New insights on the Par-Tee (35CLT20) site: Collections-based research of northern Oregon Coast fisheries

Abstract

Museum-based archaeological research is multifaceted due to the diverse excavation histories, sampling strategies, curation practices, and available documentation for museum collections. Museum-based studies provide an opportunity to analyze previously excavated materials from sites that were historically destroyed or are no longer accessible for further research. In this paper, we present new insights into the ancient fishery of the Par-Tee site, a large shell midden from the northern Oregon coast. We analyzed fish remains from the Par-Tee museum collection and curated unprocessed sediment samples to gain further insights into the ancient fisheries of the site. We compare our findings to three neighboring sites on the northern Oregon coast. We demonstrate that the Par-Tee museum collection is rich in large-bodied predatory fishes and that the sediment samples contain small-bodied fishes likely captured through mass harvesting.

Keywords:

• Pacific Northwest Coast of North America
• Oregon archaeology
• Ancient fisheries

Acknowledgements

This project would not be possible without the support of the Department of Anthropology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution. We are especially grateful for the support Teresa Hsu and Esther Rimer provided in accessing the Par-Tee collection. We are indebted to Dave Catania and Mysi Hoang of the Ichthyology Department, California Academy of Sciences, for their aid in accessing the osteological comparative collections. A National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship (DGE 1106400) and National Science Foundation Graduate Research Internship Program Fellowship supported Sanchez’s research. Lastly, we would like to acknowledge two anonymous peer reviewers and the editors of the Journal of Island and Coastal Archaeology for their comments, edits, and revisions, which significantly improved the study.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s). 

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.