The Archaeology of the Scowlitz Site, SW British Columbia.

This paper summarizes the results of six seasons of archaeological fieldwork conducted at the Scowlitz site located at the confluence of the Harrison and Fraser Rivers in SW British Columbia, Canada. Research beginning in 1992 has revealed a complex sequence of site use beginning with a residential occupation about 3000 years ago. After some 1500 years the site became a cemetery, featuring some of the best preserved examples of the burial mound and cairn complex remaining on the Northwest Coast. Then, 1000 years ago, the site added seasonal use for resource processing while continuing as a cemetery. In the protohistoric and historical periods the site was used as a fishing camp and, still, as a cemetery. We discuss the implications of the Scowlitz site for understanding the development of complex hunting-fishing-gathering societies on the Northwest Coast. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]