The Toquaht Archaeological Project: Research at T'ukw'aa, a Nuu-chah-nulth village and defensive site in Barkley Sound, Western Vancouver Island

The Toquaht Archaeological Project was led by the authors in cooperation with the Toquaht First Nation, one of the Nuu-chah-nulth peoples of western Vancouver Island, British Columbia. The Nuu-chah-nulth formerly lived in large villages of plank-covered houses facing the sea, relying on a wide variety of fish species and marine mammals, including large whales. This volume presents research results from T'ukw'aa, the ancient village in Barkley Sound from which the modern Toquaht derive their name. This location, occupied for over 1,000 years, includes a defensive headland, or “fortress,” that provided a lookout location and place of refuge during hostilities. Ethnographic and ethnohistoric descriptions of Toquaht life are followed by discussion of archaeological research at T'ukw'aa to examine life prior to contact with Europeans and immediately after. All excavated materials, including faunal remains and artifacts, are described and assessed, providing insights into past lifeways in this outer-coast community.