As an archaeologist who has worked both internationally and locally for many years, a question commonly asked is, ‘What is the most interesting thing you have ever found?’ The answer usually surprises people because it is not the ceramic vessel decorated with hieroglyphs, or the 6,000 year old projectile point, it is a single stone bead. Not that interesting, you might think. However, if we change our focus from talking about material culture (i.e. the ‘stuff’) and starting thinking about individual people who made and used these items, the bead can tell us about a unique part of the past. This single bead could be one part of a necklace, a bracelet or sewn onto clothing, footwear or a bag. We may not be able to determine exactly how it was used, but the bead, like other small objects from archaeology sites, can provide information about the past in a different way because it is a personal object. More utilitarian, and more commonly found items, like ceramic vessels and projectile points are also made and used by individuals, but objects like shell or stone beads and bone hair combs are an everyday item that could be used for many years by a single person, and likely held a more personal meaning.
Considering the extensive lands that people travelled within British Columbia for access to seasonal resources, small objects were significant because they were lightweight, portable and individuals carried these objects with them on their travels. These objects would be worn or carried long distances, but they are not a part of a hunting, gathering or fishing tool kit, they were personal items. In this way, they tell archaeologists something about the past that a stone tool does not. They tell us about the individual and the personal style and likes of a person in the same way that jewellry and other adornments are used and displayed today
Shell and stone beads have been found throughout British Columbia from archaeology excavations of the living floors, from winter homes in the Plateau area, for example. Other personal objects like bone hair combs, decorated digging stick handles (for digging roots), and incised bone and antler tools also offer insight for archaeologists because the decoration has little to do with the function of the object, the decoration is created by individuals as a personal choice. Incised lines, geometric shapes, as well as human and animal motifs have been identified on bone, antler and wooden objects from a number of archaeology sites dating to different time periods. Since not all bone, antler and wood objects are preserved in archaeology sites due to the organic nature of these items, the objects that do last only represent a small sample of what individuals may have used in the past, and are especially exciting for us to find.