Lithic Technologies of the Discovery Islands: Materials, Stone Tool Production, and Communities of Skilled Practitioners
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Lithic Technologies of the Discovery Islands: Materials, Stone Tool Production, and Communities of Skilled Practitioners by Callum William Filan Abbott B.A. (Honours), University of Victoria, 2013 A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF ARTS in the Department of Anthropology Callum William Filan Abbott, 2018 University of Victoria All rights reserved. This thesis may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by photocopy or other means, without the permission of the author. Supervisory Committee Lithic Technologies of the Discovery Islands: Materials, Stone Tool Production, and Communities of Skilled Practitioners by Callum William Filan Abbott B.A. (Honours), University of Victoria, 2013 Supervisory Committee Dr. Quentin Mackie, Department of Anthropology Supervisor Mr. Daryl Fedje, Department of Anthropology Departmental Member Dr. Ann Stahl, Department of Anthropology Departmental Member ii Abstract Supervisory Committee Dr. Quentin Mackie, Department of Anthropology Supervisor Mr. Daryl Fedje, Department of Anthropology Departmental Member Dr. Ann Stahl, Department of Anthropology Departmental Member This thesis explores the findings of a diachronic analysis of three lithic assemblages from Quadra Island, British Columbia. From this, insights flow about the genealogies of technological practice and communities of skilled practitioners who inhabited the study area throughout its deep history. I use qualitative and quantitative methods including macroscopic lithic analysis, thin section petrography, X-ray fluorescence spectrometry, and morphometrics to operationalize these theoretical foundations. This suite of complementary methods and theory weaves a narrative of technological change alongside simultaneous continuity for hundreds of generations of human life. I argue this is evidence of the dynamic, sophisticated, yet enduring knowledge and practice of the inhabitants of the Discovery Islands throughout their deep histories that persist in the present. iii Table of Contents Supervisory Committee ............................................................................................................................ ii Abstract .................................................................................................................................................... iii Table of Contents ..................................................................................................................................... iv List of Tables .......................................................................................................................................... vii List of Figures ........................................................................................................................................ viii Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................................. xi Dedication .............................................................................................................................................. xiii Chapter 1: Introduction and Objectives .................................................................................................... 1 1.1: Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 1 1.2: Research Objectives ....................................................................................................................... 4 Chapter 2: Geographic Focus .................................................................................................................. 11 2.1: Geographic Focus – Introduction ................................................................................................. 11 2.2: Paleoenvironmental, Geological, and Geomorphological Setting ............................................... 11 2.3: Regional Archaeological Chronologies ....................................................................................... 16 2.4: Ethnographic Context .................................................................................................................. 18 2.5: The Discovery Islands Landscape Archaeology Project .............................................................. 22 2.6: Geographic Focus Discussion ...................................................................................................... 25 Chapter 3: Theoretical Framework ......................................................................................................... 26 3.1: Situated Learning as Making Communities of Practice ............................................................... 26 3.2: Relational Materials: Stone Tool Use-Lives and Lives Lived by Stone ...................................... 30 3.3: Lithic Technologies as Situated Social Practice .......................................................................... 34 3.4: Space, Place, and Translocality: Neither Here nor There ............................................................ 37 3.5: Time, History, and Transtemporality ........................................................................................... 39 Chapter 4: Methods Overview ................................................................................................................ 43 4.1: Methods Overview – Introduction ............................................................................................... 43 4.2: Sampled Lithic Assemblages ....................................................................................................... 46 4.2.1: Renda Rock Shelter (EaSh-77) ................................................................................................. 52 4.2.2: Crescent Channel (EbSh-81) ..................................................................................................... 60 4.2.3: Village Bay Lake Island (EbSh-80) .......................................................................................... 72 Chapter 5: Macroscopic Lithic Analysis ................................................................................................. 81 iv 5.1: Data Analysis I – Introduction ..................................................................................................... 81 5.2: A Note on Typology .................................................................................................................... 81 5.3.1: Morphological Attribute Analysis ............................................................................................ 91 5.3.2: Lithic Material Types – Visual Identification by Surficial Attributes ...................................... 99 5.4.1: Renda Rock Shelter (EaSh-77) Macroscopic Analysis Results .............................................. 101 5.4.2: Crescent Channel (EbSh-81) Macroscopic Analysis Results ................................................. 109 5.4.3: Village Bay Lake Island (EbSh-80) Macroscopic Analysis Results ....................................... 114 5.5: Macroscopic Lithic Analysis Discussion ................................................................................... 120 Chapter 6: Material Analysis ................................................................................................................ 126 6.1: Data Analysis II – Introduction .................................................................................................. 126 6.2: Thin Section Petrography .......................................................................................................... 127 6.3: X-Ray Fluorescence Spectrometry ............................................................................................ 138 6.4: Watts Point Survey .................................................................................................................... 156 6.5: Material Analysis Discussion .................................................................................................... 161 Chapter 7: Morphometric Analysis ....................................................................................................... 172 7.1: Data Analysis III – Introduction ................................................................................................ 172 7.2: Methods ..................................................................................................................................... 173 7.3.1: Morphometric Case Study 1: Crescent Channel (EbSh-81) Microblades............................... 174 7.3.2: Morphometric Case Study 1 – Discussion .............................................................................. 188 7.4.1: Morphometric Case Study 2: Renda Rock Shelter (EaSh-77), Crescent Channel (EbSh-81), and Village Bay Lake Island (EbSh-80) Complete Debitage Flakes ................................................ 190 7.4.2: Morphometric Case Study 2 – Discussion .............................................................................. 199 Chapter 8: Discussion ........................................................................................................................... 203 8.1: Emergent Lateral Taxonomies ................................................................................................... 203 8.2: Data Analysis Synthesis ............................................................................................................. 210 Chapter 9: Conclusion