Archaeology sites provide an array of information about the tools, crafts, materials and resources that people utilized. We know that not all aspects of the past remain and as a result, archaeology sites are not a complete picture of the past, they are a result of what has preserved in a specific environment. For example, organic or once living remains survive well only if they are protected. Organics may be protected by hot and dry, airless or waterlogged conditions, very cold or frozen environments, or if contained in volcanic ash. Organics include animal, human and plant remains such as bark, wood, and animal hides and objects made of these remains like clothing and footwear, baskets, baby cradles, bows and music instruments. Some of these objects have preserved and provided new information for archaeologists, our understanding of the past and often lead to asking questions about how, why and when an object was discarded or left in a location. In some cases, ancestral remains and personal objects have been recovered from peat, bog or glacial environments.
In 1999, a group of hunters in Champagne and Aishihik Territory within Tatshenshini-Alsek Park on the British Columbia and Yukon Border, found the naturally mummified body of a young male exposed in the melting glacier. Kwäday Dän Tsʼìnchi, meaning long ago person found, had objects that were radiocarbon dated to between 300 and 550 years old. Among the items recovered were several organic items that are not typical recovered in Canada. The glacial environment protected the organic items from decay. These included a robe made from 95 pelts of local arctic ground squirrel, more commonly called gopher, sewn together with sinew (animal tendon or ligament used as thread), a woven spruce root hat, a small pouch made of beaver fur containing lichen, mosses and leaves, and a small copper bead wrapped with sinew. He was also travelling with walking poles, a curved, hooked stick possibly used for setting snares to catch marmots, a carved and painted stick of unknown purpose, an iron-bladed knife with matching gopher skin sheath, and an atlatl (spear thrower) and dart.
Photo Caption: Kwäday Dän Ts'ìnchi’s spruce hat and knife (left), the copper bead he wore (right) and a sketch drawn by late 19th century traveler of Shäwshe (Neskataheen/Dalton Post) of Chief Ick Ars wearing a robe and hat similar to those found with the remains. Source: Champagne & Aishihik First Nations http://cafn.ca/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Kwaday_Dan_Tsinchi_Newsletter_March_2009.pdf
The use of gopher skins for clothing, robes, bags and blankets had been important in the past, but the discovery of Kwäday Dän Tsʼìnchi’s clothing was a reminder of an aspect of the intangible heritage of the Champagne and Aishihik people. Intangible heritage are the traditions and living expressions inherited from ancestors and passed on to descendants. When new clothing styles are introduced the teaching and passing of the skills involved in making clothing and pouches from animal skins is sometimes left in the past. From archaeology we can study the finished object, the robe, but the skills and techniques, remain intangible. Through continual practice or revitalization of skills, intangible heritage can be protected and preserved over time.
So the next time a family member or friend show you a new skill, craft, or share a recipe, remember that is a part of your intangible history.
Nadine Gray is a Kamloops based archaeologist and instructor at TRU.