Archaeology of the Invisible: Phytolith Analysis at the Cluny Fortified Village (EePf-1)

Dowkes, Shalcey

Archaeology of the Invisible: Phytolith Analysis at the Cluny Fortified Village (EePf-1)

dc.contributor.advisor	Walde, Dale
dc.contributor.advisor	Kooyman, Brian P.
dc.contributor.author	Dowkes, Shalcey
dc.contributor.committeemember	Gerlach, S. Craig
dc.contributor.committeemember	Oetelaar, Gerald A.
dc.contributor.committeemember	Chee-Tak Yeung, Edward
dc.date	2018-11
dc.date.accessioned	2018-09-27T20:55:19Z
dc.date.available	2018-09-27T20:55:19Z
dc.date.issued	2018-09-19
dc.description.abstract	The Cluny Fortified Village site (EePf-1) is the only known fortified village on the Canadian Plains. Archaeologically, the main cultural layer indicates patterns that are not commonly seen elsewhere on the Plains. Many of the larger questions about the people of this site are largely left unanswered, and the experimentation of different methods can offer new perspectives to complement the ongoing excavations at the site. Phytolith analysis has not been extensively explored at the site and can offer perspectives about the presence of natural and cultural signatures. Phytolith analysis has been combined with charcoal analysis and used to explore queries regarding cultural signatures as well as the present and past environment. Three preliminary projects provided opportunities to refine the appropriate laboratory methods for this project which ultimately improved the overall phytolith counts. Over the course of the 2015 and 2016 field seasons at the Cluny Fortified Village matrix samples from both occupational layers were sampled as well as several hearth and non-hearth features. In 2016, a larger scaled survey was conducted to collect samples from the area surrounding the site. These samples form the natural control that will be compared against cultural samples. The Old Women’s Phase site of DkPi-2 (Junction Site) was used as a contemporary cultural comparative. Both phytolith and charcoal sample analyzed were provided by Lifeways of Canada Ltd. A total of 71 phytolith samples and 70 charcoal samples were analyzed. Results are indicative of a stable grassland that has seen little change over the past 300 years. Poaceae grasses are dominant amongst the datasets, with other families contributing less. Through examining phytoliths of productive plants in an archaeological context, a possible cultural signature may be presence.	en_US
dc.identifier.citation	Dowkes, S. (2018). Archaeology of the Invisible: Phytolith Analysis at the Cluny Fortified Village (EePf-1) (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca. doi:10.11575/PRISM/33053	en_US
dc.identifier.doi	http://dx.doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/33053
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/1880/108700
dc.language.iso	eng
dc.publisher.faculty	Arts
dc.publisher.faculty	Graduate Studies
dc.publisher.institution	University of Calgary	en
dc.publisher.place	Calgary	en
dc.rights	University of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission.
dc.subject	Phytolith Analysis
dc.subject	Charcoal Analysis
dc.subject	Cluny Fortified Village
dc.subject	Northern Plains
dc.subject	Paleoethnobotany
dc.subject	Archaeology
dc.subject	Phytolith
dc.subject	Charcoal
dc.subject.classification	Archaeology	en_US
dc.subject.classification	Anthropology--Cultural	en_US
dc.subject.classification	Botany	en_US
dc.title	Archaeology of the Invisible: Phytolith Analysis at the Cluny Fortified Village (EePf-1)
dc.type	master thesis
thesis.degree.discipline	Archaeology
thesis.degree.grantor	University of Calgary
thesis.degree.name	Master of Arts (MA)
ucalgary.item.requestcopy	true