Currently, wet-site archaeology is not widely taught at North American universities. Waterlogged helps bridge that gap. Sixteen experienced archaeologists who work on the Northwest Coast discuss their original research in regional and global perspectives, share highlights of their findings, provide direction and guidance on how to locate wet sites, and outline procedures for recovering and caring for perishable waterlogged artifacts. The volume offers practical information about logistics, equipment, and supplies, including a list of items for a wet-site field kit, and presents previously unpublished original research spanning the past ten thousand years of human presence on the Northwest Coast.

On the Northwest Coast in antiquity, an estimated 85 percent of objects were made entirely from materials that normally do not survive the ravages of time. Fortunately, the region’s wetlands, silt-laden rivers, high groundwater levels, and abundant rainfall provide ideal conditions for long-term preservation of waterlogged wood. Few archaeologists intentionally search for them, yet every Northwest Coast archaeologist may encounter waterlogged cultural remains--even inland, away from the coast. Those who investigate can uncover artifacts, structures, and environmental remains missing from the usual reconstructions of past lifeways.

Currently, wet-site archaeology is not widely taught at North American universities. Waterlogged helps bridge that gap. Sixteen archaeologists who work on the Northwest Coast discuss their research in regional and global perspectives, share highlights of their findings, provide guidance on how to locate wet sites, and outline procedures for recovering and caring for perishable waterlogged artifacts. The volume offers practical information about logistics, equipment, and supplies, including a wet-site field kit list.

Waterlogged presents previously unpublished original research spanning the past ten thousand years of human presence on the Northwest Coast. Examples include the first fish trap features in the region to be identified as longshore weirs, a complete 750-year-old basket cradle from the lower Fraser Valley, wooden self-armed fishhooks from the Salish Sea, and a paleoethnobotanical study at the 10,500-year-old Kilgii Gwaay wet site on Haida Gwaii. Contributors also discuss insider-vs.-outsider perceptions of wetlands in Cowichan traditional territory on Vancouver Island, a habitation site in a disappearing wetland in the Fraser Valley, a collaborative project on the Babine River in the Fraser Plateau, and Early and Middle Holocene waterlogged materials from British Columbia’s central coast.

CONTENTS

Preface and Acknowledgments

Concordance of Ethno-Linguistic Group Names

Abbreviations and Acronyms

Introduction: Wet-Site Archaeology from a Northwest Coast Perspective
Kathryn Bernick

PART I: DISCOVERY AND RECOVERY

Wet Sites: A Guide to Finding Them
Morley Eldridge

Recovering and Caring for Wet Perishable Artifacts: Strategies and Procedures
Kathryn Bernick

PART II: FRESH PERSPECTIVES

Perceptions of Wetland Ecology in Cowichan Traditional Territory, Vancouver Island
Genevieve Hill

Blueberry Fields Forever (Not!)--The Carruthers Site, Lower Fraser Valley, British Columbia
Stan Copp, Tanja Hoffmann, and Emily Wilkerson

Wooden Self-Armed Fishhooks from the Salish Sea
Grant Keddie

Paleoethnobotanical Processes at the Kilgii Gwaay Wet Site
Jenny M. Cohen

PART III: UNEXPECTED FINDS

A 750-Year-Old Basket Cradle from the Stave River Delta, Southwestern British Columbia
Duncan McLaren, Kathryn Bernick, and Brendan Gray

The Babine Archaeology Project: Discovery of a Rare Wet Site on the Babine River, North-Central British Columbia
Farid Rahemtulla

Early and Middle Holocene Waterlogged Materials from Archaeological Sites on the Central Coast of British Columbia
Duncan McLaren, Kathleen L. Hawes, Tyler Graham, Alisha Gauvreau, Jenny M. Cohen, and Dale R. Croes

Another Kettle of Fish: Unexpected Wood Fishing Features at Saratoga Beach
Deidre Cullon and Heather Pratt

References