Wet-Site Excavation at Sunken Village Site on the Columbia River

The extensive in situ acorn pits are the most remarkable fea­tures at this landmark site. During surface exposure and mapping, all such pits contained remnants of whole acorns. Also wood and fiber artifacts were observed in and around these pits, including a shredded cedar bark cape/skirt fragment, a broken wooden wedge, wooden arrow shafts, and a well-preserved basket distinctive of the region's fine basket work. The basket piece was found with intact base and sides (no rim remained) all carefully cross-warp twined of split cedar root (identified by Bud Lane, master weaver, Siletz, and Patricia Gold, master Wasco weaver, Warm Springs; Figures 5 and 6). The style of this basket is definitely from this region and demonstrates an ancient continuity of this style of basketry. Baskets found from northern ancient wet sites are of a very different style, and themselves demonstrate at least 3,000 years of basketry cultural continuity in Salish, Makah, and Tsimshian traditional territories. For full final report on two summer's of explorations, second one sponsored by Japanese Archaeology program, see: Croes, Dale R., John L. Fagan and Maureen Newman Zehendner 2009 Sunken Village, Sauvie Island, Oregon, USA, A Report on the 2006-2007 Investigations of National Historic Landmark Site 35MU4. Journal of Wetland Archaeology Special Edition 9, 1-216. Available on Amazo

Comparison of rapid laboratory tests for failure of passive transfer in the bovine

peer-reviewedBackground Failure of passive transfer of maternal immunity via colostrum can occur in the bovine, and a number of blood tests have been developed to test calves for this failure. It is not clear which test is most suitable for this purpose. The objective was to examine the most commonly used tests for failure of passive transfer and to decide which is most suitable for routine laboratory use. 126 serum samples were taken from calves of dairy cows after birth but prior to colostrum feeding, and at 48 h of age. Five different tests were compared against radial immunodiffusion which is considered the appropriate reference method. These tests were serum gamma-glutamyltransferase levels, serum protein levels, serum globulin levels, an enzyme linked immunosorbent assay and the zinc sulphate turbidity test. Results The tests examined displayed high sensitivity but widely varying specificity. Examination of the use of different cut-off points allowed some improvement in specificity at the expense of sensitivity, but the tests which had performed best at the original cut-off points still displayed the best performance. Gamma-glutamyltransferase levels as a measure of colostrum absorption returned, in this study, the best balance between sensitivity and specificity. The ELISA used in this study and serum globulin levels displayed performance similar to the gamma-glutamyltransferase levels. Serum total protein was less successful than others examined at providing both sensitivity and specificity but may, when performed via refractometer, be useful for on-farm testing. As currently performed the poor sensitivity for which the zinc sulphate turbidity test is most often criticized is evident. Modification of the cut-off point to increase specificity is less successful at balancing these parameters than the ELISA, gamma-glutamyltransferase levels, and globulin levels. Conclusions Gamma-glutamyltransferase levels, ELISA testing and circulating globulin levels performed best in detecting failure of passive transfer in serum samples, although all three had some practical considerations

The Physical and Cultural Background

The Sunken Village wet site (35MU4) is on one of the most important river junctures on the Northwest Coast of North America – where the Columbia River drainage of British Columbia, Canada and Washington State, U.S.A. is joined by the Willamette River flowing through much of western Oregon State, U.S.A. (Figure 2.1). The site is on Sauvie Island, where a major aquifer pumps under the natural levee into Multnomah Channel, providing a unique 125 m wide beach area where acorns placed in shallow hemlock bough-lined pits were leached in huge numbers by ancient Multnomah Peoples (Figure 2.2)

The 2006 and 2007 Field Seasons at Sunken Village

As mentioned, the 2005 erosion of the dike placed on the natural levee facing the intertidal waterlogged portion of the Sunken Village site had threatened the residents of the island, initiating a proposal by the Sauvie Island Drainage Improvement Company (SIDIC) to place protective rip-rap rock along the face of the bank. Since the site is on navigational waters under the authority of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, field evaluation of this National Historic Landmark archaeological wet site was required to assess the potential effects of placing protective rip rap rock on the channel bank in order to comply with U.S. Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (Croes et al. 2006)

Artifact Analyses

Over 50 years of collecting and intentional vandalism at the Sunken Village wet site has demonstrated the potential material culture data preservation at this waterlogged site, and finally we can report a systematic characterization of the overall material culture – both debitage and examples of discrete artifacts. The previously and unprofessionally collected basketry, cordage and wooden artifacts reflected the wealth of wood and fiber artifacts thanks to the waterlogged preservation of the site, however collecting is very selective. The analytical power of the basketry was noted over twenty years ago, reflecting a distinct Chinookan style (Croes 1987). As reported next, this artifact analysis may even have a much broader implications for a North Pacific cultural sharing, both in the use of acorn pit processing and distinct basketry styles, factors never perceived before these initial professional explorations

