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| Crew prior to the start of excavation |
Yesterday was the first day of the Community Archaeology dig - the Qik'rtangcuk excavation 2018 begins!
Over the years I have found artifacts in front of the site that look 3 to 7 thousand years old, and even noted a few preserved cod bones eroding out of the deposits. The site is located on a point abutting Near Island where there is good near shore fishing. So I have been hoping to find a 3-7 thousand year old Alutiiq cod-processing site.
Last Friday we set out the grid and noticed that there was very little to none of the 1912 Katmai volcanic ash on top of the site. This ash always caps sites on the road system and its absence could indicate that the site had been badly disturbed in the 20th century. Uh Oh!
So yesterday when we started to dig in earnest I was very relieved to find that there was actually a thin layer of the ash over the whole site. Phew! It looks like much of the ash might have blown away in strong winds soon after the eruption in 1912. I was also relieved that we found artifacts that look 3-4 thousand years old. It looks like the very top of the site is from the Early Kachemak period (2500 to 4000 BP) of Alutiiq Prehistory. Just what I hoped to find and no unpleasant surprises!
Now to dig down into the site and learn what people were doing there 3 to 7 thousand years ago. What will we find in the older layers? Patrick
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| Keith and the artifact of the day - a 3500 year old plummet (fishing lineweight) |
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| Setting out the grid on Friday |
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| We begin to seriously excavate - on the first day! |
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| Chipped basalt point midsection |
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| Molly on the screen |
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