Tikchik village: a nineteenth century riverine community in ... - Cluster

VANSTONE: TIKCHIK VILLAGE 239House 1 (Fig. 5)This was the second largest house on the Tikchik site, but verylittlewood was preserved. The presence of almost all the logs usedin tunnel construction suggests that the more accessible timbers ofthe main chamber were removed prior to the collapse of the structure.Because of the almost total absence of wood in the main body of thehouse, the walls and corners were very difficult to determine. Inplaces it was necessary to locate the bench surface and then extendthe excavation outward until the level terminated. A few spongysections of wall logs were noted. The long axis of this dwelling wasto the tunnel and there were low benches on three sides. Theparallelbench surfaces and floor consisted of a dark, compact, scaly layerwhich was easy to follow. The hearth area was a dark reddish colorand very extensive. Although no roof timbers were recovered, theThepost holes for four-post-center construction were clearly visible.tunnel of this structure, which extended well into the living area atone end and the entryroom at the other, was a pronounced angle tothese two units. At either end of the tunnel were short, horizontal,retaining planks set into the earth . The tunnel floor was a hard, compactlayer containing gravel and charcoal, and the step-up at eitherend was 46 to 51 cm.; seemingly, an intermediate step would havebeen required to provide access to the living chamber and the entryroom.As is typical for most of the Tikchik houses, the entryroom isdifficult to describe. There was no preserved wood and the floor wasuneven and poorly defined. The presence of six post holes, three oneach side, suggests vertical supports for horizontal log construction orperhaps a framework against which vertical side planks were fastened.It may have been that the front of the entryroom was open and thatthe structure was intended only to provide protection for the tunneland a certain amount of storage space. Around two of the post holeswas a wide area of very soft, unconsolidated dirt suggesting fill materialput in around the logs when they were set. The floor of the entryroomis very uneven but tends to be low in the center and higheraround the sides. In other words, not a prepared floor but simply atrampled surface.House 2 (Fig. 6)The characteristic features of this structure were reasonably goodwood preservation, a long, deep tunnel, and a small but well-definedentryroom. The main chamber was virtually square and wall constructionconsisted of horizontal logs held in place by vertical supports.There were three such logs along one wall and this seems to