The leavings of human activity

Once upon This Land: Archaeology in British Columbia and the Stories It Tells
by Robert J. Muckle (foreword by Karen Rose Thomas)

Vancouver: Purich Books (an imprint of UBC Press), 2025
$29.95 / 9780774881081

Reviewed by Steven Brown

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There are no ancient pyramids or classical ruins in British Columbia. This could lead to the casual conclusion there’s no need for archaeological studies in British Columbia. As Robert J. Muckle makes clear in Once Upon This Land nothing could be further from the truth.

On the subject of misconceptions the author explains what archaeology is and what it isn’t. Archaeology is the story of the human past based on the things left behind by humans. It isn’t treasure hunting or looking for dinosaur bones with the thrill of digging around in the ground. Archaeology is part of the heritage industry. If a study isn’t based on humans and what is left from human activity it isn’t archaeology. Archaeology is considered a subfield of anthropology. Currently there are about sixty thousand archaeological sites in BC. There’s academic archaeology practice and commercial archaeology practice. Commercial archaeology is undertaken at proposed development sites to ascertain if those sites have archaeological significance. If so, the archaeological work is undertaken before development. Sometimes the archaeological findings are significant enough to derail development. The province has the ultimate say.

In essence archaeology in British Columbia is First Nations archaeology. Archaeological practice involves input from or collaboration with First Nations and the work is often carried out by trained First Nations archaeologists. This is a change from the practice of BC archaeology in the nineteenth and early twentieth century carried out solely by archaeologists of European descent. The rich archaeological record in BC includes some of the oldest archaeological sites in the Americas. There is evidence of people living in BC going back fifteen thousand years. Today more than two hundred distinct First Nations call BC home and twenty different languages are spoken. Archaeological records suggest First Nations living today are the descendants of the people who first entered what is now British Columbia towards the end of the last ice age.

How did they do that? They came from Asia via a prehistoric landmass known as Beringia which joined prehistoric Asia and prehistoric North America. The two continents were one large super continent. Fifteen to twenty thousand years ago, a blip in geologic time, they settled into what we have today. The glaciers of the last ice age began to recede. Two ice free land corridors from this period have been identified, one on coastal BC and another in the interior. This was the beginning of humans in North America. It also marked the start of what has been named the Holocene epoch which we are still in, which was preceded by the Pleistocene epoch. We are also in what is generally considered but not officially recognized as the Anthropocene era of the Holocene. This is the era when human activity begins negatively affecting earth’s systems.

The range of archaeological studies in the province is recognized as four distinct periods starting with the era fifteen thousand years ago to about five thousand years ago. Next is the era from five thousand to about two hundred years ago covering the rise of villages and settlements and early interactions between different groups plus the arrival of Europeans. The third period focuses on the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Lastly are archaeological studies of contemporary times. Archaeology is about the human past including the recent past.

Muckle has several interesting things to say about First Nations and their past in British Columbia. One is that archaeological discoveries often corroborate ancestral traditions and knowledge passed down from previous generations. Another is that the lack of a written language doesn’t mean these were primitive, backward societies. Evidence of stone tools in BC is abundant. Native carving and other artwork and impressive feats of building demonstrate sophistication.

The coastal land corridor route is considered the primary route of ancient peoples into what is now British Columbia. This is backed up by archaeological evidence as well as Indigenous histories, linguistic studies, and DNA research. But the interior route also contains significant archaeological sites.

One is Tse’k’kwa or Charlie Lake cave just north of Fort St. John in the Peace River region. It has been occupied many times over the last twelve thousand years and artifacts have been found considered to be the oldest evidence of ritualistic acts in Canada. The cave has been designated a national historic site.

In the southern interior, about four thousand years ago, populations lived in semi-permanent winter villages featuring anywhere from a few to dozens of pit houses. These were semi-subterranean dwellings with domed roofs fabricated out of poles, bark, and earth. The diameter of these pit houses ranged from three or four metres to more than twenty metres with an access hole in the top of the dome and a ladder for entry and exit. The rooftop hole also acted as an exhaust for wood fire smoke. Some pit houses also had side entrances. Evident today are circular depressions in the ground with rims around the perimeter. The book includes an image of a pit house taken in the late nineteenth century.

The book is interspersed with “Spotlight” sections and sidebars giving greater detail to subjects covered in the text. Overall, the author presents a great many interesting facts. One is that current sea levels date from about five thousand years ago and in the past have been both higher and lower than now. Another is that radiocarbon dated thirteen-thousand-year-old footprints were discovered on an ancient beach on Triquet Island north of Vancouver Island. One more is that in 1999 high terrain hunters looking for bighorn sheep in northwestern BC noticed the well-preserved remains of a human melting out of the ice. It was determined the remains were of a young adult indigenous man. Artifacts recovered included a spruce root hat and a gopher skin robe.

There’s much more to discover here. The book is an excellent primer on archeology, and archeology in British Columbia.

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“Books have ruined my life,” jokes Steven Brown. A professional in the book trade for years he’s managed to retain a deep and abiding passion for good books and first rate literature. He was born in Saskatchewan and grew up in Ontario and British Columbia. Vancouver is home these days. His reviews have appeared in Canadian newspapers, a literary review or two and he has donated reviews to good causes. [Editor’s note: Steven has reviewed books by Peter Smith, Jonathan Swainger, Bruce McLellan, Gail Anderson-Dargatz, Patrik Sampler, and Taslim Burkowicz for The British Columbia Review.]

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The British Columbia Review

Interim Editors, 2023-26: Trevor Marc Hughes (non-fiction), Brett Josef Grubisic (fiction)
Publisher: Richard Mackie

Formerly The Ormsby Review, The British Columbia Review is an on-line book review and journal service for BC writers and readers. The Advisory Board now consists of Jean Barman, Wade Davis, Robin Fisher, Barry Gough, Hugh Johnston, Kathy Mezei, Patricia Roy, and Graeme Wynn. Provincial Government Patron (since September 2018): Creative BC. Honorary Patron: Yosef Wosk. Scholarly Patron: SFU Graduate Liberal Studies. The British Columbia Review was founded in 2016 by Richard Mackie and Alan Twigg.

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