The Hatzic Rock site

• Main Author: Mason, Andrew Robert
• Format: Others
• Language: English
• Published: 2009
• Subjects: Hatzic (B.C.) > Antiquities; British Columbia > Antiquities
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2429/5211

This thesis describes the excavations conducted at the Hatzic Rock site (DgRn-23) during 1990 and 1991 and describes the analysis of structural remains and artifacts. The site is located in the Fraser River valley and contains three occupation zones al l dating to the Charles Culture (ca. 4500-4700 BP). Structural remains were shown to possess similarities with ethnohistoric shed-roof and pithouse dwellings from the area. The structure was also found to possess similarities with a Charles Culture structure from the Maurer site (DhRk8) and a proto-historic structure from the McCallum site (DhRk-2). The observed similarities suggest continuity in structure design from the Charles Culture to the ethnohistoric period, however, a lack of clarity in the Hatzic data and poor comparative data detracts from this hypothesis. The analysis of artifacts from the Hatzic Rock site indicated differences between the three occupation zones were minor with the exception of occupation zone III. Occupation zone III contains a high proportion of stemmed projectile point classes and pebble tools. Anvil stones are absent in occupation zone III and pebble flake tool proportions are lower than in occupation zones I and II. The comparison of the Hatzic Rock site artifact assemblage to other Charles Culture assemblages indicates core and pebble tool proportions are much higher at the Hatzic Rock site. Similarly, the Hatzic Rock site artifact assemblage contains a high proportion of utilized flakes in relation to other Charles Culture sites. Retouched flake tools and formed unifaces were shown to be proportionately less represented at the Hatzic Rock site than at other Charles Culture sites. Differences in site function, location and age are thought to account for the differences between artifact assemblages. === Arts, Faculty of === Anthropology, Department of === Graduate