Meghan Burchell

• PhD
• Professor (Assistant) at Memorial University of Newfoundland

Biogeochemical and growth increment analyses show contrasting seasonal patterns of butter clam collection and rates of harvest intensity between archaeological shell midden sites from the Dundas Islands archipelago and the mainland coast in Prince Rupert Harbour, northern British Columbia. Growth increment analysis shows more intensive clam harvest...

Examination of growth-stage profiles of shells from nine Northwest Coast shell midden sites shows a majority of senile-stage shells at longer-term residential sites and a majority of mature-stage shells at shorter-term encampments. This pattern indicates less intensive harvest in the vicinity of residential sites, which is consistent with managemen...

To analyze environmental changes and the seasonality of shell collection in British Columbia during the Holocene, oxygen isotopes were measured from modern and archeological (1337–7438 cal yr BP) shells of the butter clam Saxidomus gigantea. 1697 discrete isotope samples were taken from two modern and 27 archeological shells with a high temporal re...

The butter clam, Saxidomus gigantea, is one of the most commonly recovered bivalves from archaeological shell middens on the Pacific Coast of North America. This study presents the results of the sclerochronology of modern specimens of S. gigantea, collected monthly from Pender Island (British Columbia), and additional modern specimens from the Dun...

The use of cannabis, narcotics, and other intoxicants is widespread within North American prisons, where do-it-yourself instruments are fashioned, used, traded, discarded, and/or confiscated. This cycle contributes to the long-term record of mate- rial culture and provides an opportunity to study innovations employed by incarcerated persons. An ass...

Horizon scanning is an increasingly common strategy to identify key research needs and frame future agendas in science. Here, we present the results of the first such exercise for the field of sclerochronology, thereby providing an overview of persistent and emergent research questions that should be addressed by future studies. Through online corr...

In a rapidly changing world, maintenance of the good health of the marine environment requires a detailed understanding of its mechanisms of change, and the ability to detect early signals of a shift away from the equilibrium state that we assume characterized it before there was any significant human impact. Given that instrumental measurements of...

Stable oxygen isotope (δ¹⁸O) analysis of mussels (Mytilus sp.) from a 16th to mid-18th century Inuit site in southern Labrador, Canada, indicates multiple seasons of shellfish collection, and by proxy, multiple seasons of site occupation. High-resolution δ¹⁸O sampling of shell permits a precise season of mussel collection since the temperature and...

In recent years there have been significant methodological advances in sampling and interpreting oxygen isotope data from mollusc shells recovered from archaeological sites. In particular, the oxygen isotope record in mollusc shells derived from island and coastal sites reveals trends in mollusc collection intensity, seasonality, and paleoenvironme...

Five seasons of survey and excavation in Port Joli Harbour, NS, Canada, have resulted in a high-resolution archaeofaunal sample from 2 contrasting shell-bearing sites: AlDf-24, and AlDf-30 (Jack's Brook). In this paper, we discuss the evidence for differences in mollusk-, fish-, and mammal-harvesting strategies between contemporaneously occupied si...

Stable oxygen isotope analysis of marine shells has increasingly become a common tool used to identify seasonality and reconstruct past sea surface temperatures (PSST). Oxygen isotope analysis of marine carbonates cannot, however, discriminate between freshwater fluxes and temperature changes as they both affect oxygen isotope ratios (18O/16O). The...

The results of high-resolution stable oxygen isotope (δ18O) sclerochronology of 139 butter clam (Saxidomus gigantea) shells from nine archaeological shell midden sites on the central coast of British Columbia, Canada demonstrate clear patterns of multi-season harvest at most sites and specific seasonal harvest at particular site locations. Although...

Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis of bone collagen has become a standard method of palaeodietary research in archaeology. However, laboratories implement various procedures for the extraction of collagen. This is problematic because different methods may produce varying carbon and nitrogen isotopic ratios, which may affect the comparabili...

In 1982, Chisholm et al. used δ13C data for human burials from shell midden sites widely distributed on the coast of British Columbia (BC) to show the extreme dependence of these individuals on high trophic level marine consumers, principally salmon and marine mammals. Here, we present previously unpublished analyses of δ15N for some of the same in...

The systematic analysis of shellfish remains recovered from shell midden sites from Port Joil Nova Scotia can provide insight into local and regional patterns of shellfish harvest, the season of shellfish harvest, and by proxy, site occupation. Using a combination shell micro-growth pattern analysis (sclerochronology) and stable oxygen isotope anal...

The excavation of shell middens and mounds is an important source of information regarding past human diet, settlement, technology, and paleoenvironments. The contributors to this book introduce new ways to study shell-matrix sites, ranging from the geochemical analysis of shellfish to the interpretation of human remains buried within. Drawing upon...

Stable oxygen isotopes from estuarine bivalve carbonate from Saxidomus gigantea were analysed combined with high-resolution sclerochronology from modern and archaeological shells from British Columbia, Canada, to determine the seasonality of shellfish collection from the archaeological site of Namu. The combination of high-resolution sclerochronolo...

Shells of intertidal bivalve mollusks contain sub-seasonally to interannually resolved records of temperature and salinity variations in coastal settings. Such data are essential to understand changing land-sea interactions through time, specifically atmospheric (precipitation rate, glacial meltwater, river discharge) and oceanographic circulation...

In May 1960, the largest recorded earthquake in the earth's history struck southern Chile, and lowered the course of the Rio Cruces by approximately 2 m. This created a wetland, which was colonised by the waterweed Egeria densa and, subsequently, by large populations of the black-necked swan, which fed on the weed. Reported catastrophic declines in...

Life history traits of the bivalve mollusk textit{Saxidomus gigantea} from the coast of British Columbia: Insights for paleoclimate and archaeological applications

Following earlier examples of mapping the subsurface of shell bearing sites using augering, we employ percussion coring to identify early Holocene shell midden components at two types of sites on the Northwest Coast of North America. We describe a method for mapping subsurface components at shell bearing sites including basal deposits, paleosols an...

In May, 1960, the largest recorded earthquake in the history of the planet hit southern Chile, dropping part of the course of the Rio Cruces by 2m and creating an extensive wetland. The Brazilian Waterweed Egeria densa colonised the area, and became a primary food source for large populations of the Black-necked Swan, Cygnus melancoryphus. In 2004,...

Stable-isotope ratios of two modern Saxidomus gigantea specimens from Namu, British Columbia, are presented to show intraspecimen and interspecimen isotopic variation. Isotopic profiles (δ13Cshell, δ18Oshell) were generated along the axis of maximum growth. The profiles show that analogous seasonal variation is recorded in δ18Oshell; however, signi...

A gender-based analysis of burials from the coast of British Columbia shows that there are no significant differences in the frequency of burial, or grave goods between male and female burials. A total of 1,130 burials were examined to identify any differences in age, sex, and grave good types. When examined regionally, within the south, central an...

The development of coastal subsistence economies within the Dundas Islands Group is examined through a multi-site investigation of camps, villages, and specialized resource procurement sites. We use an example where shell midden materials obtained through bucket-auger sampling from 14 sites were analyzed to interpret the history of fishing and the...

Introduction • This research contributes to the continuing investigation of settlement and subsistence patterns at the Dundas Islands Group, in traditional Coast Tsimshian territory on the northern coast of British Columbia 1. • Growth increment analysis of the bivalve Saxidomus gigantea, (Butter clam) is conducted to interpret the intensity of she...