Salish – Page 5 – Grant Keddie

Cultural Change in the Gulf of Georgia. Asking the Right Questions

Originally Published in The Midden, 24(3), 3-4. 1992. By Grant Keddie One of the things I find intriguing is the attempts some archaeologists make in trying to fit an artifact collection that is obviously too small, into poorly supported cultural phases. One or two widely divergent radiocarbon dates from a site serve as evidence for a continuous occupation of several thousand years. We seem to be preoccupied with having to fit everything into a nice neat evolutionary scheme when, in fact, human cultures rarely follow such continuous sequencing in environmentally rich areas. In the Gulf of Georgia it is most likely that a diversity of cultures moved from different directions, at different times, to merge with and/or displace each other over … Continue reading “Cultural Change in the Gulf of Georgia. Asking the Right Questions”

Dating Archaeological and Ethnographic Materials with Chinese Coins

Originally published in Datum. Newsletter of the heritage Conservation Branch. Ministry of Recreation and Conservation. 1978. 3:2:3-5. By Grant Keddie. 1978. Introduction Early Chinese coins have been used occasionally to date historic burials or associated historical assemblages as well as being used as proof of a pre-contact circum-Pacific movement of trade goods or of proof of actual visitations by early Chinese explorers. By utilizing the direct historic approach it becomes evident that we must exercise caution in using Chinese coins as chronological indicators. I first became aware of the need to examine the reliability of dating with Chinese coins when trying to date a historic burial intrusion at the archaeological site DhRx 6 on Newcastle Island near Nanaimo. B.C. A … Continue reading “Dating Archaeological and Ethnographic Materials with Chinese Coins”

The Confusing Legend of the “Mystic Spring”

2003. by Grant Keddie In the municipality of Oak Bay, above the western side of Cadboro Bay, part of the uplands drain through a deep ravine now referred to as Mystic Vale. The creek that flows through this vale, or valley, has never been given a legal name but is referred to locally as Mystic Creek or Hobbs Creek. Mystic Creek flows north of Vista Bay Road and between Bermuda Street and Killarney road to the north of Cadboro Bay road. South of Cadboro Bay road the creek flows on the east side of Killarney road. Recently its south end was diverted east to Sinclair road. To the west of Killarney road is Mystic Lane. Artificial duck ponds have been created above and below this lane. The area between Killarney … Continue reading “The Confusing Legend of the “Mystic Spring””

Atlatl Weights

By Grant Keddie. 2007. Introduction This document is a technical, descriptive summary of all atlatl weights currently in the collection of the Royal B.C. Museum and some from other collections. This information is provided here because of the rarity of these artifacts and the difficulty of finding comparative information on the topic. WHAT ARE ATLATL WEIGHTS? An atlatl is a weapon composed of a flexible light spear or dart and a shorter throwing board that acts as a lever to propel the dart through the air. The weighting can be incorporated into the design of the throwing board, or represented as a separate item that is attached to these throwing boards. The dart should be thought of as being more … Continue reading “Atlatl Weights”

Hedley Cave Site DhRa-2

2005. By Grant Keddie The Chuchawaytha Rock Shelter Pictographs. Since reading the Midden article by Darius Kruger (2005), I thought I should add some unique information to his favorite ancestral site – the Chuchawaytha Rock Shelter, DhRa-2. This Similkameen region site has been referred to in earlier literature as the Hedley cave site. There has been some confusion regarding this location perpetuated by non-First Nation stories about early visits by Spaniards. Two clusters of images referred to as “the horseback riders” and “the prisoners” have often been misinterpreted by non-First Nations, as a single unit that represents Spaniards on horseback with ropes tied around the necks of a group of First Nation prisoners. This interpretation is an attempt by non-First Nations to fit these images with … Continue reading “Hedley Cave Site DhRa-2”

The Legend of Camosun

Originally published in: Discovery: Friends of the Royal British Columbia Museum Quarterly Review, 4(5). By Grant Keddie. Autumn 1991. Introduction The location of the reversible falls on the Gorge waterway in Victoria is significant in the history of Vancouver Island’s Songhees Indians. The legend of this beautiful spot under the Tillicum Road bridge produced the name of the city’s Camosun College, and was the first name for the Victoria area used by both Indians and fur traders. In 1843, James Douglas of the Hudson’s Bay Company referred to the waterway from Victoria Harbour to Portage Inlet as “Camosack”. The new fur-trade post was called “Fort Camosack”, and then “Fort Albert”, before it officially became “Fort Victoria”. Camosack was an interpretation … Continue reading “The Legend of Camosun”

Ulna Bone Tools

Originally published in The Midden, 44(3/4). Ulna Bone Tools: Identifying Their Function By Grant Keddie. 2012. Ulna tools have several main uses that are often not recognized in the archaeological literature. Based on my own experimental uses and an examination of the ethnographic literature, we can describe at least four different common uses of ulna tools. Ulna bones, which are the lower limb bones in animals, have a naturally shaped end that functions as a handle with little or no modification needed, and the pointed end is easy to shape into a functioning tool. The working ends of these tools need to be different to fit the intended function. Non-ulna bones with similar ends may, of course, have similar functions. … Continue reading “Ulna Bone Tools”

Stone Cultural Feature in Thunderbird Park

By Grant Keddie. 22-02-2013. Introduction At the Royal B.C. Museum, in Victoria, British Columbia, a large natural stone with a shallow concave surface can be seen outside in the native plant garden near the North-East corner of Thunderbird Park (Figure 1 & 2). This is a cultural object associated with First Nations that was once located south of Kamloops in the Southern Interior of British Columbia. The recorded details of its history are somewhat confusing. The natural shallow depression on the top of the rock fills with water when it rains, often forming unique patterns on the surface of the water. One could speculate that it may have been used like a mirror (Figure 3). During light rainfalls, … Continue reading “Stone Cultural Feature in Thunderbird Park”

JAMES TEIT DOCUMENT ON ROCK PAINTING

Compiled by Grant Keddie. 1982. Introduction The following typescript is from a handwritten letter sent in 1918 by James Teit of Spence’s Bridge, to Francis Kermode – then director of the Provincial Museum of Natural History [now the Royal B.C. Museum]. The original is in the James A. Teit Papers, Mss M3689 in the Glenbow Alberta Institute Archives. It is not known who typed the version I have. I have re-typed it to make it available electronically. The typescript is double spaced on four legal size pages. I have single-spaced it, but did not make any other changes. I left miss-spellings, grammatical errors, the one bracketed word “Render”, and some very long paragraphs. This is an important document, as it was written after Teit had traveled widely and had studied … Continue reading “JAMES TEIT DOCUMENT ON ROCK PAINTING”

Ritual Bowls

Originally published in The Midden, 14(6). February 1983. By Grant Keddie Ritual Bowls of the Salish Indians: Some Theories Two questions I am commonly asked when giving public demonstrations in artifact technology revolve around the use of stone bowls and whether or not individuals or families specialized in making these and other stone tools commonly found by the archaeologist. The purpose of this article is to 1) provide a brief summary of Wilson Duff’s conclusions regarding his ethnographic survey of the use of human seated figurine bowls (as presented in Prehistoric Stone Sculpture of the Fraser River and Gulf of Georgia – Anthropology in British Columbia, No. 5, 1956); 2) to present two accounts of stone bowl use not mentioned … Continue reading “Ritual Bowls”