Protecting archaeological sites and heritage resources

Together with xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), we are working to educate the public about xʷməθkʷəy̓əm heritage and prevent avoidable impacts to known and undiscovered archaeological sites, wherever possible.

The city of Vancouver was built upon many archaeological sites that are protected by the BC Heritage Conservation Act, and are further managed by the City of Vancouver and xʷməθkʷəy̓əm.

Archaeological site protection

Archaeological sites in BC are protected for their historical, cultural, scientific, and educational value to the general public, local communities, and First Nations.

There are over 60,000 registered archaeological sites in BC, however, the majority of the province has not been surveyed for archaeological sites. Most archaeological sites have not been formally registered in the Provincial Heritage Register managed by the Archeology Branch (Ministry of Forests).

Just because there is not a formally registered site on or around a property, it does not mean there is not a site present. Sites that are formally registered as well as those that have not yet been formally registered are protected under the Heritage Conservation Act.

Encountering suspected archaeological materials

If known or suspected archaeological materials (For example: belongings or artifacts, human or animal bone, and so on) are encountered during ground-disturbing activities, you must:

Stop all work in the immediate area
Contact the Provincial Archaeology Branch for further direction at 250-953-3334

Develop responsibly, respectfully

It's illegal to disturb archaeological sites without proper permits. If you have construction or renovation plans for your property, submit an inquiry to the City of Vancouver to determine what may be required. Disturbance to an archaeological site must be avoided whenever possible, and development near or within an archaeological site should also avoid ground disturbance.

Penalties for destruction or unauthorized disturbance of archaeological sites may include imprisonment for up to 2 years and fines of up to $1,000,000. Review Section 36 of the BC Heritage Conservation Act

Request archaeological information about your property

Find out if your home is located within or near an archaeological site protected under the Heritage Conservation Act.

Submit an inquiry to the Provincial Archaeology Branch

Preparing for ground disturbances

Know what's required

It is illegal to disturb archaeological sites (registered or unregistered), without having the appropriate permits in place. Disturbing archaeological sites may cause tampering with materials that rightfully belong to the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) people.

All construction and home renovation projects requiring ground-altering or ground-disturbance activities need to comply with the provisions of the Heritage Conservation Act.

There may be City of Vancouver recommendations for archaeological assessment in addition to Provincial requirements. City recommendations are based on available information, locational consideration, and other factors, and are subject to review at time of permit submission. In particular, areas of archaeological potential surrounding known sites may merit further archaeological investigation and assessment.

If impacts to known archaeological sites are unavoidable, they must be conducted in a respectful and lawful way, under the appropriate permits held by archaeologists with local experience.
Get permits

The BC Archaeology Branch (Ministry of Forests) is responsible for issuing Heritage Conservation Act (HCA) permits required to conduct archaeological studies. xʷməθkʷəy̓əm is one of several First Nations that have permitting requirements separate from those required under the HCA.

Depending on the nature of the alterations, permits may also be required from the City of Vancouver’s Development and Building Licensing Department.

Contact a local consulting archaeologist with experience in the area for direction early in the project planning phase. Consulting archaeologists can be found through the BC Association of Professional Archaeologist website .
Find tips for hiring a professional archaeologist
Archaeological studies identify and assess archaeological sites to determine whether proposed ground disturbance will, or has the potential to, impact archaeological sites.

Before hiring a professional archaeologist consider the following:

Permitting ability

Is the archeological consulting firm or individual archaeologist in good standing with the BC Provincial Archaeology Branch and able to obtain and hold the required archaeological permits for the subject property?

Work experience

In the opinion of the Archaeology Branch, is the archaeological consulting firm or archaeologist qualified to undertake the required archaeological studies for the subject property? For example, has the firm or archaeologist successfully completed permitted archaeological studies, under permits issued by the Archaeology Branch, for similar projects in the selected cultural area and on the specific archaeological site type where the subject property is situated?

Does the archaeological consulting firm or archaeologist have previous experience working on the specific archaeological site where the subject property is situated?

