The Čḯxʷicən Project

Banner photo credit: Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe on Canoe Journey, 2019, photo used with permission by Keri Ellis and LEKT

Overview

Čḯxʷicən (pronounced ch-WHEET-son) is a Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe (LEKT) village in Port Angeles, Washington at the base of Ediz Hook on the south shore of the Strait of Juan de Fuca that was occupied for the past 2,700 years. In 2004, Larson Anthropological Archaeological Services (LAAS) and LEKT members excavated the site with large open blocks of 1 x 1 m units by finely defined stratigraphic layers. In 2012, Kristine M. Bovy (University of Rhode Island), Virginia L. Butler (Portland State University [PSU]), Sarah K. Campbell (Western Washington University), Michael A. Etnier (Western Washington University), and Sarah L. Sterling (PSU) initiated a large-scale zooarchaeological and geoarchaeological analysis at Čḯxʷicən. As part of project design, we selected to study excavation areas that were linked to two plankhouses, and extramural activity areas and middens. Over 1.2 million faunal specimens were documented representing 39 orders, 68 families, and 81 genera of invertebrates, fishes, birds, and mammals.

Sub-Projects

The Čḯxʷicən Project is made up of a series of sub-projects dealing with various aspects of the data. Current sub-projects include the following, with more to come:

• The Čḯxʷicən Bird Bone Project
• The Čḯxʷicən Fishbone Project
• The Čḯxʷicən Marine Invertebrate Project
• The Čḯxʷicən Mammal Bone Project
• Čḯxʷicən Charcoal

For background information on field and laboratory sampling, and discussion of ways we addressed discrepancies in the legacy records, please see this report.

Support

Funding for this project came mainly from National Science Foundation awards to: Portland State University (Grant numbers 1219468, 1353610, and 1663789); Western Washington University (Grant 1219470) and University of Rhode Island (Grant 1219470). Laura Phillips (Burke Museum, University of Washington) facilitated the loan of all the materials used in analysis, and provided guidance on many aspects of the project. Washington State Department of Transportation helped subsidize loan costs. We are grateful to the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe for their on-going support.

Bibliography

Bovy, K.M., 2018. The Čḯxʷicən Bird Bone Project: Methods, Analytic Protocols, and Descriptive Summary for the 2012-2019 Analysis. In Butler, V.L., Bovy, K.M., Campbell, S.K., Etnier, M.A., Sterling, S.L. (Eds.), The Čḯxʷicən Project https://doi.org/10.6078/M7TX3CFN

Bovy, K.M., Etnier, M.A., Butler, V.L., Campbell, S.K., Shaw, J.D., 2019. Using bone fragmentation records to investigate coastal human ecodynamics: a case study from Čḯxʷicən (Washington State, USA). J. Archaeol. Sci. Rep. 23, 1168-1186. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2018.08.049

Butler, V.L., Bovy, K.M., Campbell, S.K., Etnier, M.A., 2018. Čḯxʷicən Faunal Sample Selection and Processing for the 2012-2019 Analysis. In Butler, V.L., Bovy, K.M., Campbell, S.K., Etnier, M.A., Sterling, S.L. (Eds.), The Čḯxʷicən Project. https://doi.org/10.6078/M7BC3WNP

Butler, V.L., Hofkamp,A., Mohlenhoff, K., Nims, R, Rennaker, P., Rosenberg, S., Syvertston, L., 2018. The Čḯxʷicən Fishbone Project: Methods, Analytic Protocols, and Descriptive Summary for the 2012-2019 Analysis. https://doi.org/10.6078/M74F1NVJ

Butler, V.L., Bovy, K.M., Campbell, S.K., Etnier, M.A., Sterling, S.L., 2019. The Čḯxʷicən project of Northwest Washington State, U.S.A.: Opportunity lost, opportunity found. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports. 23, 1095-1103. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2018.03.010

