Haida Argillite Carvers in Victoria

July 22, 2019. By Grant Keddie. Introduction The Haida were among the many Indigenous northern visitors to Victoria after 1853. Many came to work to get trade goods or wages to purchase European commodities. The Haida visitors brought carvings they made on Haida Gwaii. Many of these were made of argillite, a stone unique to Haida Gwaii (see appendix 1, What is Argillite). Argillite was used primarily after 1810, there are only a few examples of argillite being used for labrets in ancient times (Keddie 1981). Argillite plates, platters, mugs, goblets, knives and forks became popular as the Haida copied the European-style tableware used by the settlers. The citizens of Fort Victoria enthusiastically purchased these. On July 21, 1859 the … Continue reading “Haida Argillite Carvers in Victoria”

The Archaeology and Ethnology of Wedges on the Northwest Coast

2018. By Grant Keddie Introduction Wooden and antler wedges are a common tool found in the Northwest Coast cultural area of North America. The purpose of this article is to drive a wedge into our current thinking about wedges and to stimulate further research by making some observations based on Royal B.C. Museum archaeological and ethnological artifacts. I combine this view of collections with my own background experience in working with wedges. Wedges are commonly known to have been used for splitting fire wood, for the manufacture of posts and planks used in house construction, household items such as boxes and bowls, and for the whole process of canoe making from cutting down trees to splitting the tree trunks and … Continue reading “The Archaeology and Ethnology of Wedges on the Northwest Coast”

Late Pleistocene Mountain Goats (Oreamnos Americanus) from Vancouver Island: Biogeograhic Implications

Originally published in the Journal of Mammalogy, 81(3), 666—675. 2000. By David W Nagorsen and Grant Keddie Abstract Although Oreamnos americanus is absent from most Pacific Coast islands, including Van­couver Island, 12,000-year-old skeletal remains were recovered in 2 caves on northern Vancouver Island. The specimens may represent early postglacial immigrants or a relict population derived from a coastal glacial refugium. Limb bones of the fossils are within the size range of modern specimens, suggesting a postglacial origin. O. americanus prob­ably became extinct on Vancouver Island during the early Holocene warming, but inadequacies in the prehistoric faunal record prohibit a determination of a terminal date. The modern distribution of O. americanus on Pacific Coast islands reflects both prehistoric extinctions and low … Continue reading “Late Pleistocene Mountain Goats (Oreamnos Americanus) from Vancouver Island: Biogeograhic Implications”

Bird Bone Tube Snare Guards in the Archaeology Collection of the Royal B.C. Museum

June 3, 2019. By Grant Keddie Introduction There are many different sizes of bird bone artifacts found in archaeological sites in British Columbia. The function of many of these remains unknown. There is often no comparable artifact type in the ethnographic record. They are sometimes ascribed functions by archaeologists for which there is no evidence. Some of the long bird bone tubes referred to as “drinking tubes” are in fact, what I am calling bird bone snare guards – devices on snares which prevent marmots and ground squirrels from biting through the noose cord and escaping.   Here I present the evidence of how I determined, from my own observations and technology experiments, that some of the unidentified bird bone … Continue reading “Bird Bone Tube Snare Guards in the Archaeology Collection of the Royal B.C. Museum”

The Bison of Beacon Hill Park

June 20, 2017 By Grant Keddie Introduction A very interesting specimen is recorded in the catalogue of the Vertebrate Zoology Collection of the Royal B.C. Museum for April 19th, 1932. It was the body of a three-day old bison donated by the Victoria Parks Department. It was the baby born in Victoria’s Beacon Hill Park to its bison parents Victoria and Albert. Where did the Bison Come From? On November 9, 1928, William Straith, President of the Victoria Junior Chamber of Commerce, had advised the Victoria Park Committee that he had been trying to obtain two bison (buffalo) for the Beacon Hill Park Zoo. The Dominion (Federal) government allotted two from Alberta’s Buffalo National Park near Wainright where they had … Continue reading “The Bison of Beacon Hill Park”

