The Ancient World of the Cowichan - By Daniel P Marshall and the Cowichan Elders

Long before there was a Canada, indeed long before there was any European presence in the "New World" called America, there lived along the banks of the Cowichan River and ancient peoples who lived in harmony with the natural world, represented by land, sky and sea. Far older than the Egyptian Pyramids of the Giza Plateua or the ancient Peruvian ruins of the Machu Pichu, the Cowichan peoples' history extends to the beginning of time, emobodying thousands upon thousands of years of continuous habitation along the east coast of Vancouver Island and the larger world of the Strait of Georgia.

Since the Cowichan were artistans primarily of wood as opposed to stone, the physical evidence that remains of this great long history is perhaps less noticeable compared to the ancient stone structures of other cultures. Nevertheless, there are traces within the Cowichan Valley that testify to these well established roots. The wooden structures of the rain forest deteriorate rapidly compared to the rock monuments that occupy an arid desert, but beneath the ground of the warm land, or Quwutsun, remain wonders hidden from view for millennia, important artifacts that have just now come to light.

Recent archeological field work within the Cowichan Valley has located the resting place of many long forgotten ancestors, which has provided evidence of a rich culture that once inhabited the much larger world of the Strait of Georgia region. The traditional landscape of the Hul'qumi;num peoples extended deeply into the waters of the Puget Sound, the great fishing villages of the lower Fraser River, the harvesting sites of the Gulf and San Juan Islands, ahnd of course, throughout the greater portion of Southern Vancouver Island.

In just the Cowichan Valley alone there have been many recent and important discoveries that have confirmed the ancient lineage. There are over 120 archeological sies officially recorded in the vicinity of Cowichan Bay, Maple Bay and the Duncan region of Vancouvr Island. In Cowichan Bay itself, the site of Tzouhalem's stockaded fort beyond Green Point has been examined for historic clues to the past. Artifaces such as a ground slate knife, sharpening stone, awl, and a piece of Mexican pottery give evidence that this location was Tzouhalem's stronghold during the mid-nineteenth century. Other remains found along rhe margin of Maple Bay speak of a much great prehistoric past.

Just as places that record life and death are located by the existence of stone implements or human remains, ancient season harvesting grounds also yield archeological evidence, buton a substantially much more massive scale. Just imagine what the accumulated build up of thousands of years of shellfish harvesting by thousands upon thousands of Cowichan peoples would look like to a modern observer. These traditional collection and processing sites would be aglitter, literally pacved in white shell from top to bottom. One such extraordinary site can be found at Bird's Eye Cove, in which the oldest layering of shell and ash debris from cooking fires stretches back to 50 B.C., over 2000 years in age.

Another large midden site was located in Genoa Bay, measuring 60 meters in length and 20 meters in width. The depth of shell layering averaged some 40 centimeters. Like other archeological digs, the Genoa Bay midden was radiocarbon dated to almost 2000 years old as a traditional shellfish harvesting site. In addition, and just as interesting a thorough cataloguing of all traditonal marine foods processed over the centuries provide a detailed picture of the dietary life of the Cowichan peoples of long ago. For instance, from the millions of pieces of shell that remain it is known that close to 2000 years ago the main type of food collected and cooked at this site were littleneck and butter clams.

There was also and exceptional abundance of whelk shells present, perhaps a local preference. However, there was little in the way of mammal, bird or fish bone. This fact helps to establish that the Genoa Bay site was used primarily for harvesting shell fish.

Another important piece of evidence supported by the archeological record is that the extraordinary number of clams were not only collected here, but actually processed for immediate and future consumption. The presence of large amounts of ash, charcoal and fire cracked rock suggests the processing of the shellfish over open fires that effectively steamed the shells open. The meat was then removed for immediate eating or future processing and storage.

Of all the sites mentioned, all have been dated to be upwards of 2000 years old. There are, however much older sites to be added to the above list, sites newly discovered, the antiquity of which is unparalleled in the history of the Cowichan Valley. When one considers that the fledgling European presence had estbalished itself on the Northwest Coast little more than 200 years ago, a continuous Cowichan presence of 2000 years stands out in bold contrast. But imagine now, for the moment archeological field work pushing the very beginnings of the Cowichan history back a further 2000 to 3000 years, an extended and continuous habitation of perhaps as much as 5000 years or about 25 times the age of the European presence. In reflecting upon this enormous span of time it then that one begins to finally realize the incredible permanence of the Cowichan people.

Archeological investigations on the noth bank of the Somenos Creek in 1994 discovered a site that spanned three distinct periods of time, the earliest of which was part of the Charles Cultures, at over 4000 years old. In this instance, large quantities of fire-alterered rock and charcoal were dated accordingly and suggest that the Somenos creek was used for processing food in much the same way as the Genoa Bay archeological site, but some 2000 years earlier. Within the shallow shell middens discovered as part of the later Marpole Culture, dated to be over 2,300 years old, the remains of some 24 Cowichans were located. In most instances, one to four boulders capped most of the burial pits that were dug into the shell middens. In one particular instance, several hundred ground stones and dentalia shells formed and elaborate necklace which was found adorning a young child. In addition, several adult skulls were found that exhibted signs of cultural head reshaping.

As in other cultures of the world, these elaborate ornaments and head reshapings reflect the high social status of the interred. It is this kind of evidence that has led some archeologists to conclude that the Somenos Creek site serves as an exclusive burial ground for the social elites of the Cowichan People.

Older yet, the final resting place of the ancestral remains recently uncovered in the vicinity of Green Point have been tentatively dated at as much as 4500 years old. Several hundred stone slate beads were discovered strung together by plant roots, beads that the archeologists associate with Locarno Beach Culture, a period of time that spans from 3300 to 2400 years before the present. Yet is is the corresponding human remains that have fascinated archeologists the most. The very antiquity of these stone beads in association with skeletal remains in which the head was not reshaped has suggested to specialists in the field a much greater age.

Tentative scientific dating advances that this particular resting place in all likelihood represents the oldest limit in the period known as the Charles Culture. At the time of writing, radiocarbon dating has established an age that may exceed an upper limit of 4500 years. The Green point site is older than anything previously discovered and it necessarily leads one to wonder what other evidence, possibly older, continues to remain hidden from view.

Considering the increedible span of time that these remains have managed to survive and the endless array of natural and human forces that have assailed them, one might be forgiven for supposing that these ancestral vestiges, hidden for so long have just now come to light of their own accord. At a time when contemporary society has tended to ignore the rich and lasting heritage of the Hul'qumi'num world, these impressive discoveries mark the beginning of a new epoch, one that coincides with Cowichan peoples determination to reassert their ancient and lasting legacy, through sharing, once more their unique culture with the larger world. This legacy was, and still is, an incredible connectedness to the warm land called Qu'wutsun. It is not the transitory character that typifies most recent North American culture, but a rare permanence of place that has endured for hundreds of generations.