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The crew works at the wet portion of the site while the tide is out. It is estimated that only two percent of the site has been excavated.in wood and fiber,” says Croes. “So when we start to see that90 percent, it really adds to our understanding” of the site.The Mud Bay site is located on a picturesque tidal inletjust south of Olympia, the state capital. Ralph Munro, whoonce served as Washington’s secretary of state, owns theproperty. The Munros used the site as a swimming beach.Over the years, as the beach eroded due to storms, tides,Squaxin Island Tribal archaeologist Larry Ross examines asection of the shell midden.and the shifting course of a freshwater spring that flows outthrough the bay, the Munros noticed a thick layer of shellsjust below the surface. The thousands of broken rocks thatlittered the ground at low tides were also unusual. So in1989 they contacted Croes, whom they knew from workingtogether on a state centennial project that year.“They showed me a shell dump, but I knew that wasmodern material—Pacific oysters that were being excavated,”says Croes, an amiable 59-year-old. “But when I looked atwhere the bank was eroding, I could tell this was an ancientsite from the midden and all the fire-cracked rock.”For several years the site was left undisturbed. Then in1998, Croes had a new student in one of his classes—RhondaFoster, a member of the Squaxin Island Tribe who was thedirector of the tribe’s Cultural Resources Department. Fosterrealized that many of the archaeological sites within hertraditional lands were not surveyed nor recorded with theState of Washington. After inspecting the Mud Bay site, SPSCCand the tribe agreed to assemble a field school for oneseason to record this site and teach students how to conducta survey. A piece of cedar rope was found during the survey,prompting a test excavation that uncovered a piece of cedarbark gillnet.In 2000 SPSCC and the Squaxin Island Tribe signed anagreement to excavate the site, with Croes and Foster codirectingthe project. Both parties saw an opportunity to marrythe college’s archaeological expertise to the tribe’s cultural14 winter • 2007-08LARRY GILL
knowledge. The Squaxin wanted to learn archaeologicalskills to help them preserve their ancestors’ artifacts. Theyalso wanted “to correct the inaccurate histories writtenby non-tribal representatives,” Foster later wrote in a paperabout the project. “Archaeologists have often exploited thetribes,” she says. “Here we’re helping students learn how towork with tribes, and teaching tribal members how to workwith archaeologists.”The site has three components—a deep shell middenthat extends for about 300 feet along the beach; an areaseveral yards inland where stone ovens, charcoal, and fireshatteredrock indicate shellfish, salmon, and other foodswere cooked; and an area in the northernmost and highestportion of the site, where testing has uncovered house postmolds,family-size hearth areas, and house floors. The shellmidden component is called a “wet site” because the culturalmaterial is waterlogged. Most work to date has taken place inthe midden and the cook areas.The cultural material in the wet site, including wood andcord items, is remarkably well preserved. The researchers haveuncovered waterlogged materials—the tidal action and thefreshwater spring that flows there keep them wet—about 20inches below the surface in an oxygen-free environment. Thisenvironment is also free of the bacteria and fungus, whichrequire oxygen, that cause organic materials to decay.When excavating a wet site, shovels and trowels areDale Croes (left) talks with Mike Davis, the state elder of theShaker Indian Church, who said a prayer over the basket beforeremoval. The church was started by tribal members.exchanged for a garden hose and tongue depressors. Thespray from the hose—a fine mist is used when uncoveringdelicate items—removes the sand and natural debris suchas pieces of wood and fiber, what Croes calls “vegetal mats.”The tongue depressors, which have pointed ends, are usedto dislodge the debris that the hose can’t. The sand and vegetalmats are then gathered in a dustpan and run throughfine screens that capture small artifacts.Croes estimates only about two percent of the sitehas been excavated because he and Foster are focusing onLARRY GILLDale Croes and several members of the tribe carefully lift the huge basketrypiece onto a plywood platform so that it can be transported to a laboratory.<strong>american</strong> <strong>archaeology</strong> 15
Page 1 and 2: ANCIENT LIFE AND DEATH • ARCHAEOL
Page 3: Much of the ancient materialculture
Page 7 and 8: These artifacts were all recovered
Page 9: the salmon weren’t running or sto

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