Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant: The Effects of Early Colonialism on Indigenous Households of the Middle Fraser Canyon Region, British Columbia

利用考古证据，包括石器、动植物遗骸和家庭建筑，丽莎·米歇尔·史密斯将研究欧洲殖民对不列颠哥伦比亚省中弗雷泽峡谷土著人民的文化影响，这一时期大约在150-500年之前。这项工作将在Anna Prentiss博士的指导下进行，作为Smith女士论文研究的一部分。中弗雷泽峡谷村庄的规模和社会复杂性在距今1100-1200年左右达到顶峰，之后它们被遗弃了500-600年，然后在欧洲人来到该地区之前的几个世纪里重新被占领。20世纪早期在中弗雷泽地区工作的民族学家描述了一个复杂的狩猎和采集社会，其中存在社会阶级差异，财产和资源的私有制，以及由精英控制的广泛贸易网络。然而，目前尚不清楚这些文化特征是在早期接触时期独特发展起来的，还是1000年前的遗留物。这项拟议的研究旨在通过对S7i7stkn（小坑屋）和桥河遗址的家庭进行考古调查来解决这个问题，这两个房屋村庄彼此靠近，位于桥河河谷的狭窄梯田上。从每个遗址中挖掘出一个单独的房子，每个房子都有史前和历史上的职业。史密斯女士的研究将特别探讨在关键的、尚未得到充分研究的早期殖民时期，欧洲接触可能在土著家庭复杂的社会经济和政治结构的发展中所起的作用。虽然殖民主义对中弗雷泽家庭的影响广为人知，但在史前晚期（距今1200年前）的社会复杂性考古研究，继续通过民族志数据提供信息。这项拟议的研究将为重建与人口涌入和毛皮贸易经济发展相关的政治和社会经济结构特征提供机会，从而更细致地了解史前晚期和历史时期的社会复杂性。更广泛地说，这项工作将加强对狩猎采集者家庭和与新兴社会复杂性相关的进化过程的理解。它将调查个人决策的作用及其对建立社会等级、区域贸易网络和私有财产发展的影响。这项工作还将进一步讨论使用民族志文献作为直接解释史前更深层考古数据的工具的可行性。Prentiss与当地中弗雷泽社区有20年的合作关系。这个项目将是该计划的延续，通过考古挖掘技术的培训为第一民族的学生提供教育上的好处。这将使他们能够直接接触他们的遗产，并为创造他们过去的叙述做出贡献。蒙大拿大学的学生也将参与这项研究，使他们能够参与当地社区，参加活动，如Lillooet语言课程，教育讲座和获奖的Xwisten遗产之旅。这将有助于讨论如何在考古学家和当地人之间建立牢固的关系，并帮助培养理解合作研究价值的新一代考古学家。此外，这项工作将增加有关复杂的狩猎采集者和殖民研究的文献，并教育公众有关第一民族的历史和文化。

Using archaeological evidence that includes stone tools, animal and plant remains, and household architecture, Lisa Michelle Smith will examine cultural impacts of European colonization on indigenous peoples of the Middle Fraser Canyon in British Columbia during the period of ca. 150-500 before present. This work will be conducted under the direction of Dr. Anna Prentiss as part of Ms. Smith's dissertation research. Middle Fraser Canyon villages peaked in size and social complexity by ca. 1100-1200 before present, after which time they were abandoned for 500-600 years and then reoccupied in the centuries just prior to the coming of Europeans to the region. Ethnographers of the early 20th century working in the Middle Fraser area describe a complex hunting and gathering society with social class distinctions, private ownership of property and resources, and extensive trade networks controlled by elites. However it is not clear whether these cultural characteristics developed uniquely during the early contact period or if they are a holdover from the time pre-dating 1000 years ago. This proposed research seeks to address this problem by conducting archaeological investigations of households at the S7i7stkn (Little Pit House) and Bridge River sites, two housepit villages located within close proximity of each other, situated on narrow terraces in the Bridge River valley. A single house from each site will be excavated, each with prehistoric and historic occupations. Ms. Smith's research will address in particular the role European contact may have played in the development of complex socioeconomic and political structures of indigenous households during the critical, yet under researched, early colonial period. Although the effects of colonialism on Mid-Fraser households are widely unknown, archaeological research of social complexity during the late prehistoric period, prior to 1200 years before present, continues to be informed by ethnographic data. This proposed research will provide opportunity to reconstruct characteristics of the political and socioeconomic structures associated with population influx and development of the fur trade economy, allowing for more fine-grained understanding of social complexity during the late prehistoric and historic periods. More broadly this work will enhance understanding of hunter-gatherer households and evolutionary processes associated with emergent social complexity. It will investigate the role of individual decision making and the effects it had on creating social ranking, regional trade networks, and the development of privately owned property. This work will also add to discussions of the viability of using ethnographic literature as a tool for directly interpreting archaeological data from the deeper prehistoric past.Dr. Prentiss has had a twenty-year collaborative relationship with local Mid-Fraser communities. This project will be a continuation of that program, offering educational benefits to First Nations students through training in archaeological excavation techniques. This will allow them to directly engage with their heritage and contribute to creating narratives of their past. University of Montana students will also take part in this research allowing them to engage in the local community, participating in activities such as a Lillooet language program, educational talks, and award winning Xwisten heritage tours. This will inform discussions on how to build strong relationships between archaeologists and native people and help create a new generation of archaeologists that understand the value of collaborative research. Additionally, this work will add to the body of literature regarding complex hunter-gatherer and colonial studies and educate the general public about First Nations history and culture.