A rare 3,800-year-old archaeological site was uncovered in K'ómoks territory this spring, during the CVRD's Sewer Conveyance project.
The regional district has been working closely with the Nation throughout the project, which runs through the Nation's traditional territory and reserve lands.
"One of the most important goals of the project is to protect the shoreline and waters throughout the Comox Estuary, Point Holmes and Goose Spit coastlines, as well as Baynes Sound," a release from KFN says. "The CVRD has also been working with K’ómoks First Nation to document and recover archaeological materials impacted by the project, which runs through many of KFN’s ancestral settlements and villages."
A few months ago, the archaeology team made a discovery of a rare wet side near Farmview Road. The site included organic materials, which typically only survive in waterlogged archaeological sites (or "wet sites") without oxygen. The anaerobic conditions prevent bacteria and microbes from breaking down these materials. The archaeologists discovered ancient artifacts that were used in every day life, including wedges and cordage.
"In most archaeological sites, archaeologists find tools and other cultural materials made of more hardy materials like stone, antler, shell, and animal bones. However, in wet sites they can find tangible and remarkably preserved organic materials as well," the release says. "Wet sites are rare and extremely valuable because they give us a more complete picture of how people lived in the past."
The wedges, which were determined to be 3,800 years old, were made from fine-grained woods like like yew, spruce, maple, and crabapple, and they were often scorched to increase their hardness. The wedges were then used to split logs into planks, often used in house construction. The wedge would include a cordage collar or “grommet”, which helped to prevent the edge of the wood from fraying when hammered. The team also found some cordage, or traditional rope made from plant and wood fibres, which would have been used in things like basketry, clothing making, hunting, harvesting, carpentry, and fishing.
"By studying cordage, we can learn about which plant species and manufacture techniques ancestors used, which can inform us about the strength of the cordage and its use,'" the nation's release says.
Since the discovery, the Royal BC Museum has been assisting the Nation, providing specialized support in the site's conservation.
The site itself is located outside of the registered provincial archaeological site boundaries, in an area that does not require provincial archaeological permits. However, K’ómoks’ Cultural Heritage Investigation Permit (CHIP) system protects cultural materials like these, which are directly adjacent to registered site boundaries.
"This shows that the CHIP system is working to recover cultural information that would otherwise be destroyed by development without documentation," the release says. "These new findings underscore the importance of archaeological analysis in construction projects. Without archaeological monitoring, excavation, and analysis, these fragile materials that teach us about deep-time history can be destroyed, and information can be permanently erased."
