Artifacts - Grant Keddie

The use and distribution of labrets on the North Pacific Rim

Originally published in Syesis, 14, 59-80. 1981. By Grant Keddie This paper deals with the definition, categorization, and distribution of labrets. or lip plugs, and gives a regional synthesis of their history as known from both archaeological and ethnological studies on the Pacific Rim. from the Gulf of Georgia region in Canada to northern Japan. Key Index Worms: archaeology, categorization, distribution, labrets. North Pacific Rim Many problems are encountered when interpreting ethnographic, archaeological, and other written sources on labretifery. At present there is no consistent classification system used in describing labrets. A system of mutually exclusive terms is a necessity for entry into a computerized data base Part of the problem in the development of a classification system has been … Continue reading “The use and distribution of labrets on the North Pacific Rim”

Labrets in the Collection of the Royal B.C. Museum

2007. By Grant Keddie Introduction In my publication: “The Use and Distribution of Labrets on the North Pacific Rim” (Syesis 14:59-80, 1981), and paper: “Symbolism and Context: The World History of the Labret and Cultural Diffusion on the Pacific Rim” (Keddie 1989 – this web site), I presented an overview of the geography, timing, gender relations and symbolism pertaining to labrets or lip plugs. I have argued that Labrets are artifacts of significant importance in the interpretation of past human behaviour. As highly visual body adornment, labrets provide evidence of relationships between and among people. Labrets have taken on complex symbolic meanings beyond the obvious indicators of group membership, age, gender and class identity. Once they become established in a … Continue reading “Labrets in the Collection of the Royal B.C. Museum”

Symbolism and Context: The World History of the Labret and Cultural Diffusion on the Pacific Rim

Paper originally presented at the Circum-Pacific Prehistory Conference Session VIII Prehistoric Trans-Pacific Contacts, Seattle Washington, U.S.A., August 1-6, 1989. By Grant Keddie Introduction The question of whether or not Asiatic cultures have influenced cultures of the New World is linked with the problem of how we tell whether cultural charge is internal or external. As Hodder points out “all change incorporates continuity and the archaeologist can emphasize one or the other at will”. The problem he suggests has been “the failure to identify continuity and change as social-symbolic processes”. There is, he argues, a “need for archaeologists to examine the origin and divergence of long-term cultural traditions” (1987a:8). I will present an overview of my ongoing studies on the long-term … Continue reading “Symbolism and Context: The World History of the Labret and Cultural Diffusion on the Pacific Rim”

A Chinese Coin to raise Canadian Dollars.

By Grant Keddie I was walking along a back lane in Edmonton, Alberta one day at the age of ten, when I noticed that the McLaughlin’s garbage can was knocked over. Spilled on the ground were three coins, two 19th century French and Portuguese coins and a Chinese brass, one cash piece with a square hole in the centre. I kept these coins, and later because of an interest in Chinese history, I took a special interest in collecting Chinese coins. When I searched further through the garbage can I found a signed blank check for fifty dollars. My mother suggested I should take the check back and to stop searching through garbage cans. Dorothy McLaughlin gave me 25 cents … Continue reading “A Chinese Coin to raise Canadian Dollars.”

The Question of Asiatic Objects on the North Pacific Coast of America: Historic or Prehistoric?

Originally Published in Contributions to Human History, 3. Royal British Columbia Museum. Grant Keddie May 1989 Abstract: Claims have been made that Native Indian cultures of the North Pacific coast of North America have been influenced by prehistoric contact with advanced cultures of China. Purported evidence has focused on the finding of ancient Chinese coins as well as literary references to early voyages and shipwrecks. These claims are dealt with in the context of examining the nature of the diffusion of Asiatic objects around the North Pacific Rim. Historic, protohistoric, and prehistoric events relevant to the interpretation of the evidence are discussed. Key Index Words: Alaska, archaeology, Asiatic, British Columbia, Chinese, coins, copper, diffusion, Fou sang, Huishen, iron, Japanese, North … Continue reading “The Question of Asiatic Objects on the North Pacific Coast of America: Historic or Prehistoric?”

Victoria. A Place of Strong Fibre

Originally published in Discovery, 1993:3. Summer 1993. By Grant Keddie In April 1843, native people were hired to cut posts for the walls of the first nonnative buildings on the southern tip of Vancouver Island: Fort Camosun. They were given a 2’/2-point Hudson’s Bay blanket for every 40 posts, each measuring 3 feet in diameter by 22 feet long (1×7 m). On I June, about 40 men and 3 officers from the Hudson’s Bay Company began building the fort. The fort was initially referred to as Fort Camosun, and then between 6 August and 4 December as Fort Albert, in spite of an official letter dated 14 April from the Hudson’s Bay Company, which refers to the general location as: … Continue reading “Victoria. A Place of Strong Fibre”

Wooden Self-Armed Fishhooks from the Salish Sea.

Chapter in Waterlogged: Examples and Procedures for Northwest Coast Archaeologists. Washington State University Press, Pullman, Washington, 2019. Edted by Kathryn N. Bernick. By Grant Keddie Wet sites contain many artifact types that link the archaeological and ethnographic records. Occasionally they also produce objects that do not match the known record. Here, I expand upon our knowledge of one unusual type, the self-armed wooden fishhook, and examine Croes’ (2003:52—55) hypothesis that the technology survived into postcontact times on the northern Northwest Coast but not in the south. This hypothesis assumes that self-armed wooden fishhooks were used for catching cod in both regions. However, ethnographic and ethnohistoric evidence for the northern coast indicates that self-armed wood hooks were used to catch sablefish rather than … Continue reading “Wooden Self-Armed Fishhooks from the Salish Sea.”

A Modern Stone Figure on a Lekwungen Landscape

By Grant Keddie 2021. By Grant Keddie In the summer of 2020, I recovered a large 240 lb stone figure with a team of four others from the waters near Finlayson Point on the southern shores of Victoria (see Appendix 1). At the time I looked at the cultural context and physical evidence and determined that I would treat the cultural landscape and oral history as the more favourable evidence that the stone figure was likely to be an old Indigenous ritual figure. It turned out that I initially erred on suggesting that the stone figure was an old one when a modern-day stone carver told the media that he carved the stone. Here I provide a summary of how … Continue reading “A Modern Stone Figure on a Lekwungen Landscape”

Bird Leg Rings

Bird Leg Rings on the Northwest Coast? By Grant Keddie There are a variety of small artifacts found on the Northwest Coast that are often assumed to be forms of body adornment. Some of these likely had other functions. Three examples described here, might normally be assumed to be pendants. I think we should consider the possibility that these may have been used as bird leg rings for holding live decoy birds or pets. A common type of artifact in Polynesia is the kaka poria or bird leg ring made of stone or whale, bird and human bone. They were used to hold tame kaka birds (Nestor meridionalis) as a decoy for capturing wild birds in the forest (Phillips 1955:145). … Continue reading “Bird Leg Rings”