Salish – Grant Keddie

Shark Man. Indigenous Shark Power.

Spear or Harpoon Point This uniquely carved bone point is one of my artistic favourites (Figure 1). It is missing its proximal end, which makes it difficult to tell if it was a spear or harpoon point. It is also difficult without knowing how in was attached, if directly, or via a fore shaft, to other parts of the shaft as seen in figure 4. The bone point was found during a joint archaeological recovery project, with volunteers from the Royal B.C. Museum and Sidney Museum. I was in charge of this project, which was the first in British Columbia to use a large power conveyor belt separator. The point is show here in figure 1, in a lighter tone … Continue reading “Shark Man. Indigenous Shark Power.”

The Archaeology of the Gorge Waterway of Greater Victoria

Part 1. The changing Landscape and Victoria Harbour to Selkirk Waters. The Changing Landscape Twenty-one thousand years ago the Gorge Waterway, Victoria Harbour and all the beaches around Victoria were all deep underwater. This was caused by the glaciers pushing the land down as they approached the Victoria Region (Miskelly 2012; Clague 1983). The land rebounded to 14 meters above the present sea level by Thirteen thousand years ago (Keddie 2019). By 11.200 years ago the land continued to rebounded and the Gorge appeared for a short period of around 1,000 to 2000 years as an ocean inlet. As the land continued to rebound, the upper Gorge became dry land by 9200 years ago. The Gorge and Victoria Harbour became … Continue reading “The Archaeology of the Gorge Waterway of Greater Victoria”

Indigenous Bark Shredders of British Columbia

August 05, 2024. Preface The study of the history of bark shredders and bark beaters is important as they were used in the production of one of the most significant raw materials used by Indigenous peoples on the coast of British Columbia – cedar. As Richard Hebda has shown: “Beginning about 5,000 years ago, closed forests dominated by Douglas-fir and including western red cedar (Thuja plicata) and western hemlock developed in the region as climate cooled and moistened” (Hebda 2024). Richard Hebda and Rolf Mathews (1983) showed the correlation between the “maximums of the cedar pollen curves 2000 to 5000 years ago and the development of massive timber working”. They suggested that “it was only during the latter part of … Continue reading “Indigenous Bark Shredders of British Columbia”

Indigenous Bark Beaters in Coastal British Columbia

Were they Introduced from Polynesia? Preface Over the years from the 1970s to 2000, I had interesting discussions with Thor Heyerdahl during his research visits to the Royal B.C. Museum. I came to have a good understanding of his changing philosophy. Thor began his interests in British Columbia when he visited Bella Coola in 1939-1940 to compare petroglyphs at Thorsen Creek with Polynesian art forms. Unlike some of his critics, I read his scientific publications as well as his popular books. He was, on occasion, dismissed in the academic world, for some of his ideas that he had long given up. I assisted Thor in examining Museum artifacts he was interested in for possible Polynesian connections and suggested some myself … Continue reading “Indigenous Bark Beaters in Coastal British Columbia”

The Shuttle-cock Lure. Fishing around the Salish Sea

By Grant Keddie The shuttle-cock lure and spear, was a unique form of technology used to catch mostly the larger lingcod and rockfish. The fisherman used this device at low tide from anchored canoes or rock points that overlooked kelp beds. The lure would be pushed down deep with a separate pole that was quickly pulled away from it. The lure then spun toward the surface, the fish darted after it and was speared when it came near the surface. The spear was 4.5 to 6 meters long. It consisted of two or three, unbarbed, fir shafts on the end. The shafts were about 4cm thick, 46cm long and about 10 cm apart at their tips (Swan 1870; Jennes 1934-35; … Continue reading “The Shuttle-cock Lure. Fishing around the Salish Sea”

Jimmy Fraser the Songhees Story Teller

By Grant Keddie. In 1941, World War II was on. At the age of 72, Jimmy Fraser (Kin-Kay-nun; Unthame, Cheachlacth) of the Songhees Nation, stood next to his fellow band members Jack Dick, Roddy Stewart, Art Hall, Clarence Dick, Richard Albany, Dave Fallardeau and Louis Kamai, at the Esquimalt dock yards, famous for their ship building. The Songhees were being praised for their contribution to the war effort. Like so many other Indigenous people then and before in World War 1, they contributed to the Canadian war effort. The Songhees were being singled out for the work they were doing at the dock yards. The foreman at the dockyards said the Songhees “were the best workers he ever had”. (Colonist … Continue reading “Jimmy Fraser the Songhees Story Teller”

Indigenous Combs of British Columbia

By Grant Keddie. Preface Combs are artifacts used by many cultures around the world over thousands of years. They are used primarily for disentangling and arranging the hair, but also as decorative items for holding the hair and head pieces, they have evolved into symbols of status or authority and cultural identity. To make a point, I show an extreme physical example of an Ashanti comb from Ghana in figure 1. Large Ashanti prestige combs were given by men to women as an act of devotion and commitment. In the 1970s, African combs took on a role in African American culture and politics where they became a sign of solidarity to the Black Power movement as a cultural statement. Combs … Continue reading “Indigenous Combs of British Columbia”

Bird Spears and Bird Arrows

Grant Keddie. 2023. Introduction The identification of bone projectile points found in archaeological sites that were used as components of bird spears and bird arrows are difficult to identify. This is due, in part, to the lack of Museum ethnographic examples with accurate documentation. Old traditional bird spears or arrows are rare in Museum collections. With the introduction of iron and the gun, the components of the spears and arrows changed and then they disappeared from use. Bird spears have several components: a shaft, a central bone point with up to five other bone points of several sizes or two bone points positioned at the same level on the distal end of the spear. Most of these are barbed but … Continue reading “Bird Spears and Bird Arrows”

Spindle Whorls of British Columbia Part 3. Large Historic Spindle Whorls in the Indigenous Collection of the Royal B.C. Museum.

By Grant Keddie. March 2023. [Part 4 in this series on Spindle Whorls in British Columbia will deal with the Thunderbird and Lightening Snake Iconography most relevant to Part 3] Introduction Large wooden spindle whorls from the historic post contact period were used primarily for twisting together two already twisted strands of fibre. The fibre consisting mostly of hair of mountain goat, domestic dogs, seal and other mammals as well as bird down and plant material such as the plume of the fireweed. Description of the Large Whorls in the Ethnology Collection There are 30 large spindles whorls in the Royal B.C. Museum Ethnology Collection. The term ethnology is used here to refer to non-archaeological artifacts in the Indigenous collections. … Continue reading “Spindle Whorls of British Columbia Part 3. Large Historic Spindle Whorls in the Indigenous Collection of the Royal B.C. Museum.”

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.”