A View From the Shore: Interpreting Fish Trap Use in Comox Harbour Through Zooarchaeological Analysis of Fish Remains from the Q’umu?xs Village Site (DkSf-19), Comox Harbour, British Columbia By Megan Caldwell A Thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies of The University of Manitoba in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of MASTER OF ARTS Department of Anthropology University of Manitoba Winnipeg Copyright © 2008 by Megan Elizabeth Caldwell Table of Contents Table of Contents i List of Figures iv List of Tables iv Abstract vi Dedication vii Acknowledgements viii Chapter 1 – Introduction 1 Chapter 2 – The Northwest Coast Setting 5 2.1 - Defining the Northwest Coast 5 2.2 - Northwest Coast Environment 6 2.2.1 - Northwest Coast Environmental Setting 6 2.2.2 - Faunal Resources 7 2.2.3 - Spawning Aggregations of Herring and Salmon 7 2.2.4 - Other fish species found at Q’umu?xs 10 2.2.5 - Shellfish Resources 13 2.2.6 - Avian and Mammalian Resources 14 2.3 - Northwest Coast Culture Area 14 2.3.1 – Introduction 14 2.3.2 - Early Northwest Coast Occupation 15 2.3.3 - Locarno Beach Phase 15 2.3.4 - Marpole Phase 18 2.3.5 - Gulf of Georgia Phase 19 2.3.6 - The Ethnographic Period 21 2.4 - Large-Scale Fishing Structures (Traps and Weirs) 24 2.4.1 - Fishing Structures Around the World 24 2.4.2 - Northwest Coast Fishing Structures 25 2.5 - Comox Harbour, British Columbia 27 2.5.1 - Comox Harbour and the Q’umu?xs Village Site 27 2.5.2 - Previous Archaeology in Comox Harbour and the Northern Gulf of Georgia 30 Chapter 3 – Literature Review 33 3.1 - Optimal Foraging Theory 33 3.1.1 – Introduction 33 3.1.2 - Application to Anthropology and Archaeology 34 3.1.3 - Prey Choice 35 i 3.1.4 - Patch Choice 36 3.1.5 - Marginal Value Theorem 38 3.1.6 - Central Place Foraging 39 3.1.7 - Optimization and Technology 40 3.2 – Households 42 3.2.1 – Introduction 42 3.2.2 - Definition of ‘Household’ 43 3.2.3 - Functional Analysis as a Method of Household Archaeology 44 3.2.4 - The Northwest Coast Household 50 3.2.5 - Northwest Coast Household Archaeology 53 3.3 – Complexity 56 3.3.1 – Introduction 56 3.3.2 - Northwest Coast Complexity 60 3.4 – Intensification 62 3.4.1 – Introduction 62 3.4.2 - Northwest Coast Resource Production 63 3.5 – Expectations 65 Chapter 4 – Methods and Materials 68 4.1 - Site Selection 68 4.2 – Sampling 68 4.2.1 - Bucket Auger Sampling 68 4.2.2 - Sampling in the Field 69 4.2.3 - Sampling for Analysis 71 4.3 - Treatment of Materials 72 4.3.1 - Screening and Sorting of Auger Materials 72 4.3.2 – Identification 73 4.3.3 – Quantification 73 4.4 - Soil pH Analysis 74 4.4.1 - Material for soil pH Analysis 74 4.4.2 - Method of soil pH Analysis 74 4.4.3 - Correlation of Soil pH Analysis and Fish Remains 75 4.5 - Fish Trap Mapping 76 4.6 – Interviews 76 4.6.1 - Ethics Approval 76 4.6.2 - Interview Questions 77 Chapter 5 – Results 78 ii 5.1 – Introduction 78 5.2- Radiocarbon Dates 78 5.3 - Soil pH Values 79 5.4 - Results of Fish Element Identification 80 5.4.1 - Results of 2.36mm Samples 80 5.4.2 - Results of 1.5mm Samples 110 5.4.3 - Results of Combined 1.5mm and 2.36mm Samples 116 5.5 - Fish Trap Mapping Results 124 Chapter 6 – Discussion 128 6.1 - Discussion of Results 128 6.1.1 - Fish Remains at Q’umu?xs Village 128 6.1.2 - Fish Remains and Fish Traps in Comox Harbour 131 6.1.3 - The Use of Fish Traps in Comox Harbour 132 6.2 - Expectations Revisited 135 6.2.1 - Optimal Foraging Theory and Fish Trap Use 135 6.2.2 - Intensification and Fish Trap Use 137 6.2.3 - Intensification, Complexity and Households 138 6.3 – Summary 141 Chapter 7 – Implications, Future Directions and Conclusion 142 7.1 - Implications and Future Directions 142 7.2 – Conclusion 144 References 146 Appendix A – Functions and Formulae for Optimal Foraging Models 161 Appendix B – Samples from the Courtenay District Museum and Archives 165 Appendix C – Soil pH Analysis - Correlation 167 Appendix D – Interviews with K’omoks Elders 170 Appendix E – Reports on Radiocarbon Analysis 174 Appendix F – Photographs of Q’umu?xs Village Site and Comox Harbour, British Columbia 182 Appendix G – Digital appendix consisting of excel document of fish remains identifications 194 iii List of Figures 2.1 The Northwest Coast culture area 6 2.2 Location of