Recognizing a Possible Site
There are more than 32,000 archaeological sites
currently recorded in British Columbia with many
more being added to the provincial inventory
every year. For this reason, it is very likely
that you will encounter an archaeological site
during your lifetime either knowingly or
unknowingly.
The remnants of British Columbia’s earliest
cultures are represented in today’s landscape by a
wide variety of site types, most of which are
related to art, habitations, resource gathering and
production, tool making, and traditional ceremonial
or ritual activities. Some sites that may be
immediately visible to a non-archaeologist include:
- Rock art, including pictographs and
petroglyphs.
- Surface features such as depressions created
by former habitations, earthen fortifications,
rock cairns, fish traps and clam gardens.
- Artifacts that have become visible on the
land surface owing to erosion or recent land
altering activity. These may be produced in a
variety of materials such as stone, bone,
antler, wood, or shell.
- Buried cultural remains that may be sighted
in a cutbank, excavation, eroded shoreline, or
other exposed deposit.
Please do not disturb any archaeological remains
that you may encounter. It is also very important
that you report your discovery following the
Procedures for Reporting Finds or the
Procedures for Reporting Human Remains.
For more information, please see:
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