First Nations experience

Is the archaeological consultant familiar with local First Nation archaeological stewardship policies and are they eligible to hold First Nation permits?

Ask if the consultant can explain their working relationship with local First Nations and whether they are willing to provide local First Nations references.

Project management/direction

Will the individual holding the required permit be managing:
- The project?
- The field work portion of the assessment?
Who will undertake the analysis and reporting? Will such roles be undertaken by one or more individuals?

Field director

If the permit holder is not present during the field assessment component, then is the project manager or field manager authorized/qualified to undertake the field direction by the:
- Archaeology Branch?
- Affected First Nations per their archaeology permits?

Learn more

Definitions and acronyms
Archaeological chance find procedure

A standard operating procedure for work crews if unexpected archaeological sites or resources are found during construction phase. If materials known or suspected to be of archaeological significance are encountered all construction activity in the vicinity will stop, the Project Manager will contract an archaeologist to review the site and provide further direction.

Chance find procedures are not appropriate in all circumstances and are generally only used in locations/projects where there is enough information to indicate that the project has a low chance of impacting unregistered archaeological materials.

Adapted from Vancouver Park Board Best Management Practices – Cultural and Archaeological Resources

Archaeological Impact Assessment (AIA)

Often the second phase of archaeological study. The study is undertaken by archaeologists under permits if known or suspected archaeological resources are within the proposed project/development, typically following an AOA report. A field-based study to collect in-the-ground information to determine the extent and nature of archaeological resources, if present. This study will often result in recommendations for further work, measures to mitigate impacts to archaeological resources (if present), or other measures as necessary.

Adapted from “xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) Archaeological Review Process – for works on Crown, Provincial, and Private Lands”

Review the AIA process and guidelines

Archaeological Overview Assessment (AOA)

A desktop study where available resources (archival documents, historical photos, archaeological records, etc.) are reviewed and used to determine the project’s potential to impact archaeological sites. Typically, an AOA is the first phase of archaeological study, and recommended to be completed in the early planning stages of a project. This study does not require an HCA permit but may require First Nations permits. The report leads to a determination if the proposed project will impact as-yet unregistered archaeological resources, alternatively described as having “archaeological potential”.

Review AOA study locations and reports

Archaeological potential

Refers to those locations that have a greater likelihood for archaeological materials, features, or deposits to be present and detectable using standard archaeological investigative techniques. Such determinations of archaeological potential are commonly based on a review of known archaeological site locations, past cultural practices, biophysical characteristics (example: slope, forest cover, distance to potable water), and First Nations place names that are typically associated with known archaeological site locations. Historical land use is also taken into account to determine the probability of an archaeological encounter being made during ground altering works.

Archaeological/heritage resources

xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) archaeological resources are just one component of xʷməθkʷəy̓əm heritage and include any and all evidence and traces of past human activity. These resources are non-renewable. Once they are removed from the ground much of the information we can glean about the past is lost. xʷməθkʷəy̓əm territories are highly sensitive and require due care and attention in order to ensure xʷməθkʷəy̓əm cultural safety. Much of the archaeological resources in xʷməθkʷəy̓əm heritage resources have already been heavily impacted, disturbed, or destroyed by developments and so it is important that we take the right steps to respectfully manage what little is left.

Adapted from Parks Canada website

Archaeological site

Land, including land covered by water, which has heritage value to British Columbia, a community or an aboriginal people.

Adapted from Parks Canada website

Belongings

Cultural heritage objects, often referred to as “artifacts” in archaeological literature but referred to as “belongings” by xʷməθkʷəy̓əm in reference to the First Nations peoples who made them and who rightfully own them.

