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS (GIS) ANALYSES : LEAST COST PATH and
VIEWSHED
I use a GIS extensively in my research. It is useful for containing all of the place name,
archaeological site and ethnographic information. Information is stored in separate
layers that can be turned off and on, depending on what is wanting to be viewed. All
of the information is geo-referenced meaning that accurate maps may be created
from it at any scale to help visualize the project.
The least cost path (LCP) is an analysis that can be conducted within the GIS using the
Spatial Analyst toolbox. The LCP tells you the least costly route between two points
in terms of road building parameters. When using a digital elevation model (DEM) for
the surface under such analysis, as in this example, LCP analysis tells you the best
route between two points based on elevation change. For my case study trail, I have
conducted LCP analyses as shown on the left using various parameters including
watershed bounding. On the right is a detail of the 3 LCPs as they navigate through
passes in the Queen Charlotte Range.
Viewshed analysis is another example of the power of the GIS to help visualize digital
information. In the example on the right, the highest points of land as indicated by
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the lighter colour, may be analyzed for what can be viewed from them by a human on
the landscape on a clear day. Being able to see what is happening at the destination
may have been useful when on a trail used for trade, for example.
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RESEARCH TOOLS
GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS (GIS) ANALYSES : VIEWSHED
There is ethnography that talks about watching for canoes coming in and therefore
viewshed analysis of points of land near the trail is of interest. At certain times in the
history of the xáadáa, and during the case study period in particular, there was slave
capturing and trading and warfare is known archaeologically for this time period.
Archaeological potential on these mountain tops is high because of this possibility.
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RESEARCH TOOLS
GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS (GIS) ANALYSES : VIEWSHED
The mountain passes indicated by the LCP analysis, along with the points analysed for
viewshed are shown at the left. On the right is the output of viewshed conducted
from View 4. Yellow indicates all of the places that can be seen by a human being
from this point on the landscape. As viewshed indicates, the view from here is of the
shores of Naden Harbour and Trailhead 1, and also of several mountain tops along
the Queen Charlotte Range, which exists all along the West side of Graham Island.
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RESEARCH TOOLS
REMOTE SENSING: GOOGLE EARTH SATELITE IMAGERY
The products of GIS analyses may be imported to Google Earth to help us visualize
this output in 3 dimensions and from any angle desired. Having hiked extensively in
this landscape I am able to use this information to see additional obstacles that the
datasets used in the GIS cannot always pick up. I can then move my best path out of
obvious no go zones, like ravines and river beds.
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ARCHAEOLOGICAL, CULTURAL SITES
THE NATURE AND PATTERNED DISTRIBUTION OF CULTURALLY MODIFIED TREES
(CMTs)
CMTs are an important layer of data used to assess this inland route. There are
thousands of CMTs in the BC provincial database for xáadláa gwaayee because of
extensive logging on Graham Island, and archaeological surveys conducted preharvest, record these artifacts of inland culture. Most CMTs are found within 3
kilometers of the ocean shore. As we move inland there are fewer CMTs and I
maintain that these inland CMTs were often trail markers in addition to being bark
removal scars.
Approximately 95% of CMTs are Red or Yellow Cedar. The material culture of the
xáadáa accessed cedar extensively for house building material, transportation (dug
out canoes), bark for clothing and rope making among other things, and the roots
were also used. When bark was the objective, a tree was not killed. Bark was
‘stripped’ from approximately 1/3rd of the circumference of the tree, and in this way
the tree would remain alive. Years later a tree may be stripped again for bark on
another part of the trunk or on the lobe that heals around the original bark stripping
scar (see slide). It is these live artifacts that can tell us a lot about inland tail routes.
The modifications can be dated, sometimes to the exact year of modification, or at
least within 10 years of it by using an increment borer and counting tree rings. A BC
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Heritage Inspection Permit is required for invasive testing of this kind.
Trees with long strips of bark removed, or with a tool mark line that is very commonly
made at 5 meters height above ground may be seen by a hiker in advance when
walking through the rainforest. Lower level markers would not be visible. Along the
trail in my study area there are several such trees and they are significant markers
that define one reach of the route.
