Archaeologists study aboriginal village that dates back thousands of years

LEMON CREEK — Anthropologists Nathan Goodale and Alissa Nauman lead the Hamilton College field school at Lemon Creek. This was the third field school that Goodale has led at this site, with each building on the work done by previous groups. Laura Stovel photo
LEMON CREEK — Anthropologists Nathan Goodale and Alissa Nauman lead the Hamilton College field school at Lemon Creek. This was the third field school that Goodale has led at this site, with each building on the work done by previous groups. Laura Stovel photo

By Laura Stovel

LEMON CREEK — An archaeological field school from Hamilton College in New York spent this past month at a site near this stream south of New Denver and Winlaw, carefully studying the remains of aboriginal pithouses some, of which date back an estimated 3,800 years. The aboriginal people who lived at the site are likely the ancestors of the Sinix’t people who inhabited the territory along the Columbia River from just north of Revelstoke to Kettle Falls.

The Lemon Creek site contains 32 pithouse indentations, some of which the archaeologists estimate housed up to 55-60 people. Carbon dating shows that the pithouses were used up to the late 170s when the first of many small pox epidemics devastated First Nations populations in the region.

The archaeologists estimate that these pithouses are only a small portion of the pithouses in the area. 85-95% of the pithouse and other significant archaeological sites were destroyed with the construction of the railway and the flooding of the Columbia River.

Anthropologists Nathan Goodale and Alissa Nauman, who lead the field school, will be speaking at the Revelstoke Museum and Archives on Monday, July 29 at 7 pm. (Please click here to view a poster for this event.)

Here are some additional photos from this archaeological site:

LEMON CREEK — Archaeology students Bridget Maguire and Kevin Castro stand in the indentation left by an old pithouse. They explained that 30 to 50 cubic meters of soil would have had to have been removed to build a pit house. The digging would have been done by women using digging sticks and the job would have been completed in about a week. Laura Stovel photo
LEMON CREEK — Archaeology students Bridget Maguire and Kevin Castro stand in the indentation left by an old pithouse. They explained that 30 to 50 cubic meters of soil would have had to have been removed to build a pit house. The digging would have been done by women using digging sticks and the job would have been completed in about a week. Laura Stovel photo
LEMON CREEK — Archaeology student Morgan Biggs demonstrates the use of tools to gently explore the floor of the pithouse. Each student is assigned a square metre to study. Biggs and her classmate Max Lopez explain that that the inhabitants kept their pithouses very clean, possibly throwing debris into the river. This fact, combined with the acidity of the soil which decomposes items like fish bones, means that there isn’t as much material left to study as might occur at other archaeological sites. Laura Stovel photo
LEMON CREEK — Archaeology student Morgan Biggs demonstrates the use of tools to gently explore the floor of the pithouse. Each student is assigned a square metre to study. Biggs and her classmate Max Lopez explain that that the inhabitants kept their pithouses very clean, possibly throwing debris into the river. This fact, combined with the acidity of the soil which decomposes items like fish bones, means that there isn’t as much material left to study as might occur at other archaeological sites. Laura Stovel photo
LEMON CREEK — This sifter is used to sift dirt and expose artifacts. Laura Stovel photo
LEMON CREEK — This sifter is used to sift dirt and expose artifacts. Laura Stovel photo

 

 

 

 

 

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