Canada / BC / FcSi-2 (Potlatch) / S-1036

Lab number

S-1036

Field number

CMC- 793

Material dated

charcoal; charbon de bois

Locality

south shore of Little (Upper) Anahim Lake, 4.8 km west of Anahim settlement, Chilcotin River, Williams Lake area, Fraser drainage, British Columbia

Map sheet

93 C/06

Date uploaded

February 14, 2020

Measured Age

1695 ± 90

Normalized Age

0 ± 0

δ¹³C (per mil)

-25.0

Significance

Kamloops?, anomalous, young; anormal, jeune

Stratigraphic component

house

Context

ash-filled depression at base of midden 4, near Tl'okut house, 2.55N/2.50E, 53 cm depth

Comments

FcSi-2, Potlatch: Five semisubterranean houses, three middens, and several other test units were excavated at this site. The Potlatch House, dated by S-923, has the form of the historic Chilcotin winter lodge, for which a date of borrowing from the Shuswap in the late 18th or early 19th century has been suggested. Local native tradition associates the house with the Chief Anahim frequently mentioned in documents of the 1860s and 1870s. The evidence indicates that the house was constructed no earlier than AD 1740, that its major use was during the 19th century, and that it was abandoned shortly after the 1864 Chilcotin War. Construction of the house disturbed an earlier component culturally comparable to Sanger's Middle Period, and material from this component is intrusive into the historic period house. The Tshandu House, dated by GSC-1154, is another historic Chilcotin winter house. However, as in Potlatch House, a number of microblades were recovered, which again suggest a relationship to Sanger's Middle Period. The bulk of the evidence is in favour of a protohistoric or historic age for the occupation of Tshandu House, with the microblades interpreted as reflecting disturbance of an earlier component. The Spalyan Bat'o House (S-945) also has the form of the historic Chilcotin winter house. Except for the radiocarbon date, the situation appears comparable to that in the two preceding structures: a protohistoric or historic Chilcotin occupation at a locality previously utilized at a much earlier time. The radiocarbon date cannot simply be rejected, however, since it is within the range of a pair of dates obtained in other Anahim Lake units where there is a definite association with microblades. The Bes Yaz House (S-500) differs in form from the Chilcotin winter lodge and thus must at least pre-date the protohistoric. Diagnostic material consisted of microblades and a possible stemmed scraper, suggestive of Sanger's Middle Period. It is conceivable that microblades continued in use at Anahim for several centuries after their disappearance in the Fraser Valley. The Tl'okut House (S-501, GSC-1371) has a poorly defined structure but is definitely not of the historic Chilcotin variety. S-501 should be associated with the early occupation of the house. GSC-1371 is anomalous, and the sample is known to have contained abundant rootlets, apparently not all of them removed. The date is discounted. S-1036, from the base of Midden 4 yielded a modern assay, revealing that the midden consists of relatively ancient material that has recently been disturbed. Fauna: Podiceps grisegena, Podiceps auritus, Podilymbus podiceps, Aechmophorus occidentalis, Branta canadensis, Anas acuta, Anas crecca, Anas discors, Anas americana, Aythya collaris, Aythya affinis, Bucephala albeola, Mergus serrator, Haliaeetus, Falco, Dendragapus canadensis, Passeriformes

References

• Lowdon et al., 1970, 1972
• Richards and Rousseau, 1987
• Rutherford et al., 1973, 1979
• Wilmeth, 1977, 1978a, 1978b