There are artifacts older than the pyramids resting at the Sunshine Coast Museum and Archives in Gibsons.
Recently, a group of professional archaeologists came to the museum to analyze the First Nations wood, bead, shell and stone artifacts housed there, effectively dating some pieces to a period 5,000 years ago.
"To put that into context, the pyramids were built about 3,500 years ago, so we have pieces here that are the same age or older," said Rudy Reimer, president of the Archaeological Society of B.C., adding that most of the artifacts are 2,000 to 3,000 years old, but some date back 4,000 to 5,000 years.
While some of the artifacts have been in the possession of the museum since 1963, the collection had not been thoroughly analyzed by an archaeologist.
"The collection has been developed over decades, and we have catalogued it, but we don't have any expertise to properly analyze it," said museum curator Kimiko Hawkes.
Hawkes met with Reimer while he was visiting with a Squamish Nation delegation, and she sought his expertise. Reimer was excited at the prospect of uncovering more First Nations artifacts, and he decided to bring a team to the museum to help shed some light on the history housed there. Last weekend the museum was a buzz of activity with archaeologists examining artifacts, photographing them and poring over reference materials to determine dates, uses and origins of the articles.
While Reimer's team worked, the public was invited to come and view their efforts. More than 40 people took the time to see what was happening, and some even brought in artifacts of their own for identification.
Reimer was happy to see the community come out, noting archaeologists have been working behind closed doors for many years, not sharing their discoveries with the general public.
"We've kind of gotten away from our original mandate, which was to blend the interests of all people and do archaeology in public. We want to involve the community and create awareness about the fact that there are thousands of years of history here," Reimer said.
Some of the discoveries in Gibsons included an ancient warrior's club, pieces that show evidence of fishing and hunting technology and an unusual carving found on Mount Elphinstone that is made of a natural concrete and shell.
Some of the pieces will be studied further with the use of X-ray fluorescents, a non-destructive technology that shows where stone used in an artifact came from.
"Basically we take a chemical fingerprint and we can tie that chemical fingerprint back to the source, or where it came from," Reimer said.
Hawkes said the museum learned a lot from Reimer's recent visit, and they are inviting him back again in the fall to continue his work.
In the meantime, Reimer encourages anyone in the community who thinks they may have found an artifact to contact the B.C. Archaeology Branch at 1-250-953-3334.
"Some people have these things sitting in their living rooms, and I would encourage them to bring them in and have them looked at. There is a broader archeological context that we can put things into, and if we don't we will lose that knowledge," he said.
For more about the museum, see www.sunshinecoastmuseum.ca or for more details of the recent archeological analysis, see sunshinecoastmuseumandarchives.blogspot.com.
