Screen Size and the Need for Reinterpretation: A Case Study from the Northwest Coast

Abstract

There has been much discussion in the archaeological literature on the utilization of different screen mesh sizes for recovering faunal elements, with many researchers decrying the use of the 6.4 mm (1/4") screen, which allows small elements to fall through the mesh. There has been less discussion on the merits of the data obtained through recovery of smaller elements, specifically, is the "new data" worth the extra time and labor? This paper examines faunal material from three sites from the Northwest coast of Canada. The material has been recovered using either 6.4 mm or 2.8 mm (1/8") mesh screens. The results suggest that elements of herring and other small fish have been greatly underestimated in Northwest coast sites, and that these formed an important part of the coast economy and subsistence. Where salmon, a large fish with often well preserved elements, has been seen as the mainstay of Northwest diet and economy, excavation with small-mesh screens may indicate a much greater importance for herring and other small fish on the coast. For accurate reconstruction of past lifeways, at least on the Northwest coast, screens with mesh 2.8 mm must be used for at least a substantial part of the matrix, in combination with the 6.8 mm mesh.