Comox Harbour, British Columbia 28 4.1 Location of sampled areas at the Q’umu?xs Village Site 70 5.1 Schematics of trap structures found in Comox Harbour 125 5.2 Schematic of mapped wooden stake complex #1 126 5.3 Schematic of mapped wooden stake complex #2 127 6.1 Radiocarbon Dates from the Comox Harbour Fish Traps and the Q’umu?xs Village Site 132 List of Tables 5.1 Results of radiocarbon analysis on materials from the Q’umu?xs Village site 79 5.2 Results of soil pH analysis on samples from the Q’umu?xs Village site 80 5.3 Distribution of 2.36mm materials by area 81 5.4 %NISP and %NSP of 2.36mm materials by area 81 5.5 Distribution of 2.36mm materials for Area 1 83 5.6 %NISP and %NSP of 2.36mm materials for Area 1 83 5.7 Distribution of 2.36mm materials for Auger 8 84 5.8 Distribution of 2.36mm materials for Auger 9 85 5.9 Distribution of 2.36mm materials for Auger 13 86 5.10 Distribution of 2.36mm materials for Area 2 87 5.11 %NISP and %NSP of 2.36mm materials for Area 2 87 5.12 Distribution of 2.36mm materials for Auger 4 88 5.13 Distribution of 2.36mm materials for Auger 5 89 5.14 Distribution of 2.36mm materials for Auger 6 90 5.15 Distribution of 2.36mm materials for Auger 16 91 5.16 Distribution of 2.36mm materials for the column sample 92 5.17 Distribution of 2.36mm materials for Area 3 94 5.18 %NISP and %NSP of 2.36mm materials for Area 3 94 5.19 Distribution of 2.36mm materials for Auger 34 95 5.20 Distribution of 2.36mm materials for Auger 35 96 5.21 Distribution of 2.36mm materials for Auger 36 97 5.22 Distribution of 2.36mm materials for Auger 39 99 5.23 Distribution of 2.36mm materials for Auger 40 100 5.24 Distribution of 2.36mm materials for Area 4 102 iv 5.25 %NISP and %NSP of 2.36mm materials for Area 4 102 5.26 Distribution of 2.36mm materials for Auger 5W25N 103 5.27 Distribution of 2.36mm materials for Auger 5W5N 104 5.28 Distribution of 2.36mm materials for Auger 5W30N 105 5.29 Distribution of 2.36mm materials for Auger 15W5N 106 5.30 Distribution of 2.36mm materials for Auger 10W5N 107 5.31 Distribution of 1.5mm materials by area 109 5.32 %NISP and %NSP of 1.5mm materials by area 109 5.33 Distribution of 1.5mm materials for Auger 9 110 5.34 Distribution of 1.5mm materials for the column sample 111 5.35 Distribution of 1.5mm materials for Auger 40 112 5.36 Distribution of 1.5mm materials for Auger 10W5N 114 5.37 Distribution of combined 1.5mm and 2.36mm materials by area 115 5.38 %NISP and %NSP of combined 1.5mm and 2.36mm materials by area 115 5.39 Distribution of combined 1.5mm and 2.36mm materials for Auger 9 116 5.40 Distribution of combined 1.5mm and 2.36mm materials for the column sample 118 5.41 Distribution of combined 1.5mm and 2.36mm materials for Auger 40 119 5.42 Distribution of combined 1.5mm and 2.36mm materials for Auger 10W5N 121 v Abstract This thesis presents the results of recent sampling of the Q’umu?xs Village site (DkSf- 19) at Comox Harbour, British Columbia. Bucket auger and column sampling was undertaken to ascertain resource use patterns associated with the unique abundance of wooden stake fish traps located in Comox Harbour through zooarchaeological analysis of fish remains. Fish remains were identified and quantified to trace changes in resource use and linked to the chronology of fish trap use. Incorporating the theoretical frameworks of human behavioural ecology (optimal foraging models), intensification, household archaeology, and the archaeology of complex hunter-gatherers, this thesis discusses the use of fish traps in Comox Harbour in relation to larger questions of Northwest Coast social and economic complexity, in particular the emphasis on herring seen in the fish remains. vi Dedication To the fishers of Comox Harbour, past, present, and future. vii Acknowledgements This research would not have been possible without the help and encouragement of many people. First, I would like to thank the K’omoks First Nation for allowing me to conduct research within their territory. I thank in particular the Elders who graciously shared their time and knowledge with me: Mary Everson, Norman Frank, Ernie Hardy and Stu Hardy. As well, I would like to thank band manager Melinda Knox and Jenny Millar who works in the band office for their assistance throughout this project.