Social Zooarchaeology of a Northwest Coast House

Abstract

Data from the Dionisio Point site on Galiano Island in the southernStrait of Georgia, Canada is used not only to document aspects of life at the site but also to consider how people made use of the coastal landscape. Central to this endeavor is the goal of tackling social questions, particularly those with implications for group interaction within the region. I examine the history of Dionisio Point using the results of recent zooarchaeological work and integrating our knowledge of social life at the site with seasonal land use patterns. I suggest that we can best explain the zooarchaeological results from House 2 by interpreting Dionisio Point as an aggregate village not dissimilar to known ethnographic aggregate villages in the Strait of Georgia. The implications of this analysis are that we can begin to see the constitution of social relationships and group identities in zooarchaeological and material culture evidence. The richness of the fauna identified from Dionisio Point together with a broad range of habitats that people residing at the site utilized during subsistence activities permits a reconstruction of the kinds of social engagement associated with these quotidian practices and their articulation with ceremonial life.

Addressing seasonal site use through ancient DNA species identification of Pacific salmon at Dionisio Point, Galiano Island, British Columbia

“…Detailed research results presented by Grier (2003Grier ( , 2006aGrier ( , 2006b and Ewonus (2006Ewonus ( , 2011 provide the basis for this summary. House 2 excavations revealed the presence of four major hearths, an earthen bench feature and a number of post moulds consistent with post and beam house architecture (Suttles, 1991).…”

“…Results of zooarchaeological analysis of House 2 animal bone provide evidence for subsistence activities that were undertaken in a range of marine and terrestrial habitats (Ewonus, 2011). The taxonomic richness of the faunal assemblage from House 2 at Dionisio Point is well represented by the fish remains (Table 2, Fig.…”

“…A significant proportion of salmon recovered from House 2 appear to have been fished from Porlier Pass or adjacent waters and consumed without a substantial delay. An early spring to summer inhabitation of Dionisio Point, beginning with the herring fishery, also accounts well for the range of habitats that are represented by the vertebrate assemblage (Ewonus, 2011).…”

“…Identified mammals include taxa from 7 families and identified birds represent an additional 6 families (Ewonus, 2011). Mammal species and genera identified during zooarchaeological analysis include deer (Odocoileus), elk (Cervus elaphus), canids (Canis), bear (Ursus), harbour seal (Phoca vitulina), Steller sea lion (Eumetopias jubatus), humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) and deer mouse (Peromyscus).…”

On Villages, Quantification, and Appropriate Context: A Comment on “Social Zooarchaeology of a Northwest Coast House” by Paul A. Ewonus

“…In a recent article in the Journal of Island and Coastal Archaeology Ewonus (2011) presents his interpretation of the Marpole-age (c. 1500 to 1300 cal BP) Dionisio Point (DgRv-3) village site on Galiano Island in coastal southwestern British Columbia, Canada. Drawing on a judgmental sample of faunal data from the remains of one of the five plankhouses at the site (House 2), Ewonus argues that this household was part of a socially diverse, aggregate village akin to aggregate villages recorded ethnographically (Mitchell 1983).…”