Ecofacts – Plant and Animal Analyses

Wet sites, due to reduced oxygen, provide excellent preservation of both plant and animal remains. Due to the clear importance of Sunken Village as an acorn leaching and processing location – largely because of the aquifer streaming through this approximately 100–125 m of intertidal beach – the focus in Section 4 is on the leaching pits and acorn remains. First we begin with a look at identifying the actual plant materials and fuels used at this site, requiring both visual observations of the plant remains and also cellular analysis of the wood, fibers and charcoal. Many of the perishable artifacts are introduced in this section while identifying their wood and fiber construction materials. Second we report the abundant acorns and acorn leaching pit features, so numerous at Sunken Village. Third, seed retrieval is explored, comparing the results of flotation techniques and fine wet screening. And finally, the faunal analysis reflects the use of these animal resources in a secondary position, and probably to support the group while managing the acorn leaching pits from this site. The obvious contrast here to other Northwest Coast and Columbia River sites is the reduced focus on fisheries from this location

Early Holocene Occupation at the West Lost River Site, Klamath County, Oregon

Excavations at the West Lost River Site (35KL972) provide new insights on early Holocene occupation of southwestern Oregon. The article focuses on the artifacts and specimens recovered from the site

The effect of organic acid and sodium chloride dips on the shelf-life of refrigerated Irish brown crab (Cancer pagurus) meat

peer-reviewedCrab (Cancer pagurus) meat (white and brown) has a short shelf-life. Chemical treatments may inhibit microbial spoilage and extend shelf-life. The effect of 5% organic acids (lactic acid (LA), acetic acid (AA) and citric acid (CA)) and 5% sodium chloride (NaCl) on TVC (mesophiles and psychrophiles), Enterobacteriaceae, Pseudomonas spp. and lactic acid bacteria (LAB) were investigated during storage (2 °C for 12 days). AA was the most effective treatment for white meat, reducing the initial TVCm and TVCp by 1.6 and 1.8 log10 cfu/g, respectively, and extended the shelf life to 8–11.5 days, compared to 5 days for untreated control samples. LA treatment also significantly (P  0.05). A similar pattern was observed for brown meat samples, although the shelf life was increased by a maximum of 1–3 days. The growth of Enterobacteriaceae, Pseudomonas spp. and LAB was significantly (P < 0.05) reduced on AA treated samples only. It was concluded that the shelf-life of crab meat may be extended by up to 3 days using lactic acid and more than doubled using acetic acid.Funding for this project was provided by the Food Institutional Research Measure (FIRM), project number 13F529, administered by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM), Ireland

A Field Report from the Sunken Village Wet Site (35MU4)

During low waters of September a wet site team, sponsored by an international grant from Japan, returned to further record the National Heritage Landmark wet site of Sunken Village (35MU4), Sauvie Island, Portland, Oregon (Figure 1). The one week project (September 16 through 22, 2007) was designed to accurately map the surface features ( especially over a hundred in situ acorn leaching pits and wooden stakes) and surface arti­facts (especially lithic debitage and fauna! remains) as revealed in the limited evaluation of I 060 linear feet (320 metres) of beach before the riprap repair was permitted by the U.S. Corps of Engineers in October of 2006 (Croes, Fagan and Zehendner 2007; a PDF copy of this 2006 field work is available on the web - see References below). The project continues to be co-man­aged through the direct in-put by Cultural Resources Protection Specialists Eirik Thorsgard, Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde, and Robert Kentta, Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indi­ans and in consultation with the Confederated Tribes of Warms Springs. A joint team provided the expertise needed to carefully map and record the Sunken Village National Historic Landmark site, consisting of(a) the SPSCC Wet Site Archaeological Inves­tigations and Laboratory team, lead by Dr. Dale Croes, and the SPSCC Computer Aided Drafting Department, lead by Professor Michael Martin, (b) the AINW geoarchaeological and laboratory team, lead by Dr. Michele Punke and Maureen Zehendner, and ( c) the internationally known Wetland Archaeological Team from the National Institute for Cultural Heritage, Nara, Japan, lead by Dr. Akira Matsui. This project was conducted through the sponsorship of a Japanese international grant under the administration of Dr. Akira Matsui, Chief Archaeologist, National Institute for Cultural Heritage, Nara, Japan, as well as support through the SPSCC Anthropology Club, an SPSCC Exceptional Faculty grant, Jean and Ray Auel, and volunteers from Portland State University and the Oregon Archaeological Society. Dr. Matsui brought four Japanese associates to participate in the field work: Dr. Naoto Yamamoto, Dr. Toru Miyao, Dr. Atsushi Iwasaki, and Dr. Tomonori Kanno (Figure 2)