Exploring sto:lo-Coast Salish interaction and identity in ancient houses and settlements in the Fraser Valley, British Columbia

Social scientists recognize a complex and iterative relationship between the built environment and social identities. Here, we explore the extent to which household and settlement remains may be used as archaeological correlates of collective identities among the sto:lo-Coast Salish peoples of the Fraser River Valley. Using data from six recently tested archaeological sites we begin with the household and explore expressions of identity at various social-spatial scales. The sites span the period from 4200 cal B.C. to the late A.D. 1800s and include settlements with semi-subterranean houses of different forms as well as aboveground plank houses. Across this timeframe we see both change and continuity in settlement location, layout, size, and house form. Our data suggest that although group identities have changed over the millennia, selected social units have persisted through many generations and can be linked to present-day identities of the sto:lo-Coast Salish. Los cientificos sociales reconocen una compleja e iterativa relacion entre el ambiente construido y las identidades sociales. Aqui exploramos el alcance del uso de los restos de casa y de asentamientos como correlatos arqueologicos de identidades colectivas entre los Sto:lo-Coast Salish del valle del rio Fraser. Usando los datos de seis sitios arqueologicos recientemente examinados, empezamos con el asimiento de casa y exploramos las expresiones de identidad a varios niveles espaciales y sociales. Los sitios extienden desde el 4200 cal B.C. al 1800 A.D. aproximadamente, e incluyen asentamientos con casas semisubterraneas de varias formas y casa con suelo de tablas elevadas. A lo largo de esta temporada, notamos cambio tanto como continuidad en la localizacion del asentamiento, trazado, tamano, y forma de la casa. Nuestros datos sugieren que mientras que las identidades del grupo han cambiado a lo largo de los milenios, selectas unidades sociales han continuado a traves de muchas generaciones y se pueden relacionar con identidades actuales de los Str:lo-Coast Salish.
For more than a century North American anthropologists have attempted to use variation in material culture to define broader sociocultural groupings (e.g., Hill-Tout 1895; Jorgensen 1974, 1980; Kroeber 1939; Wissler [...]