Continuity and Knowledge Transmission on the Northwest Coast: Insights from Wet Site EkTb-9, Triquet Island, N̓úláw̓itx̌v Tribal Area, British Columbia, Canada
Abstract
Paleoethnobotanical wet site investigations enhance our understanding of ancestral people's relationships with plants and how they have evolved and persisted into the present. Archaeological records of human-plant interactions were historically underutilized or underreported at sites along the Northwest Coast of British Columbia, Canada. Recent advances in interdisciplinary and community-based research have increased awareness of the importance of studying wet site assemblages in the region. Site EkTb-9, Triquet Island, within the N̓úláw̓itx̌v Tribal Area of Haíɫzaqv (Heiltsuk) Nation Territory, is the only mid-Holocene wet site on British Columbia’s outer central coast that has been subject to focused investigations. This case study provides a description of the wooden artifact assemblage from EkTb-9 with consideration in the context of other select wet sites in British Columbia. The enduring relationships that Indigenous Peoples of the Northwest Coast maintain with the varied plant communities represented in these regional wet site assemblages demonstrate continuity and perpetuation of ancestral plant-related knowledge, technologies and land management practices over several hundred generations. Collectively, these data enable an exploration of the interactivity of wet sites, social practice, and knowledge transmission spanning the early Holocene to the present day.
References
Armstrong, C.G., N. Lyons, A.C. McAlvay, P.M. Ritchie, D. Lepofsky, and M. Blake. 2023. Historical Ecology of Forest Garden Management in Laxyuubm Ts’msyen and Beyond. Ecosystems and People 19. DOI:10.1080/26395916.2022.2160823.
Boas, F. 1932. Bella Bella Tales. American Folklore Society. G.E. Stechert and Co., New York, NY.
Bernick, K. 2019. Introduction: Wet-site Archaeology from a Northwest Coast Perspective. In Waterlogged: Examples and Procedures for Northwest Coast Archaeologists, edited by K. Bernick, pp. 1–14. Washington State University Press, Pullman, WA.
Cohen, J. 2014. Paleoethnobotany of Kilgii Gwaay: A 10,700-year-old Ancestral Haida Archaeological Wet Site. Unpublished Master’s Thesis, Department of Anthropology, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC, Canada.
Donald, L. 2003. The Northwest Coast as a Study Area: Natural, Prehistoric, and Ethnographic Issues. In Emerging from the Mist: Studies in Northwest Coast Culture History, edited by G. Matson, G. Coupland, and Q. Mackie, pp. 289–327. UNBC Press, Vancouver, BC.
Eldridge, M. 2019. Wet Sites: A Guide to Finding Them. In Waterlogged: Examples and Procedures for Northwest Coast Archaeologists, edited by G. Matson, pp. 17–37. Washington State University Press, Pullman, WA.
Fedje, D., R. Wigen, Q. Mackie, C. Lake, and I. Sumpter. 2001. Preliminary Results from Investigations at Kilgii Gwaay: An Early Holocene Archaeological Site on Ellen Island, Haida Gwaii, British Columbia. Canadian Journal of Archaeology 25:98–120.
Florian, M.E., D.P. Kronkright, and R.E. Norton. 1990. The Conservation of Artifacts Made from Plant Materials. Getty Conservation Institute, Los Angeles, CA.
Friedman, J. 1978. Wood Identification by Microscopic Examination, A Guide for the Archaeologist on the Northwest Coast of North America. Heritage Record No. 5. Royal British Columbia Museum, Victoria, BC.
Friedman, J. 2005. The Prehistoric Uses of Wood at the Ozette Archaeological Site. Ozette Archaeological Project Research Report. Washington State University Department of Anthropology Reports of Investigations 68. National Park Service, Northwest Regional Office, WA.
Gauvreau, A. 2024. EkTb-9, Triquet Island, Núláwitxv Tribal Area, British Columbia, Canada: A Persistent Place of Human Occupation and Investment in Haíɫzaqv Territory. PhD Dissertation, Department of Anthropology, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC.
Gauvreau, A., D. Fedje, A. Dyck, Q. Mackie, C.F.G. Hebda, K. Holmes, E. White, W. Housty, R. Housty, and D. McLaren. 2023. Geo-archaeology and Haíɫzaqv Oral History: Long-term Human Investment and Resource Use at EkTb-9, Triquet Island, N̓úláw̓itx̌v Tribal Area, Central Coast, British Columbia, Canada. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 49:1–32. DOI:10.1016/j.jasrep.2023.103884.
Hawes, K., and D. Croes. 2013. Archaeological Analysis and Conservation of Organic Wood, Charcoal, and Artifacts, Triquet Island Archaeological Site (EkTb-9). In Report for the Hakai Ancient Landscapes Archaeology Project: 2011 and 2012 Field Seasons (Permit 2011-171), edited by D. McLaren, 168–175. Archaeology Branch, Ministry of Forests, Victoria, BC.
Hebda, R.J., and R.W. Mathewes. 1984. Holocene History of Cedar and Native Indian Cultures of the North American Pacific Coast. Science 222:711–713.
Hebda, C.F.G. 2020. Preliminary Pollen Analysis: EkTb-9 Layer X and XIb, Triquet Island. Unpublished Report. Victoria, British Columbia.
Hill, G. 2019. Perceptions of Wetland Ecology in Cowichan Traditional Territory, Vancouver Island. In Waterlogged: Examples and Procedures for Northwest Coast Archaeologists, edited by K. Bernick, pp. 61–76. Washington State University Press, Pullman, WA.
Hoadley, R.B. 1990. Identifying Wood: Accurate Results with Simple Tools. The Taunton Press, Newtown, CT.
