Featuring Wetlands: A Feature Analysis of Wetland Resource Use at DhRp-52, British Columbia

This study explores wetland resource use at DhRp-52 to develop a better understanding of the inhabitants’ interactions with their wetland environment. A feature analysis of selected feature contents using multiple sources of evidence (i.e., archaeobotany, charcoal analysis, and zooarchaeology) was employed to (a) taxonomically identify seed, bone, and charcoal as indicators of wetland resource use, and (b) assess feature function in relation to resource use. This provides a means to evaluate the suitability of feature analyses for future use at archaeological sites in the region, particularly in wetland contexts. The results of the feature analysis contribute to a more general discussion of regional hunter-gatherer interactions with wetland ecosystems. While many aspects of human landscapes and resource use in the Northwest Coast have been extensively discussed, wetlands have seldom been considered as a specific environmental zone. This study helps to broaden that discussion by presenting new data on the topic, by demonstrating the utility of a feature analysis-based approach, and highlighting the archaeological and ethnographic importance of regional wetlands and their use.