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Archaeology of the Gulf of Georgia Area, A Natural Region and its Culture Types
Academic Work
The nature of prefaces is such that although positioned at the beginning of the volume, they are usually written at the conclusion of the study. In this way, they are framed when the writer is most conscious of the work not done and of the debts to be acknowledged. Both thoughts are humbling; and most prefatory remarks are of distinctly subdued tone.
My remarks will be no exception. If the undertaking of this study has accomplished anything, it has been to bring into sharper focus the many questions which continue to surround the emergence of the Gulf of Georgia variant of the Northwest Coast culture type. The gaps in our knowledge of spatial and temporal distributions are still to be measured in the hundreds of miles and thousands of years; and it is clear that before adequate descriptions of the culture types are possible, many more sites will have to be examined and reported.
When first begun, the excavation which provides most of the dat for this study possessed a very limited objective - it was designed to throw more light on the cultural context and uses of the puzzling Gulf Islands complex artifacts. As the investigation progressed, it became clear that the Montague Harbor site provided sufficient insights to suggest new assessments of the regional prehistory might be possible. The present study is offered in this vein - a reinterpretation of Gulf of Georgia archaeology from the perspective of one-and-a-quarter seasons' work at one site in the western part of the Gulf.
Subsequent excavations in the area have so far upheld the broad outlines of culture form, chronology, and distribution set forth in Part III. But the writer is all-too-conscious that the supports for this portion of the study are mainly characterized by their frailty. A further season's work, one more lucky site, and the way could be opened for yet another reinterpretation of culture history and process in the Gulf of Georgia region.
My debts to persons and institutions are too numerous to receive specific acknowledgement here, and for most I can only offer a sort of general proclamation of an indebtedness. However, I would like to single out several for individual mention and thanks. The work at Montague Harbor received direct financial and other support from the Archaeological Sites Advisory Board, the Provincial Museum, and the Parks Branch of the Province of British Columbia, and from the University of Victoria. In addition, the National Museum of Canada kindly financed the four carbon-14 estimates for the site and the University of Victoria bore most of the cost of preparing the completed manuscript.
Wilson Duff, then Provincial Anthropologist and Chairman of the Archaeological Sites Advisory Board, must be credited with the fortunate selection of the site, thanked for placing me in a position to undertake the fieldwork for this dissertation, and congratulated on his choice of field crew for the two seasons. Those who, along with me, explored the Montague Harbor Midden included Judy Buxton, Dimitris Hakas, Phil Hicks, Dave Keenlyside, Terry Moore, John Noury, Dave Sawbridge and John Sendey. I am indebted to all for their work and their companionship.
The finished dissertation is also the product of many more hands than mine alone. Most of the text figures were prepared by Joyce Nelms although a few were done by John Noury, Keith Hamilton and Bill Selwood. The black and white photographs were taken by Neil Vallance and some of the descriptive statistics were compiled and computed by Terry Klokeid. Parts of the first draft were typed by Gail Cunningham and Nancy Hayden while the finished product is the work of Suzanne Lauzon and Teresa Duggan.
My intellectual debt is the most difficult to specify but I would be remiss if I did not mention Professors David Aberle, Charles Borden, Albert Spaulding, and Wayne Suttles for their contributions to the gradual growth of my fund of empirical and theoretical knowledge; and Professors Don Dumond, Joseph Jorgensen, Arnold Shotwell, and Michael Stanislawski for their more specific direction as members of my dissertation committee.
I would finally like to acknowledge the forbearance of my wife and daughter, whose patience, encouragement, and, when necessary, push, have helped bring this phase of my investigations to a close.
My remarks will be no exception. If the undertaking of this study has accomplished anything, it has been to bring into sharper focus the many questions which continue to surround the emergence of the Gulf of Georgia variant of the Northwest Coast culture type. The gaps in our knowledge of spatial and temporal distributions are still to be measured in the hundreds of miles and thousands of years; and it is clear that before adequate descriptions of the culture types are possible, many more sites will have to be examined and reported.
When first begun, the excavation which provides most of the dat for this study possessed a very limited objective - it was designed to throw more light on the cultural context and uses of the puzzling Gulf Islands complex artifacts. As the investigation progressed, it became clear that the Montague Harbor site provided sufficient insights to suggest new assessments of the regional prehistory might be possible. The present study is offered in this vein - a reinterpretation of Gulf of Georgia archaeology from the perspective of one-and-a-quarter seasons' work at one site in the western part of the Gulf.
Subsequent excavations in the area have so far upheld the broad outlines of culture form, chronology, and distribution set forth in Part III. But the writer is all-too-conscious that the supports for this portion of the study are mainly characterized by their frailty. A further season's work, one more lucky site, and the way could be opened for yet another reinterpretation of culture history and process in the Gulf of Georgia region.
My debts to persons and institutions are too numerous to receive specific acknowledgement here, and for most I can only offer a sort of general proclamation of an indebtedness. However, I would like to single out several for individual mention and thanks. The work at Montague Harbor received direct financial and other support from the Archaeological Sites Advisory Board, the Provincial Museum, and the Parks Branch of the Province of British Columbia, and from the University of Victoria. In addition, the National Museum of Canada kindly financed the four carbon-14 estimates for the site and the University of Victoria bore most of the cost of preparing the completed manuscript.
Wilson Duff, then Provincial Anthropologist and Chairman of the Archaeological Sites Advisory Board, must be credited with the fortunate selection of the site, thanked for placing me in a position to undertake the fieldwork for this dissertation, and congratulated on his choice of field crew for the two seasons. Those who, along with me, explored the Montague Harbor Midden included Judy Buxton, Dimitris Hakas, Phil Hicks, Dave Keenlyside, Terry Moore, John Noury, Dave Sawbridge and John Sendey. I am indebted to all for their work and their companionship.
The finished dissertation is also the product of many more hands than mine alone. Most of the text figures were prepared by Joyce Nelms although a few were done by John Noury, Keith Hamilton and Bill Selwood. The black and white photographs were taken by Neil Vallance and some of the descriptive statistics were compiled and computed by Terry Klokeid. Parts of the first draft were typed by Gail Cunningham and Nancy Hayden while the finished product is the work of Suzanne Lauzon and Teresa Duggan.
My intellectual debt is the most difficult to specify but I would be remiss if I did not mention Professors David Aberle, Charles Borden, Albert Spaulding, and Wayne Suttles for their contributions to the gradual growth of my fund of empirical and theoretical knowledge; and Professors Don Dumond, Joseph Jorgensen, Arnold Shotwell, and Michael Stanislawski for their more specific direction as members of my dissertation committee.
I would finally like to acknowledge the forbearance of my wife and daughter, whose patience, encouragement, and, when necessary, push, have helped bring this phase of my investigations to a close.
AW.00146
1968
Archaeology
Thesis / Dissertation
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