1997 TOP SECRET TIP PAGE The Ozette site in Washington, U.S.A. (near Vancouver Island, B.C.) on the Northwest Coast is a very special site. This area was once a whale-hunting settlement until around 1500 A.D., when a huge mudslide came and buried the entire village. For two hundred years, the village lay protected beneath the mud. The village, however, was not forgotten by the people who lived in the area. The descendants of this village kept the memory of their ancestors alive. Then the sea began to strip away the mud and it seemed as if the village might become unprotected and fall prey to looters.  Local people called upon the government to help excavate the site and protect the remains. As the archaeologists cleared away the mud with high-pressure hoses, a wealth of organic material came to view.  The team of archaeologists found several cedar wood long houses with carved wood panels painted in black with thunderbird and wolves designs.  Inside the houses they found hearths, cooking platforms, sleeping benches and mats. Here is a picture of a cedar canoe that was recovered from Ozette: Over 50 000 artifacts were recovered ! All were very well preserved. This was because the water and mud that they were trapped in prevented them from decomposing. The most spectacular find was a huge block of red cedar, a meter high, carved in the form of a whale's dorsal fin, and inlaid with over 700 otter teeth arranged in the shape of a thunderbird holding a snake in its claws. Isn't that amazing? Unfortunately we don't find this many remains at DhRl 16 because most of the stuff has decomposed.  We did, however, find some basketry at DhRl 16 that was waterlogged and so it preserved. This is a pretty rare find at this site and the archaeologists are very excited. Not every site can be like Ozette, and indeed, VERY few are, but if we are good archaeological detectives, we can still find lots of stuff and learn a great deal ! IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT OZETTE, YOU CAN VISIT THE MAKAH PEOPLE'S WEB SITE AT: www.northolympic.com/makah/index/html TAKE ME TO 1997!