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MORE TRAIL SIGNPOSTS
SUPER ANNUATED TREES
NMENONICS
The Sitka Spruce tree in this slide on the left is at least 500 years old. A tree like this
can change character over the years, and it becomes a landmark along the trail. This
one exists along a modern and ancient trail beside the Yakoun River, a large salmon
spawning stream in central Graham Island (not in the study area). Because the trees
in this region become very old and large, 1000 years of age and older, they are
important, long lasting cultural landmarks along ancient trail routes.
On the right is a CMT that is a typical example of a triangular bark stripping that was
done about 100 years ago. The mark left from the strip is at least 18 meters high, and
if it were stripped on the most advantageous side, would provide a landmark for a
traveler walking through the forest.
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LAYERING
VISUALIZATION
This Google Erath image provides an example of the layering of information that is
possible towards the best analysis of where the trail went. The CMT sites on this map
are approximately 300 meters apart and along a side hill, and they are also near an
possible ancient camp site on the Davidson River. The least cost path is shown, as it
winds through. I combine these data inputs towards the best possible analysis of
where the ancient trail existed.
On the right is a picture of one of the CMT types that I maintain were trail markers.
Note the height of the top tool mark line, as well as the dense underbrush that
surround this tree.
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PRELIMINARY RESULTS
GIS : BUILDING UP THE LAYERS FOR ANALYSIS
Orthophotos, Trailheads, Least Cost Path, Viewpoints, CMTs, Place Names
Shown here are very preliminary results of the building up of layers towards visual
analysis and map making in the GIS. The trail has not been changed from the least
cost path yet. The red diamonds are CMTs.
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PRELIMINARY RESULTS
Trail Head 1: Detail of GIS Layering
Datasets seen in this map:
- BC Orthophotos, 2009
- CMT sites (red diamonds)
- xáadáa place names
- trail head 1
- ocean.shp
- Least cost Path – slope dataset as cost surface
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PRELIMINARY RESULTS, FURTHER ANAYSES
GIS : LAYERING : add 20 m Elevation Contour lines
The elevation contours indicate that the CMTs recorded up the Davidson watershed
are along a side hill at 120 to 140 meters elevation. If we ‘connect the dots’ with
these CMTs in this reach of the trail we can be relatively confident about where the
trail existed between these points, within about 50 meters. The CMTs only begin to
line up like this only once the contour lines become dense. Additional field studies
would be needed to assess more accurately exactly where the trail went, as the
datasets used for this project are only accurate to 30 meters.
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PRELIMINARY RESULTS
Trail Head 2: Detail
Datasets seen in this map:
- BC Orthophotos, 2009
- CMT sites (red diamonds)
- xáadáa place names
- trail head 2
- tii.aan village site
- ocean.shp
- Least cost Path – slope dataset as cost surface
I am currently considering where I will plot the trail route with respect to all of the
inputs discussed and will derive a preliminary landscape level archaeological potential
model from that.
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PRODUCTS OF RESEARCH
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
Prior to beginning this research I, along with colleague Barney Edgars, created an
archaeological field trip for high school students at an ancient village site near
Masset, BC, called yan. The slide on the left shows yan in 1881 as photographed by
Dossitter, and on the right is how it looks on the ground today. In the middle ground
is the remains of a house pit. I hope to do another field trip with the islands’ high
schools at an ancient trailhead location. Archaeology is shaping development on the
islands because there is so much of it here, and yet local people have relatively little
knowledge of archaeology. Therefore, bringing the research back to the community is
a priority.
In addition, I have provided presentations on my research in the Masset community
as well as at the University of Calgary, the Canadian Archaeological Association
Annual General meeting and Conference (2011, 2012), and at the Association of
Canadian Universities for Northern Studies Biannual Conference (2012).
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PRODUCTS OF RESEARCH
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
Photo of the beach in front of yan, on the day we conducted the tour for the high
school students.
34
PRODUCTS OF RESEARCH
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
The ancient to modern trailhead that I would like to investigate next with high school
students is at the south of Hancock Creek, Masset Inlet, and is shown on this 1945
map.
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PRODUCTS OF RESEARCH
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
A positive response from one high school student who enjoyed the field trip at yan.
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AKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council has sponsored this research through
a Joseph Bombardier Graduate Student Award 2012-2013.
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