Hoffmann, T., N. Lyons, D. Miller, A. Diaz, A. Homan, S. Huddlestan, and R. Leon. 2016. Engineered Feature Used to Enhance Gardening at a 3800-year-old Site on the Pacific Northwest Coast. Science Advances 2. DOI:10.1126/sciadv.1601282.
Lepofsky, D., and K. Lertzman. 2008. Documenting Ancient Plant Management in the Northwest of North America. Botany 86:129–145. DOI:10.1139/B07-094.
Lepofsky, D., and N. Lyons. 2013. The Secret Past Life of Plants: Paleoethnobotany in British Columbia. BC Studies 179. DOI:10.14288/bcs.v0i179.184108.
Lucas, J. 2013. Palynology Report from EkTb-9. In Report for the Hakai Ancient Landscapes Archaeology Project: 2011 and 2012 Field Seasons (Permit 2011-171), edited by D. McLaren, pp. 274–302. Archaeology Branch, Ministry of Forests, Victoria, BC.
Lyons, N., and M. Ritchie. The Archaeology of Camas Production and Exchange on the Northwest Coast: With Evidence from a Sts’ailes (Chehalis) Village on the Harrison River, British Columbia. Journal of Ethnobiology 37 (2):346–367. DOI:10.2993/0278-0771-37.2.346.
Mackie, Q., D. Fedje, D. McLaren, N. Smith, and I. Mckechnie. 2011. Early Environments and Archaeology of Coastal British Columbia. In Trekking the Shore: Changing Coastlines and the Antiquity of Coastal Settlement, edited by N.F. Bicho, J.A. Haws and L.G. Davis, pp. 51–103. Springer, New York, NY.
Mackie, Q., D. Fedje, and D. McLaren. 2018. Archaeology and Sea Level Change on the British Columbia Coast. Canadian Journal of Archaeology 42:74–91.
McLaren, D., D. Fedje, M.B. Hay, Q. Mackie, I.J. Walker, D.H. Shugar, J.B.R. Eamer, O.B. Lian, and C. Neudorf. 2014. A Post-Glacial Sea Level Hinge on the Central Pacific Coast of Canada. Quaternary Science Reviews 97:148–69. DOI:10.1016/j.quascirev.2014.05.023.
McLaren, D., F. Rahemtulla, E. White, D. Fedje. 2015. Prerogatives, Sea Level, and the Strength of Persistent Places: Archaeological Evidence for Long-Term Occupation of the Central Coast of British Columbia. BC Studies 187. DOI:10.14288/bcs.v0i187.186161.
McLaren, D., K.L. Hawes, T. Graham, A. Gauvreau, J.M. Cohen, and D.R. Croes. 2019. Early and Middle Holocene Waterlogged Materials from Archaeological Sites on Central Coast of British Columbia. In Waterlogged: Examples and Procedures for Northwest Coast Archaeologists, edited by G. Matson, pp. 169–192. Washington State University Press, Pullman, WA.
Panshin, A.J., and C. de Zeeuw. 1980. Textbook of Wood Technology. McGraw Hill Inc., New York, NY.
Shaw, J., J.V. Barrie, K.W. Conway, D.G. Lintern, and R. Kung. 2020. Glaciation of the Northern British Columbia Continental Shelf: the Geomorphic Evidence Derived from Multibeam Bathymetric Data. Boreas 49:17–37.
Shugar, D.H., I.J. Walker, O.B. Lian, J.B.R. Eamer, C. Neudorf, D. McLaren, and D. Fedje. 2014. Post-glacial Sea-Level Change along the Pacific Coast of North America. Quaternary Science Reviews 97:170–192. DOI:10.1016/j.quascirev.2014.05.022
Speller, J., and V. Forbes. 2022. On the Role of Peat Bogs as Components of Indigenous Cultural Landscapes in Northern North America. Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research 54:96–110.
Stewart, H. 1984. Cedar. University of Washington Press, Seattle, WA.
Turner, N. 1998. Plant Technology of British Columbia First Peoples. UBC Press, Vancouver, BC.
Turner, N. 2014. Ancient Pathways, Ancestral Knowledge: Ethnobotany and Ecological Wisdom of Indigenous Peoples of Northwestern North America. McGill-Queen’s University Press, Montreal, QC.
Vogelaar, C. 2017. Using GIS Modelling as a Tool to Search for Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene Archaeology on Quadra Island, British Columbia. Unpublished Master’s Thesis, Department of Anthropology, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC, Canada.
White, E., K.A. Artelle, E. Brown, K. Brown, D.E. Chen, and W. Housty. 2024. M̓núxvʔit Model for Centering Indigenous Knowledge and Governance. Conservation Biology 38. DOI:10.1111/cobi.14398.

Copyright (c) 2025 Alisha Gauvreau

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain ownership of the copyright for their content and grant Ethnobiology Letters (the “Journal”) and the Society of Ethnobiology right of first publication. Authors and the Journal agree that Ethnobiology Letters will publish the article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International Public License (CC BY-NC 4.0), which permits others to use, distribute, and reproduce the work non-commercially, provided the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal are properly cited.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
For any reuse or redistribution of a work, users must make clear the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International Public License (CC BY-NC 4.0).
In publishing with Ethnobiology Letters corresponding authors certify that they are authorized by their co-authors to enter into these arrangements. They warrant, on behalf of themselves and their co-authors, that the content is original, has not been formally published, is not under consideration, and does not infringe any existing copyright or any other third party rights. They further warrant that the material contains no matter that is scandalous, obscene, libelous, or otherwise contrary to the law.
Corresponding authors will be given an opportunity to read and correct edited proofs, but if they fail to return such corrections by the date set by the editors, production and publication may proceed without the authors’ approval of the edited proofs.