Analysis of artifacts from four Duke Point area sites, near Nanaimo, B.C. : an example of cultural continuity in the southern Gulf of Georgia region

Archaeological salvage excavations conducted in 1978 at four sites in the Duke Point area, DgRx 5, 11, 29, and 36, yielded a large volume of cultural material. Complete artifact analysis, supplemented with partial soils, fauna!, burial, and pollen analyses, and a range of radiocarbon dates, from about 2760 B.C., have suggested the interpre­tation of three cultural components. Component differences are to be found in the relative frequencies and percentages of artifacts in some classes as opposed to the presence or absence of certain artifact classes themselves. Using artifact data from the Duke Point area sites together with comparable data from other sites in the southern Gulf of Georgia region, it is demonstrated that perceived differences in artifact assemblages, particularly on a presence/absence basis, are not as clear-cut as they were once considered to be. Rather, the significant differences lie in the relative frequencies and percentages of certain artifact types. The utility of the current three-part framework for archaeological analysis, which has encouraged the interpretation of migration, diffusion, and independent invention to explain the origins and temporal variation of culture in the southern Gulf of Georgia region, is critically examined. It is argued that what are now regarded as relatively minor cultural changes, given the seasonal dynamics of the coastal environment, suggest cultural continuity. Conversely, where discontinuity is not readily apparent, and where proportional changes in artifacts between components rather than actual artifact class differences are in evidence, cultural continuity should be considered as a possible alternative.

Author dc:creator

• Murray, Rebecca Anne

Statement dc:rights

• Available to the World Wide Web

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/1828/19084

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.library.uvic.ca:1828/19084