Marmot Trap Triggers in the Royal B.C. Museum Ethnology Collection

May 28, 2019. By Grant Keddie. Introduction Marmots were hunted in many parts of British Columbia for their furs and their fat content. Both Coastal and Interior peoples went into the mountains every fall to hunt them. Some First Nations continue to hunt marmots. See Appendix 1, First Peoples and Marmots of British Columbia, for a detailed overview of the role of marmots in Indigenous societies. Deadfall traps and snares of various sizes were used for catching most species of mammals as well as birds. There are several types and sizes of artifacts in this general category of trap devices that were used by the Tlingit and their inland relatives for trapping mainly marmots and ground squirrels. Small deadfall trap … Continue reading “Marmot Trap Triggers in the Royal B.C. Museum Ethnology Collection”

A First Nations Shell Midden on Raymur Point, Victoria Harbour

September 11, 2017. By Grant Keddie There is an ancient archaeological shell midden – the refuse from what was once, at least, a seasonal camp on Raymur Point at the intersection of St. Laurence Street and Kingston Avenue. Raymur Point is a raised bedrock peninsula on the south side of Victoria’s inner harbour located to the west of Laurel Point and at the east end of Fisherman’s Wharf. The site was not occupied by First Nations in historic times and appears to have had a limited occupation in the distant past. The midden location, known as Archaeological site DcRu-33, includes the extreme northern extension of the point and the shoreline along the wider section of the point extending along the … Continue reading “A First Nations Shell Midden on Raymur Point, Victoria Harbour”

List and comments on Select Population References to the Lekungen (Songhees and Esquimalt Nations)

2005. By Grant Keddie (1) c. 1826-27 Census. Census of Indian Population compiled by Archibald McDonald, Fort Langley. In: Report to the Governor and Council, Feb. 25, 1830. H.B. Co. Archives, Provincial Archives of Manitoba, Winnipeg, D.4/123. Pub. 1979. In: The History of Fort Langley, 1827-96, by Mark K. Cullen, as Appendix A. Canadian Historic Sites: Occasional Papers in Archaeology and History, Paper No. 20, National Historic Parks and Sites, Ottawa. The list for “Vancouver’s Island” moves geographically from the “Nanemoos” (Nanaimo) with 100 men; the “Cowaitchins” (Cowichan) with 200 men; the Sanutch (Saanich) with 60 men; the Tchanmus (Songhees) with 40 men; to the “Soaks” (Sooke) with 50 men. There is no mention of Klallam on Vancouver Island. The … Continue reading “List and comments on Select Population References to the Lekungen (Songhees and Esquimalt Nations)”

Beyond “Spirit Bears”

May 10, 2019. By Grant Keddie Introduction In 2006, the “Spirit bear” was adopted as the provincial mammal of British Columbia. The term “Spirit Bear” has to a large extent been overused as a media hype word. It has often been misinterpreted as a direct aboriginal name of a unique type or species of bear. The circular movement of information between indigenous peoples and popular writers, have created some modern myths such as comments that white bears, also referred to as “ghost bears”, were not traditionally hunted. Today they are referred to as a subspecies of black bear called Ursus americanus kermodei. The environmental movement of the western world has over-simplified the portrayal of all white coloured black bears by … Continue reading “Beyond “Spirit Bears””

Indigenous Peoples and Potato Cultivation

February 3, 2023. By Grant Keddie Introduction During the early period of European exploration and settlement, on what became the Colony of Vancouver Island, outsiders often spoke of the great skills of indigenous people in acquiring specific foods. However, the planning that went into Indigenous resource management practices was not recognized. Activities such as the organizing and placing of tied fir branches in inlets to collect herring eggs were not recognized as a form of aquaculture – which today they would be. Just as today we use the term oyster farms, would we not have to call the latter practice herring egg farming? The bias of Europeans as to what they considered forms of farming was clearly toward land-based agriculture. … Continue reading “Indigenous Peoples and Potato Cultivation”