The Watts Point dacite source and its geological and archaeological occurrence along the shores of the Salish Sea, British Columbia Canada

The archaeological record of the Salish Sea of the Southern Northwest Coast of North America is dominated the use of Fine-Grained Volcanic rocks (FGV). To date no formal study of the geochemistry of an FGV source in this region exists, despite several studies that have attempted to address the nature of lithic sources and their cultural use over the past 25 years. These studies suffer from a lack of systematic investigation of a primary FGV source in the region. To date, researchers in this area do not have a complete set of reference materials for any FGV source, including samples from proximal glacial/beach deposits, for full and meaningful comparisons. This research will address some fundamental questions but also present research questions regarding lithic provenance. This research documents a full analysis of a known source of FGV in the area and offers initial observations about its use over the past 9700 years.