Year of Award

2011

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Type

Master of Arts (MA)

Degree Name

Anthropology

Department or School/College

Department of Anthropology

Committee Chair

Anna Marie Prentiss

Commitee Members

Wade Davies, John Douglas

Keywords

Mid-Fraser archeaology, protohistoric, Bridge River, household material wealth

Abstract

Reininghaus, Lee N., M.A., May 2011 Anthropology Abstract Title: Protohistoric Signatures of Household Material Wealth: An Interhousehold Analysis of the Bridge River Site (EeRl4) Chairperson: Dr. Anna M. Prentiss This thesis is concerned with the archaeological research of the protohistoric component at the Bridge River Site (EeRl4), located in the Middle Fraser Canyon of the Canadian Plateau. The purpose of this research is to explore socioeconomic variability between households by understanding the relationships between household material wealth and house size, household demographics and household persistence through time. The approach is directed towards identifying variation in household material wealth through a comparative analysis of protohistoric archaeological material derived from three housepits excavated during the 2008 and 2009 University of Montana field investigations. To accomplish this task, I have developed three hypotheses through the use of middle range research regarding ethnographic models that aim to predict household material wealth in huntergatherer societies. My three hypotheses are tested using variables commonly employed in archaeological research regarding the analysis of household socioeconomic systems. The results of my research provides objective interpretation of key aspects of the protohistoric occupation at the Bridge River site, which can be incorporated in to general theories regarding complex huntergatherers and the evolution of status and inequality in the Pacific Northwest.

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© Copyright 2011 Lee Nicole Reininghaus