Butler, V.L., Bovy, K.M., Campbell, S.K., Etnier, M.A., 2019. Exploring ecodynamics of coastal foragers using integrated faunal records from Čḯxʷicən village (Strait of Juan de Fuca, Washington, U.S.A) J. Archaeol. Sci. Rep. 23, 1143-1167. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2018.09.031

Campbell, S.K., Sterling, S.L., Dick, K., Dempsey, K., Nolan, W., Cobb, A., Syvertston, L.M., 2018. The Čḯxʷicən Chronology and Depositional History Project. In Butler, V.L., Bovy, K.M., Campbell, S.K., Etnier, M.A., Sterling, S.L. (Eds.), The Čḯxʷicən Project (2018). Released: 2018-12-01. Open Context. http://opencontext.org/projects/681dd901-0db6-4c32-9d33-0583675b189f DOI: https://doi.org/10.6078/M7P26W60

Campbell, S.K., Syvertson, L.M., Larson, S., Benson, E., Desrosiers, R., 2018. The Čḯxʷicən Marine Invertebrate Project: Methods, Analytic Protocols, and Descriptive Summary for the 2012-2019 Analysis. In Butler, V.L., Bovy, K.M., Campbell, S.K., Etnier, M.A., Sterling, S.L. (Eds.), The Čḯxʷicən Project (2018), https://doi.org/10.6078/M7FQ9TQD Released: 2018-07-04. Open Context http://opencontext.org/projects/ae05dc70-d551-48ee-820f-63c62cf62ab1

Campbell, S.K., Sterling, S.L., Lewarch, D.E., 2019. Building a landscape history and occupational chronology at Čḯxʷicən , a coastal village on the Strait of Juan de Fuca, Washington State, USA, J. Archaeol. Sci. Rep. 23, 1104-1130. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2018.10.005

Etnier, M.A., 2018. The Čḯxʷicən Mammal Bone Project: Methods, Analytic Protocols, and Descriptive Summary for the 2012-2019 Analysis. In Butler, V.L., Bovy, K.M., Campbell, S.K., Etnier, M.A., Sterling, S.L., (Eds.), The Čḯxʷicən Project . https://doi.org/10.6078/M7KH0KD7

Hutchinson, I., Butler, V.L., Campbell, S.K., Sterling, S.L., Etnier, M.A., Bovy, K.M., 2019. Impacts of resource fluctuations and recurrent tsunamis on the occupational history of Čḯxʷicən, a Salishan village on the southern shore of the Strait of Juan de Fuca, Washington State, U.S.A. J. Archaeol. Sci. Rep. 23, 1131-1142. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2018.04.001

Fitzhugh, B., Butler, V.L., Bovy, K.M., Etnier, M.A., 2019. Human ecodynamics: A perspective for the study of long-term change in socioecological systems. J. Archaeol. Sci. Rep. 23, 1077-1094. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2018.03.016

Nims, R., 2016. Sablefish (Anoplopoma fimbria) Scarcity and Zooarchaeological Data Quality in Northwest Coast Archaeological Sites. MS Thesis, Department of Anthropology, Portland State University, Portland. http://dx.doi.org/10.15760/etd.2954

Nims, R. Butler, V.L., 2019. Increasing the robustness of meta-analysis through life history and middle range models: an example from the Northeast Pacific. J. Archaeol. Method Theory, 26, 581-618. http://doi.org/10.1007/s10816-018-9383-1

Nims, R., Butler, V.L., 2019. The sablefish (Anoplopoma fimbria) of Čḯxʷicən: Socioenvironmental lessons from an unusually abundant species. J. Archaeol. Sci. Rep. 23, 1187-1196. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2018.06.028

Syvertson, L.M., 2017. Sampling Fish: A Case Study from the Čḯxʷicən Site, Northwest Washington. MS Thesis, Department of Anthropology, Portland State University, Portland. https://doi.org/10.15760/etd.5825