The following are definitions of useful acronyms and terms.

ANTHROPOLOGY The general study of human societies and cultures.

ARCHAEOLOGY The study of humanity’s past, primarily through the study of the material (physical) remains of past human activity.

ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE A spatial clustering of archaeological data; any place that shows evidence of past human activity.

ARCHAEOLOGICAL INVENTORY A list of archaeological materials existing within a given area.

ARTIFACT Any object made, used or modified by humans Archaeologically, artifacts are often implements made of stone or bone (e.g., a projectile point), but can include non-portable features (such as fire pits) and animal remains used by people.

ATLATL Spear thrower; used in most parts of North America before the advent of the bow and arrow.

BACKFILL – The dirt from an excavation that is no longer archaeologically useful.

BIFACE A stone tool which has been worked on both sides, such as a knife.

BORDEN SYSTEM An alphanumeric code used to designate and locate archaeological sites in Canada.

B.P. Before Present, the present being designated as 1950 A.D. about the time Carbon 14 dating was developed. Using B.P. avoids the necessity of constantly readjusting dates to compensate for the ongoing passage of time.

BURIAL SITE A place where human remains are found.

CACHE PIT A pit in which food or other materials are placed for safekeeping.

CAIRN A pile of stones used as markers for various purposes.

CARBON 14 DATING A method of dating organic materials (e.g. bone or plant samples) by measuring the amount radioactive of C14 present. Also called radiocarbon dating.

CORE A piece of stone from which flakes have been removed.

COLLUVIUM, Jumbled, gravity-deposited material found at the base of a slope.

CULTURALLY MODIFIED TREE (CMT) A tree that has been modified by native people as part of their traditional forest practices.

DEBITAGE Waste flakes resulting from stone-tool manufacture.

DIAGNOSTIC ARTIFACT An artifact type that can be used to associate a site with a particular culture or time period (e.g. Clovis points are associated with the big game hunting tradition dating to 11,500 to 10,500 B.P.; sites where Clovis points are found are associated with this period).

FAUNAL REMAINS Animal remains associated with human activity but not used as tools.

FIRE BROKEN (FBR) or FIRE CRACKED ROCK (FCR) Stone that has been cracked or broken due to exposure to fire.

FLAKE A thin piece of stone removed from a core that may be used as a tool as is, or further worked into something more elaborate.

FLUVIAL DEPOSITS Material deposited by running water, such as a river or stream.

HABITATION SITE Living sites; sites that have typically been occupied for an extended period of time. Habitation sites are always associated with some type of dwelling.

HEARTH A fireplace, typically circular and characterized by ash and fire damaged rock.

HISTORICAL SITE Any site post-dating European contact. In British Columbia, these are sites dated after 1846.

HOLOCENE The warming period associated with the end of the Ice Age, beginning about 10,000 years ago.

IN SITU Archaeological materials are said to be in situ if they are found in the place they were last deposited.

KNAPPING Stone tool making.

LITHIC Stone.

LITHIC TECHNOLOGY Stone tool manufacturing and the result thereof.

MIDDEN An accumulation of household refuse; essentially a pile of archaeologically interesting garbage.

MITIGATION Procedures to reduce or eliminate the disturbance caused by project development on archaeological resources.

PETROGLYPH A picture pecked or carved into a stone surface.

PICTOGRAPH A picture painted onto a stone surface.

PIT HOUSE A semi-subterranean dwelling, typically consisting of a circular or rectangular pit covered by a log framework.

PLEISTOCENE The Ice Age, typically associated with the initial habitation of the New World 12,000+ years ago.

PRE-CONTACT Refers to the period before the arrival of Europeans in a particular area.

PROJECTILE POINT An inclusive term for spear, dart (atlatl), or arrow points.

SCRAPER A stone tool thought to be used for scraping, planning, or scouring.

SHARD A pottery fragment.

SHOVEL TEST A preliminary excavation to determine what archaeological materials may be present in an area. Often used in conjunction with surface surveys to determine the depth and extent of cultural materials at a site.

SURVEY In archaeology, the identification and mapping of archaeological sites.

TRADITIONAL USE SITE (TUS) Any geographically defined area that has been or is now used by one or more aboriginal groups for cultural or subsistence activities.