“Many times people are buried with things that are important to them or to the family that is putting away their loved ones. For that person to be in the other world, in the spiritual world, they need their belongings in order to use them. Those things belonged to somebody; they didn't just appear in some pile of dirt. They belonged to someone, and that's how it was always explained to us.”
- sʔəyəɬəq (Larry Grant), quoted in the exhibition, c̓əsnaʔəm: the city before the city, Vancouver, BC, 2015

Adapted from Parks Canada website

Cultural heritage resources

Tangible and intangible assets which are central to xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam)’s identity as a people. This includes objects (belongings, artworks), language, songs, stories, histories, and the locations of cultural practices. This also includes archaeological sites, which are places that have the continued importance to xʷməθkʷəy̓əm today as they have for countless generations.

Taken from British Columbia Archaeological Resource Management Handbook for Foresters

Adapted from Parks Canada website

Ground alterations or disturbance

Ground disturbance can be defined as any activity that compacts or disturbs the ground within a project area. The project area is defined as all areas where project activities are planned, including: construction activities, easements (temporary and permanent), staging areas for supplies and equipment, landscaping, tree, rock, and soil removal.
- Ground disturbance can be caused via the use of hand tools (shovels, pick axe, posthole digger, survey pins, augers), heavy equipment (excavators, drill-rigs, backhoes, bulldozers, trenching and earthmoving equipment), and heavy trucks or storage/waste containers/bins (large four wheel drive trucks, dump trucks, tractor trailers, and storage containers). Tree, rock, and soil removal also constitute ground disturbance. Geotechnical or geo-environmental testing (hand, auger, or drill-rig) are considered ground disturbing activities.
- Projects that are often associated with ground disturbance include demolition/relocation of structures; new construction, creation of basements, vegetation management, landscaping; and, infrastructure projects such as utilities, storm water management, and flood control measures. Any projects that include the installation or maintenance of water, sewer and storm services, perimeter drains, electrical lines, irrigation, foundations, and footings, as well as, driveways, retaining walls, pools, ponds all typically involve ground disturbance.
- No ground disturbance can be understood as: proposed activities that are confined to locations where natural soil has been removed and replaced with engineered fill (example: sand and gravel aggregate fill). Examples include: recent infilled trenchlines, engineered sand below paving stones or sidewalks or driveways or roads. Trimming trees, mowing lawns and tree stump grinding without disturbing the root system are not classified as ground disturbing activities.
Heritage Conservation Act (HCA)

Provincial legislation that governs the protection and management of archaeological sites in BC.

Taken from Province of British Columbia website

Preliminary Field Reconnaissance (PFR)

The field study used to assess or confirm the potential of proposed operational areas to contain archaeological resources protected under the Heritage Conservation Act and recommend more detailed archaeological field studies, where appropriate. May be conducted without a HCA permit.

Taken from Province of British Columbia website

Province of British Columbia Archaeology Branch

The Archaeology Branch is responsible for administering the Heritage Conservation Act. This includes maintaining and distributing archaeological information, and deciding if permits can be issued to allow development to take place within archaeological sites.

Time immemorial

Time beyond memory, beyond most ancient xʷməθkʷəy̓əm histories, which go back at least 8,000 years before present.

Adapted from Parks Canada website
Resources
The Heritage Conservation Act (HCA)
The purpose of the Heritage Conservation Act is to facilitate the protection and conservation of heritage sites in BC, including archaeological sites within Vancouver. These sites are protected whether they exist on public or private land and whether they are known or not.

The Heritage Conservation Act protects:
- Heritage (archaeological) sites that pre-date AD 1846
- Undated sites that could pre-date AD 1846, regardless of whether they are:
  - Registered in the BC Provincial Heritage Register
  - Located on public land or private property
  - Located in a disturbed or intact context
- Heritage wrecks, such as the remains of vessels or aircraft after two or more years have passed since they sank, were abandoned or crashed
- Human remains that include, but are not limited to, intact and disturbed burials and fragmentary human remains

Protecting archaeological sites and heritage resources

Archaeological site protection

Encountering suspected archaeological materials

Develop responsibly, respectfully

Request archaeological information about your property

Preparing for ground disturbances

Know what's required

Get permits

Find tips for hiring a professional archaeologist

Learn more

Definitions and acronyms

Resources

The Heritage Conservation Act (HCA)

Contact information, partner agencies, and website policies