ISSN 1538-2834 JOURNAL OF NORTHWEST ANTHROPOLOGY A Collection of Papers from the Journal of Northwest Anthropology Associated with Traditional Indigenous Resources Part 1: General and Terrestrial Spring 2011 Electronic Edition JOURNAL OF NORTHWEST ANTHROPOLOGY FORMERLY NORTHWEST ANTHROPOLOGICAL RESEARCH NOTES EDITORS Roderick Sprague Darby C. Stapp Deward E. Walker, Jr. South Fork Press Richland, WA University of Colorado ASSOCIATE EDITORS C. Melvin Aikens (University of Oregon), Haruo Aoki (University of California), Virginia Bevert (Yakama Tribe), Don E. Dumond (University of Oregon), Don D. Fowler (University of Nevada), Raymond D. Fogelson (University of Chicago), Rodney Frey (University of Idaho), Ronald Halfmoon (Lapwai), Tom F. S. McFeat (University of Toronto), and Jay Miller (Lushootseed Research). Julia G. Longenecker Operations Manager Kara N. Powers Editorial Assistant Diana C. Stapp Editorial Assistant Composed by South Fork Press, Moscow; Printed by Copy Court, Moscow; Bound by Arts & Crafts, Oakesdale. Missing issue claim limit 18 months. For back issues and catalogue of prices contact Coyote Press, P O Box 3377, Salinas, CA 93912. <http://www.californiaprehistory.com>. POLICY Journal of Northwest Anthropology, published semiannually by NARN, Inc. a non-profit organization in Richland, Washington, is a refereed journal and welcomes contributions of professional quality dealing with anthropological research in northwestern North America. Regular issues are published semiannually with additional memoirs issued as funds are available. Theoretical and interpretive studies and bibliographic works are preferred, although highly descriptive studies will be considered if they are theoretically significant. The primary criterion guiding selection of papers will be how much new research they can be expected to stimulate or facilitate. SUBSCRIPTIONS The subscription price is $40.00 U.S. per annum for individuals and small firms, payable in advance, $60.00 for institutional subscriptions, and $30.00 for students with proof of student status. Remittance should be made payable to JONA. Subscriptions, manuscripts, change of address, and all other correspondence should be addressed to: Darby C. Stapp J O N A telephone (509) 554-0441 P.O. Box 1721 e-mail [email protected] Richland, WA 99352-1721 website northwestanthropology.com MANUSCRIPTS Manuscripts can be submitted in double-spaced typescript on 8½ x 11 in. paper, and an electronic file in Microsoft Word sent via e-mail or on a CD is preferred. An abstract will accompany each manuscript. Footnotes will be avoided and if used at all will be assembled at the end of the text. Questions of reference and style can be answered by referring to the style guide found on the website or to Journal of Northwest Anthropology, 37(1):101-130. Other problems of style can be normally solved through reference to The Manual of Style, University of Chicago Press, 14th edition (1993). All illustrative materials (drawings, maps, diagrams, charts, and plates) will be designated “Figures” in a single, numbered series and will not exceed 6 x 9 inches. All tabular material will be part of a separately numbered series of “Tables.” Authors will receive one free reprint of articles, Memoirs, or full-issue monographs. Additional reprints may be produced by the author, however they must be exact duplicates of the original and are not to be sold for profit. © by NARN Inc. The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of the American National Standard for Information Sciences–Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1984 CONTENTS* 1. Balanophagy in the Pacific Northwest: The Acorn-Leaching Pits at the Sunken ................... 1 Village Wetsite and Comparative Ethnographic Acorn Use. Bethany Mathews. 2009. Volume 43(2):125–140. 2. Archaeological Evidence of Mountain Beaver (Aplodontia rufa) Mandibles as Chisels ........ 17 and Engravers on the Northwest Coast. R. Lee Lyman and Jamey Zehr. 2003. Volume 37(1):89–100. 3. Resource Cultivation on the Northwest Coast of North America ............................................. 29 Astrida R. Blukis Onat. 2002. Volume 36(2):125–144. 4. Peeled Lodgepole Pine: A Disappearing Cultural Resource and Archaeological Record ...... 49 Carolynne Merrell and James T. Clark. 2001. Volume 35(1):27–43. 5. A Bibliography of Plateau Ethnobotany .................................................................................... 63 Debora Welch and Michael Striker. 1994. Volume 28(2):211–240. 6. Aboriginal Coast Salish Food Resources: A Compilation of Sources ..................................... 93 Judith Krieger. 1989. Volume 23(2):217–231. 7. Loss, Transfer, and Reintroduction in the Use of Wild Plant Foods in the Upper ................... 