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Using GIS modelling as a tool to search for late Pleistocene and early Holocene archaeology on Quadra Island, British Columbia by Colton Vogelaar B.A., University of British Columbia, 2015 A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF ARTS in the Department of Anthropology © Colton Vogelaar, 2017 University of Victoria All rights reserved. This thesis may not be reproduced in whole or part, by photocopy or other means, without the permission of the author. SUPERVISORY COMMITTEE Using GIS modelling as a tool to search for late Pleistocene and early Holocene archaeology on Quadra Island, British Columbia by Colton Vogelaar B.A., University of British Columbia, 2015 Supervisory Committee Dr. Quentin Mackie (Department of Anthropology) Co-Supervisor Daryl Fedje (Department of Anthropology) Co-Supervisor ii Abstract The archaeological sites that inform the hypothesized coastal route of entry to the Americas are limited, with fewer than twenty sites older than 11,500 years before present on the Northwest Coast of North America. Late Pleistocene and early Holocene archaeological sites are hard to find in this expansive, remote, and heavily forested area due to the complexity of paleoenvironmental change since the last glacial maximum. The study area for this thesis, Quadra Island, in the Discovery Islands, lies in the middle of a gap in knowledge about this time period. Changes in relative sea level have proven to be especially important for early site location on the coast. Predictive modelling has been used to search for new archaeological sites on the Northwest Coast, and is a basic component of cultural resource management practices in British Columbia. Such quantitative modelling can aid in archaeological site survey, but must be used critically. This study integrates quantitative and qualitative modelling with a heuristic method to incorporate more humanistic modelling theory and address some critiques of a traditional predictive modelling approach. In this study, quantitative modelling highlighted target areas which were then evaluated by qualitative modelling. A selection of targets were then subjected to focussed archaeological survey to evaluate methodology, results, and search for new sites. This method is important theoretically because modelling is explicitly used only as a tool and does not label the landscape with values of potential. Modelling was applied in two areas of Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) data which collectively host more than 4,000 kilometres of potential paleo-coastline. Fifteen new archaeological sites were found during this study, with at least two sites radiocarbon dated to ca. 9,500 calibrated years ago. This methodology could be applied in different archaeological contexts, such as underwater and in different coastal regions. The results of this study have important implications for coastal First Nations and implications for cultural resource management in the province. iii Table of Contents Supervisory Committee .................................................................................................... ii Abstract ............................................................................................................................. iii Table of Contents ............................................................................................................. iv List of Figures ................................................................................................................... vi List of Tables .................................................................................................................... ix Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................... x Chapter 1: Introduction ................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Research Questions ............................................................................................. 3 1.2 Chapter Organization .......................................................................................... 4 Chapter 2: Background and Literature Review .......................................................... 6 2.1 Paleoecology ....................................................................................................... 9 2.1.1 Abiotic environment ........................................................................................ 9 2.1.2 Biotic environment ........................................................................................ 18 2.2 Archaeology ...................................................................................................... 31 2.2.1 Continental-scale early period coastal archaeology .................................... 31 2.2.2 Regional culture history overview ................................................................ 43 2.2.3 Regional-scale early period coastal archaeology ........................................ 48 2.2.4 Quadra Island archaeology .......................................................................... 57 2.3 GIS Modelling .................................................................................................. 65 2.3.1 Predictive modelling in coastal settings ....................................................... 68 2.4 False Start #1: Agent Based Modelling ............................................................ 73 2.5 Chapter Conclusion ........................................................................................... 75 Chapter 3: Theory ........................................................................................................ 77 3.1 Critique of Predictive Modelling ...................................................................... 78 3.2 Predictive Modelling and Heritage Protection in BC ....................................... 83 3.2.1 Quantitative modelling assumptions ............................................................. 89 3.3 Early Period Archaeological Theory ................................................................ 90 3.3.1 Formation processes and survivorship ......................................................... 92 3.3.2 Ethnographic analogy and behavioural models ........................................... 95 3.4 Humanistic Theory.......................................................................................... 100 3.5 False Start #2: Phenomenology ...................................................................... 103 3.6 Chapter Conclusion ......................................................................................... 106 Chapter 4: Methods .................................................................................................... 107 4.1 Quantitative Modelling and GIS Methods ...................................................... 108 4.1.1 Coastline complexity ................................................................................... 109 4.1.2 Wind fetch ................................................................................................... 112 4.2 Quantitative Modelling and Heuristic Methodology ...................................... 116 4.3 False Start #3: Landform Classification ......................................................... 117 4.4 Qualitative Modelling ..................................................................................... 120 4.4.1 Human and expert judgement ..................................................................... 121 4.4.2 Landform formation model ......................................................................... 121 iv 4.4.3 Human behavioural model .......................................................................... 123 4.4.4 Practical qualitative variables .................................................................... 125 4.5 Archaeological Methods ................................................................................. 126 4.5.1 Survey and archaeological testing .............................................................. 127 4.5.2 Archaeological survey qualitative variables .............................................. 127 4.5.3 Model testing ............................................................................................... 129 Chapter 5: Results ...................................................................................................... 130 5.1 Model Results ................................................................................................. 130 5.1.1 Coastline complexity ................................................................................... 130 5.1.2 Wind fetch ................................................................................................... 135 5.2 Fieldwork Results ........................................................................................... 142 5.2.1 July 2016 fieldwork ..................................................................................... 142 5.2.2 September 2016 fieldwork........................................................................... 148 5.2.3 Lab analysis ................................................................................................ 151 Chapter 6: Discussion ................................................................................................. 161 6.1 Recent Models and Results ............................................................................. 161 6.2 Archaeological Site Location .........................................................................