November 2010 - BC Hydro

Executive Summary
Duncan Dam Reservoir Archaeological Overview Assessment Final Report
A six-year, two-phase Cultural Resources Monitoring Plan (CRMP) was initiated in 2009 as part
of the Duncan Dam Water Use Plan (WUP). Eagle Vision Geomatics and Archaeology Ltd. was
contracted to implement Phase 1 – DDMMON 12. The Duncan Dam Archaeological Overview
Assessment (AOA) was undertaken to facilitate the Duncan Dam Water Use Planning Process
(WUP) and to make recommendations to guide a second phase of the Cultural Monitoring
Program.
The ability of the WUP to recommend measures to protect and maintain cultural sites in the
Duncan Reservoir has been seriously hampered by the lack of a complete archaeological
inventory, incomplete analysis and synthesis of documented sites and the absence of
knowledge regarding the condition of cultural sites. DDMMON 12 intended to address a
knowledge gap regarding the number, location, elevation, condition, use, susceptibility to
erosion and relative importance of cultural sites within the drawdown zone of the reservoir.
The present survey sample of the Duncan Reservoir consisted of a series of transects of
individual landscapes subjectively selected as the possible repositories of parts of the
archaeological record of past human activity. Interpretation of the results of the survey must
consider the serious constraints upon discovery and condition of archaeological remains
imposed by the reservoir environment, including differential destruction of landforms and
sedimentary strata in some cases, and burial beneath obscuring accumulations of post-reservoir
sediments in other instances. Despite these limitations, the brief field survey associated with this
project has produced significant positive results in the form of 8 discrete loci of archaeological
remains.
The highly positive results of the current survey affirm the predictive value of the pre-contact
land settlement models for locating archaeological sites, while further contributing to the
knowledge of the pre-contact human history of the area. EcQf-3, EcQf-4, EcQf-5, EcQf-6 and
EcQf-7 as well as the previously recorded EbQf-7 are all worthy of focused monitoring that is
likely to yield valuable additional information regarding their archaeological and stratigraphic
contents, as well as information pertaining to the effects of reservoir operations in their
distinctive settings. It is emphasized that a full archaeological inventory of the Duncan Reservoir
has yet to be accomplished and should be completed as soon as possible. This can be
incorporated into the reservoir-wide monitoring that is needed to provide the context for focused
Eagle Vision Geomatics & Archaeology Ltd. iii November 28, 2010