108 Skagit Valley. Robert J. Theodoratus. 1989. Volume 23(1):35–52. 8. The Ethnobotanical Imperative: A Consideration of Obligations, Implications, and .............. 126 Methodology. Helen H. Norton and Steven J. Gill. 1981. Volume 15(1):117–134. 9. The Ethnobotany of the Clallam Indians of Western Washington ........................................... 144 Mark S. Fleisher. 1980. Volume 14(2):192–210. 10. The Association between Anthropogenic Prairies and Important Food Plants in ................... 163 Western Washington. Helen H. Norton. 1979. Volume 13(2):175–200. 11. An Analysis of Kwakiutl of Plant Terms .................................................................................... 189 Dale R. Croes. 1978. Volume 12(2):178–196. * In 2002, the name of the publication changed from Northwest Anthropological Research Notes to the Journal of Northwest Anthropology. Citations for the articles should appear as follows: 1967 (Volume 1) to 2001 (Volume 35): Northwest Anthropological Research Notes. 2002 (Volume 36) to 2009 (Volume 43): Journal of Northwest Anthropology. JOURNAL OF NORTHWEST ANTHROPOLOGY VOLUME 43 FALL 2009 NUMBER 2 BALANOPHAGY IN THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST: THE ACORN-LEACHING PITS AT THE SUNKEN VILLAGE WETSITE AND COMPARATIVE ETHNOGRAPHIC ACORN USE First Prize Graduate Student Paper 62nd Annual Meeting of the Northwest Anthropological Conference Newport, Oregon, 9–11 April 2009 Bethany Mathews ABSTRACT Archaeological and ethnographic studies in North America have recorded the importance of acorns where they were available to many cultures through resource or trade, but they have not generally been considered an important plant resource in the Northwest. Recent archaeological examination of approximately one hundred acorn-leaching pits on Sauvie Island, Oregon suggests otherwise. Comparison of the Oregon white oak range with ethnographic and archaeological information indicates that acorns were consumed in the oak’s range through western Washington, continuing south into the well-documented California acorn cultures. Introduction Test excavations of the National Historic Landmark Site 35-MU-4, the “Sunken Village,” have revealed the remnants of over one hundred pit features constructed by Chinookan people on a muddy slough of the Multnomah Channel on Sauvie Island, Oregon. The “Sunken Village was known by generations of artifact collectors and archaeologists for the basketry and other perishable objects found within the aquifer that has preserved these artifacts and features over hundreds of years. Archaeologists have previously identified the site as an acorn storage or processing facility (Newman-Zehendner 1992), which is a well-represented feature in California archaeology, but nearly absent on the Northwest Coast (cf., Ames et al. 1999:43). The abundant pit features on Sauvie Island are evidence of the use of a plant resource that has likely been underestimated on the Northwest Coast in general, and a reminder of the elaborate trade systems of the Lower Columbia region. 1 126 Pacific Northwest Balanophagy The Oregon white oak (Quercus garryana) inhabits the west coast from northeastern Vancouver Island in British Columbia to Los Angeles, California, extending eastward over the Cascade Mountains along the Columbia River (Peter and Harrington 2002:189). It is the only oak native to British Columbia and Washington, and dominates the oak populations of Oregon (Stein 1990:650-651; Agee 1993:352). In California, however, it is one of many nut-bearing trees (most from the genus Quercus) which populations utilized for generations as a dietary staple. Balanophagy, the “eating of acorns,” is described ethnographically as a unifying characteristic of California cultures (Gifford 1971:301), owing to the abundance of species throughout that region and the development of complex processing and storing techniques. Through living memory, ethnography and archaeology, the process of gathering and preparing acorns is recognized as a vital piece of culture and livelihood for thousands of years in that region. The typical process of preparing acorns in California, as followed by the Yosemite Miwok/Paiute tradition, involves gathering, drying, shelling, winnowing, and pounding the acorns into flour, followed by leaching the acorn flour with water to remove bitter tannins (Ortiz 1991). Though removing the astringent tannic acid is not necessary when eating acorns in small servings, the leaching process sweetens the acorns, and this would be necessary when consuming varieties other than the white oak, as they have significantly higher concentrations of tannic acid. Leached acorn flour was then prepared as cakes, breads, and porridges (Moerman 2002:461). Though southern California leaching methods