Ancient Basketry of the Olympic Peninsula

The scientific recovery of archaeological sites can reveal much about ancient cultures. Archaeology provides early dates that can be associated with cultural development in the region, but the archaeological record does not unveil a full portrayal as yet. In fact until 1970 most artifacts that were found in Northwest Coast sites were limited to stone and bone artifact assemblages, which tell us mostly about subsistence and manufacturing practices. The moist coastal climate of the Northwest Coast decays wood and fiber artifacts that could have revealed much more about culture change and the links between ancient and historic Native peoples. The pronounced absence of this material culture became evident while I was working at an archaeological field school on Lopez Island in the San Juan Islands in 1968, where 90 percent of the organic material, such as wood and fiber artifacts, had decomposed. In 1970 a winter storm eroded parts of the coastal Indian village of Ozette at Cape Alava, Washington, to reveal many of its artifacts. This village was occupied between 2,000 and 300 years ago. Reports of erosion drew people to see the site, and some, unfortunately, began to plunder it. In order to preserve and protect this endangered example of the Makah’s rich heritage, the Makah Tribe and Washington State University (WSU) began a full archaeological investigation of the ancient houses that had been encased in a mudslide about 300 years ago. Archaeologists from WSU, led by Richard Daugherty, discovered basketry and wooden artifacts that had been buried in part of the village by a 1700 mudslide—probably after an earthquake event. Using hydraulic excavation techniques, the wet site’s preserved basketry was carefully removed, revealing stylistic evidence that could be used to interpret culture change in the region (fig. 8.1). As more West Coast archaeological sites were discovered and excavated in this same manner, new examples of basketry and cordage were found that could be compared with the Ozette material to better comprehend the continuity or change in Northwest cultures over thousands of years (Croes 1976, 1977, 1995). Hundreds of basketry items were found in houses throughout the Ozette village. Fifty-six basket types were recorded, including fourteen decorative flat bag types (fig. 8.2) and one cradle type (Croes 2001); eight mat types, including two tumplines, categorized as flat woven basketry; and seven hat types. overall there were 697 basketry items and another 406 fragments studied (Croes 1977). Clearly Ozette was producing distinctive art and industrious amounts and kinds of basketry that had yet to be seen in ancient sites

Prehistoric ethnicity on the Northwest Coast of North America: An evaluation of style in basketry and lithics

Resulting from the recent excavation of waterlogged (“wet”) sites on the Northwest Coast of North America, prehistoric basketry and cordage artifacts have become much more common. Since these artifacts have several unique diagnostic attributes, they become particularly useful as a new dimension for considering the meaning of Northwest Coast archaeological phase definitions. At the Hoko River wet/dry site, Olympic Peninsula, Washington State, we find a lithic component in the living areas (dry portion) which best “fits” the Locarno Beach Phase. This 2200–3000 B.P. fishing camp represents a westerly extension of this lithic artifact assemblage, typically found at this time period in the Gulf of Georgia. The abundant Hoko River perishable artifact assemblage found in the wet offshore areas demonstrates a distinctive style when compared to those from the classic and contemporary Locarno component from the Musqueam Northeast wet site (DhRt4) on the Fraser Delta. Therefore, what do the Locarno characteristics observed from lithic artifacts at Hoko River actually represent? From computer-assisted economic models of cultural evolution for the Hoko region, we propose that many groups of the southern Northwest Coast evolved through similareconomic stages or plateaus (best characterized by stone and bone artifact styles), yet retained distinct ethnic styles (best characterized by their basketry and cordage). Developing southern Northwest Coast groups may have passed through similareconomic plateaus that have become considered culturalphases or types, while the basketry and cordage artifacts may best represent continuity of cultural ethnicity through theseeconomic plateaus

The Hoko River archaeological site complex: The wet/dry site (45CA213), 3,000-1,700 B. P

Three millennia ago, Native Americans on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula occupied a key seasonal fishing camp on a bar of the Hoko River. Over the centuries, these ocean-oriented peoples discarded cordage, basketry, bent-wood fishhooks, tools, and other cultural materials. These perishable items were remarkably preserved in wet, low-oxygen river deposits

The Significance of the 3000 B.P. Hoko River Waterlogged Fishing Camp in Our Overall Understanding of Southern Northwest Coast Cultural Evolution

