Thirteen scientists provide insight into the archaeology of the north coast of British Columbia in celebration of fieldwork begun by George F. MacDonald for the National Museum of Canada in 1966. This book investigates paleoenvironmental influences on human settlement, theoretical concepts involved in northern Northwest Coast research, and the interplay of aboriginal oral traditions and archaeological findings.
Since the late 1970s, household archaeology has become a key theoretical and methodological framework for research on the development of permanent social inequality and complexity, as well as for understanding the social, political and economic organization of chiefdoms and states. This volume is the cumulative result of more than a decade of research focusing on household archaeology as a means to gain understanding of the evolution of social complexity, regardless of underlying economy.
The papers in this volume are updated & expanded versions of papers from a 1996 symposium conducted to commemorate the 30th anniversary of inception of archaeological work on the north coast of British Columbia. The first chapter is an overview of the Prince Rupert Harbour Project, which carried out most of the archaeological work. The remaining chapters investigate the late Quaternary palaeoenvironments on the north coast, evidence related to social interactions, the interplay of the Aboriginal oral record and archaeological findings, human biological relationships as determined from cranial morphology, north coast material culture as revealed from excavations at waterlogged sites, zooarchaeological remains as evidence of prehistoric diet, village patterns & society in the Prince Rupert area, the relationship between resource abundance & local group rank, and artefact evidence for protohistoric competition & trade. The final chapter treats the crucial issues of site preservation and increasing First Nations involvement.
Exploring Ancient Wood and Fiber Technologies along the Northwest Coast of North America, Dale R. Croes and Kathleen Hawes Ground-Penetrating Radar Studies at the HAMMER Test Bed Facility, Richland, Washington, Lawrence B. Conyers An Experimental Archaeological Study of the Effects of Off-Road Vehicles on Lithic Scatters, Carolyn R. Temple and Robert Lee Sappington Digging for Wealth, Archaeological and Historical Analysis of an Early Twentieth Century Ore Processing Mill Site in Shoshone County, Idaho, Ashley M. Morton and Robert Lee Sappington [Graduate student paper winner] Adapt and Adopt: Apsáalooke (Crow) Beadwork and Regalia from the Nineteenth Century to Today, Kiley E. Molinari [Undergraduate student paper winner] An Exploration of Intentions and Perceptions of Code-Switching among Bilingual Spanish-English Speakers in the Inland Northwest, Grace F. Cooper
If human burials were our only window onto the past, what story would they tell? Skeletal injuries constitute the most direct and unambiguous evidence for violence in the past. Whereas weapons or defenses may simply be statements of prestige or status and written sources are characteristically biased and incomplete, human remains offer clear and unequivocal evidence of physical aggression reaching as far back as we have burials to examine. Warfare is often described as ‘senseless’ and as having no place in society. Consequently, its place in social relations and societal change remains obscure. The studies in The Routledge Handbook of the Bioarchaeology of Human Conflict present an overview of the nature and development of human conflict from prehistory to recent times as evidenced by the remains of past people themselves in order to explore the social contexts in which such injuries were inflicted. A broadly chronological approach is taken from prehistory through to recent conflicts, however this book is not simply a catalogue of injuries illustrating weapon development or a narrative detailing ‘progress’ in warfare but rather provides a framework in which to explore both continuity and change based on a range of important themes which hold continuing relevance throughout human development.
This Element provides an overview of pre-modern and ancient economies of the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The region is widely known for its densely occupied semisedentary villages, intensive production economies, dramatic ritual life, and complex social relations. Scholars recognize significant diversity in the structure of subsistence and goods production in the service of domestic groups and institutional entities throughout the region. Here, domestic and institutional economies, specialization, distribution, economic development, and future directions are reviewed. The Element closes with thoughts on the processes of socio-economic change on the scales of houses, villages, and regional strategies.
How did warfare originate? Was it human genetics? Social competition? The rise of complexity? Intensive study of the long-term hunter-gatherer past brings us closer to an answer. The original chapters in this volume examine cultural areas on five continents where there is archaeological, ethnographic, and historical evidence for hunter-gatherer conflict despite high degrees of mobility, small populations, and relatively egalitarian social structures. Their controversial conclusions will elicit interest among anthropologists, archaeologists, and those in conflict studies.
This handbook gathers original, authoritative articles from leading archaeologists to compile the latest thinking about archaeological theory. The authors provide a comprehensive picture of the theoretical foundations by which archaeologists contextualize and analyze their archaeological data. Student readers will also gain a sense of the immense power that theory has for building interpretations of the past, while recognizing the wonderful archaeological traditions that created it. An extensive bibliography is included. This volume is the single most important reference for current information on contemporary archaeological theories.
In this book, anthropologists, archaeologists, historians, linguists, and Aboriginal leaders focus on how Coast Salish lives and identities have been influenced by the two colonizing nations (Canada and the US) and by shifting Aboriginal circumstances. Contributors point to the continual reshaping of Coast Salish identities and our understandings of them through litigation and language revitalization, as well as community efforts to reclaim their connections with the environment. They point to significant continuity of networks of kinfolk, spiritual practices, and understandings of landscape. This is the first book-length effort to directly incorporate Aboriginal perspectives and a broad interdisciplinary approach to research about the Coast Salish.
