In Fall 2019, just before the world changed, several Lasquetians participated in our first community archaeological exploration at the south end of Long Bay. These archaeological deposits, which we now know are part of a larger site that extends to the north side of Long Bay, were discovered in the early stages of building a cabin when 6 machine-excavated holes were dug for foundations. At the request of the landowner, an archaeological permit was obtained, and our community volunteered to screen and help the volunteer archaeologists collect samples from the layers in the side walls of the excavated holes.

   

Based on seven radiocarbon dates, we know the southern portion of the site is at least ~2900 years old and was used until 150 years ago. The northern portion is at least 3700 years old.

   

After sorting samples in the lab, we have a list of the animal remains. There were also many unidentified small fish in the assemblage.

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• Shellfish: butterclams, littleneck clams, cockles, mussels, barnacles, urchins, whelks, bentnose clams, limpets, moonsnails.

• Finfish: herring, surfperch, spiny dogfish, ratfish, salmon, rockfish, sculpin, greenling

• Mammals: beaver, deer, dog, harbour seal

   

Of the invertebrates, littleneck, butters, and cockles are found in all time periods and in the greatest amounts. Herring is the clear fish winner, followed by surfperch. Herring and perch spawn in late winter and early spring in the eelgrass beds that almost certainly thrived in Long Bay. The bases of eelgrass were also a valued springtime food. The larger fish (e.g., dogfish and flatfish) could have entered the bay to feed on herring. There are few salmon bones.

   

The deer bones suggest that when at the site, people always hunted and processed at least one deer. The smaller numbers of beaver and seal bones suggest that people hunted and processed these occasionally. Doggies were also present. Unfortunately, there was no DNA preserved in their bones, so we can’t tell if they were woolly or hunting dogs.

   

Overall, the remains from this site fit well with other archaeological sites in the Salish Sea: people harvested and processed a range of terrestrial and marine species of which herring, bivalves, and deer were the main sources of food. The herring and clams seem to have been harvested and processed en masse, presumably to be transported back to their home village (across the bay?) for winter stores or to be exchanged with others.

 

– Dana Lepofsky