The Hoko River site complex is located about 30 km from the northwest tip of the Olympic Peninsula, along the Strait of Juan de Fuca. The complex consists of two temporally distinct areas of prehistoric occupation: an upriver waterlogged (wet) and adjoining (dry) campsite area dating from 3,000 to 2,200 B. P., and a rivermouth site within a large rockshelter, occupied from about 900 to 100 B. P. The chapter discusses how one would actually characterize the 2,500 to 3,000—year—old Hoko River fishing camp based on the simulation models predicting economic patterns, and as reflected by the archaeological remains from the wet and dry sites. It considers the prestorage and the storage model predictions to set the stage for evaluating this 3000 B. P. time period. Northwest Coast basketry and cordage artifacts provide senstitive data for hypothesizing continuity of cultural styles and general ethnic groups in the West Coast and the Puget Sound-Gulf of Georgia areas

Lachane Basketry and Cordage: A Technological, Functional and Comparative Study

Prehistoric basketry and cordage recovered from the Lachane site provide entirely new information concerning the prehistory of the northern Northwest Coast. These materials are analyzed for comparison at the level of attribute (mode), class (type) and functional category. Lachane basketry is compared to historic Tsimshian, Haida, and Tlingit basketry using different cluster analysis tests and the results clearly indicate a close degree of similarity between prehistoric Lachane and historic Tsimshian basketry. Since Lachane is in the heart of historic Tsimshian territory, these data support a model of Tsimshian cultural continuity. The Lachane cordage analysis demonstrates an emphasis on multi-strand, cedar bark, twisted cords. This is most similar to the cordage technology from the other northern wet site, Axeti, and in contrast to southern Northwest Coast wet site cordage technologies. This may indicate a northern, vs. southern, style of ropemaking. Both the Lachane basketry and cordage analyses demonstrate the sensitivity of these kinds of artifacts for prehistoric research on the Northwest Coast. La vannerie et le cordage recueillis du site Lachane fournissent de nouveaux renseignements concernant le prehistoire du nord de la Côte Ouest. On effectue une étuse comparative de ces objets en utilisant les caracteres (mode), les classes (types) et les categories fonctionnelles. On compare la vannerie de Lachane à la vannerie historique des Tsimshian, des Haida et des Tlingit en utilisant divers testes d'analyse vectorielle. Les résultats indiquent un degre 6troit de similitude entre la vannerie préhistorique et historique des Tsimshian. Comme Lachane est au coeur de l'évolution culturelle des Tsimshian, on en déduit une continuité culturelle. L'analyse du cordage de Lachane soulinge I'importance plac 130e sur les cordes tordues à brins multiples d'écorce de cédre. Ce cordage est similaire à la technique de cordage observée sur un autre site humide septentrional, Axeti, mais se trouve en contraste avec les techniques observées dans les sites humides au sud de la Côte Nord-ouest. Ceci peut indiquer un style, septentrional vs oriental, de fabrication de la corde. L'analyse de la vannerie et du cordage de Lachane démontre à quel point les objets de cette nature sont utiles à la recherche en préhistoire sur la Côte Nord-ouest

Circum-Pacific Prehistory Conference Bringing a million years of human heritage to Washington State, Seattle, Washington, U.S.A., August 1-6, 1989, reprint proceedings

Conference program and abstracts

Tribal - Archaeological Cooperative Agreement: A Holistic Cultural Resource Management Approach

The conflict, almost a panic for some archaeologists, over who "owns" the past - scientists or tribes - does not need to exist. Both groups have equal validity (legal or otherwise) in being involved. With shared scientific technical and tribal cultural expertise, an equal partnership produces results not possible otherwise. Here is one example of a formalized 50/50 sharing of the research that expands scientific and cultural understanding in the Pacific Northwest of North America. In this case, the Squaxin Island Tribe and a College signed a formal cooperative agreement that helped set the stage for developing (1) a tribal cultural resource management office, (2) the first full-scale investigation of a site in this region (which contains a wet component), (3) outreach cultural resource Management training through online classes, and (4) public interpretation in a new tribal museum. Working together, equally respecting each other's needs, archaeologists and tribes can create the scientific/cultural results they both require

Hoko River A 2500 year old fishing camp on the Northwest Coast of North America

Includes maps, figures, and photos. Best copy available.Office of Archaeology and Historic Preservation, State of Washington, the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust, the Makah Tribal Nation. Museum of Anthropolog

Joint Tribal/College Wet Site Investigations: A Critical Need for Native American Expertise

The calculated addition of 90-95% of the material culture provided by wood and fiber artifacts in wet or waterlogged sites along the Northwest Coast of North America has hugely expanded the understanding of items of daily manufacture and use for at least 9,000 years. To understand the manufacture and use of these "foreign" (to archaeologists) but dominant artifacts, Native Americans now, more than ever, provide a critical analytic and interpretive cultural knowledge. Our recent tribe/college team effort at the Qwu?gwes wet site in Washington State, U.S.A., is one example of how this partnership is not only analytically needed, but also, because of the wet site importance to Native Americans, why archaeologists need to become trained and involved in wet site investigations