Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2019

Keywords

Klallam, Geoarchaeolgical analysis, Port Angeles

Abstract

Geoarchaeological analysis at Čḯxwicən, an ancestral Klallam village near Port Angeles in northwestern Washington State, U.S.A., highlights the resilience of coastal foragers and their connection to place. Ancestral Klallam peoples occupied ever-changing beach and spit landforms growing within the shelter of Ediz Hook on the Strait of Juan de Fuca (SJDF) for 2700 years. Geoarchaeological methods were employed to define seven chronostratigraphic zones that chronologically structure the cultural deposits and allow them to be correlated to a sequence of beach development and to markers for tsunami that overtopped the site. Initial habitation prior to 1750 BP utilized a narrow beach against the bluff, then expanded with the prograding beach ridges, which grew north to create a lagoon. Stabilization of beach ridges after 1300 and 1000 BP was followed in each case by construction of a plank house, one of which was occupied for 800 years, and the other for 500 years. Inundation of the site, as indicated by erosional channels, backwash deposits, and structural collapse, occurred five times, and can be correlated with documented Cascadia Subduction Zone plate boundary megathrust earthquake events. The resilience of the households, who re-occupied the houses soon after the events, is striking, particularly the rebuilding of one house after it collapsed around 600BP.

Publication Title

Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports

Volume

23

First Page

1104

Last Page

1130

DOI

10.1016/j.jasrep.2018.10.005

Required Publisher's Statement

Copyright the authors, Published by Elsevier

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352409X18305418?via%3Dihub

Subjects - Topical (LCSH)

Archaeological geology--Washington (State)--Port Angeles; Excavations (Archaeological)--Washington (State)--Port Angeles; Clallam Indians--Washington (State)--Port Angeles; Human ecology--Tse-whit-zen Village Site (Wash.); Taphonomy--Tse-whit-zen Village Site (Wash.)

Geographic Coverage

Tse-whit-zen Village Site (Wash.)--Environmental conditions

Genre/Form

articles

Type

Text

Rights

Copying of this document in whole or in part is allowable only for scholarly purposes. It is understood, however, that any copying or publication of this document for commercial purposes, or for financial gain, shall not be allowed without the author’s written permission.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Language

English

Format

application/pdf

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