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The Katz site : a prehistoric pithouse settlement in the lower Fraser Valley, British Columbia

University of British Columbia

Salvage investigations were carried out in 1970-71 at the Katz site (DiRj 1), a prehistoric pithouse settlement located along the Fraser River near the eastern end of the lower Fraser valley three miles downriver from Hope, B.C. Various hypotheses have been advanced to account for the presence of pithouses, a house type considered characteristic of the Plateau, in the lower Fraser river region. Archaeological research conducted at the Katz site has revealed (1) that the pithouse settlement was occupied about the middle of the first millennium B.C., (2) that the artefactual remains in association with the pithouse occupancy express technological affinities which are "interior", "coastal", as well as "local" in character, and (3) the site functioned as a multi-season activity locale. Archaeological investigations at Katz also yielded evidence of a utilization of the site prior to pithouse occupancy. In this earlier deposit, artefactual remains were found interbedded in floodplain alluvia. The stratigraphy, tools, and features, of this zone suggest a seasonal utilization of the site during this period, possibly associated with summer and perhaps fall fishing activities. These data are examined and discussed in the light of ecological information, ethnographic accounts, and previous archaeological findings in the region and adjacent regions. Evidence presented in this thesis adds to the empirical research previously undertaken for the purpose of establishing time depth, derivation, and social activities in Northwest pithouse villages, and adds information regarding tool kits, and activities at a seasonally utilized site early in the first millennium B.C.

Text

2011-03-29

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http://hdl.handle.net/2429/33046

Anthropology

University of British Columbia

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