TERRESTRIAL Archaeology

Cultural Shell Deposit

Commonly known as “midden” is the evidence of occupation by humans. Over hundreds and thousands of years, the accumulated waste produced by populations reveals substantial heaps of shell, bones, fire cracked rock and greasy black anthropogenic soils. This material was not simply a waste product but was used effectively in urban planning of BC’s coastal villages.  The material was deposited in specified locations to create the sites that we see today. It was used as a ballast essentially, like modern gravel preload, to create house platforms, pathways, defensive embankments and lookouts, and outside communal areas that formed the ancient villages. Cultural Shell Deposits (CSD) can be obvious or subtle when encountered and occurs in primary (original) and disturbed contexts (re-used under modern roads, houses, gardens). CSD is the hallmark of the archaeological sites that are frequently encountered on our coastlines and even well inland.