The North Coast Prehistory Project Excavations in Prince Rupert Harbour, British Columbia

Description

This work describes more than 9000 artifacts recovered from nine sites in Prince Rupert Harbour, within the traditional territories of the Coast Tsimshian, excavated between 1968 and 1972. They include large, complex shell middens, and several were major villages or towns at some time during their history. Material culture was remarkably stable over at least the past 4000 years. While subsistence data are limited, faunal remains and artifacts suggest an emphasis on hunting deer and sea mammals, and intensive exploitation of shallow littoral habitats. Evidence suggests that logistical patterns of mobility, some requiring large canoes, were established by AD 1 at the latest. Boardwalk appears to have been a two row village by ca. 500 BC, and perhaps very much earlier. Finally, artifacts associated with the human burials excavated by the project suggest the existence of social ranking by c. 1000 BC, as well as some degree of occupational specialization.