Assessing internal household relationships and site use

Abstract

Zooarchaeological analysis is employed to determine the nature of social relationships within a Pacific Northwest Coast post-and-beam house dated to c. AD 200–650. Evaluation of faunal distribution patterns indicates that House 2 at the Dionisio Point site was occupied by a social group characterized by relative equality, rather than marked status differences. This provides an alternative, with a shift in emphasis, to initial interpretations. The implications include a House 2 household consisted of comparatively egalitarian, likely multi-lineage families that were members of an aggregate village. In the context of regional village settlement, these findings support the interpretation of site inhabitation focused on early spring to summer. The Dionisio Point data reflect the variation in Northwest Coast household composition. For studies of social organization within large households in other periods and places, the indication is that variability may exist but remain hidden from view until several sources of material evidence become available.