I.R. Wilson Consultants Ltd.

I.R. Wilson Consultants Ltd. and our partners provide a broad range of service lines for our clients that meet regulatory requirements and exceed expectations. We are happy to work with our clients to find service solutions to meet your project requirements in compliance with the Heritage Conservation Act.

Legislation

Heritage Conservation Act

Based on provincial legislation, protection and assessment of heritage resources are government regulated, with government approvals required for developments that may potentially impact these resources. Heritage sites and objects on private and Provincial Crown Land in British Columbia that predate 1846 are protected under the Heritage Conservation Act, which is administered by the Archaeology Branch of the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and the Arts.

Heritage Resources

Heritage resources specifically protected by the Act include provincial heritage sites, burial places with historical or archaeological value, aboriginal rock paintings or carvings, and sites with evidence of human habitation or use before 1846 and heritage wrecks. Heritage resources can be prehistoric in age (the time before written records) or they can be historic. They can be of First Nations, European, Euro-Canadian or other ethnic affiliation. 

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Archaeological Assessment Stages

There are usually three stages to the archaeological impact assessment and review process including an overview assessment, a detailed impact assessment, and impact mitigation.

1. Archaeological Overview Assessments (AOA)

The AOA is a non-permitted study conducted by archaeologists in order to identify and assess the likelihood that archaeological sites are present. AOAs are used to assist with determining archaeological potential on projects and are used to determine whether a subsequent AIA is needed and the required scale of the AIA. AOAs are generally based on a background search of documentary records, although a Preliminary Field Reconnaissance (PFR) is occasionally conducted in order to ground-truth research, assess terrain, and establish site management strategies. Occasionally, predictive models are created in a Geographic Information System (GIS) for large projects.

2. Archaeological Impact Assessments (AIA)

The AIA is a formal study conducted under an Archaeology Branch issued heritage inspection permit within a proposed development area in order to identify and inventory archaeological sites, assess their significance, and provide recommendations on how to best manage possible impacts by the development on these sites. Recommendations, depending on the site significance, may include site avoidance, recovery of archaeological data before project work or monitoring for additional data during project work.

3. Impact Management

Impact management is any course of action that results in the reduction or the elimination of the adverse impacts of a development to an archaeological site. Mitigation, where required, usually involves one of the following: site protection, project redesign or Systematic Data Recovery (SDR). When SDR is required, it is typically conducted under an Archaeology Branch issued heritage investigation permit and can include archaeological excavation, or monitoring conducted under an alteration permit.

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Traditional Land Use and Research Services

Traditional Use Studies

I.R. Wilson Consultants Ltd. and our partners conduct Traditional Use Studies (TUS) throughout western Canada for First Nations, commercial developers and all levels of government. We work with First Nations communities to document current and past use of traditional areas, activities and resources.

Our services include, but are not limited to, conducting TUS as part of environmental assessments, aboriginal land use and occupancy studies, aboriginal consultation, resource planning, land claims projects and Culturally Modified Trees (CMTs) inventories and audits.

Research Services

I.R. Wilson Consultants Ltd. and our partners also provide a range of research services for our clients, including management planning and legal support.

Legal Services
We provide research services for both Crown council and defense lawyers for court cases and provide expert witness testimony. We also conduct research in to aboriginal title and rights, including legal precedents and land claims.

Land Claims Services
We provide land claims services to First Nations in support of land claims, including researching archival and ethnographic documentary sources. We also document historic land use.

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Specialized Services

I.R. Wilson Consultants Ltd. and our partners offer in-house expertise and consistently use qualified specialists for analyses of cultural landscapes, archaeological sites and artifacts.

Osteological Analysis

Human osteology is the recovery and analysis of human remains from archaeological sites. The aims of osteological analyses are to identify the minimum number of buried individuals, based on fragmentary remains, and determine the gender, age, status, diet, injuries or illnesses and cause of death.

Lithic Analysis

Lithic analysis is the study of chipped and groundstone tools and their manufacture by prehistoric peoples. Areas of inquiry include raw material sourcing, manufacturing techniques and utilization. Lithic analysis can provide both temporally and culturally sensitive markers, yielding information about subsistence, processing and trade strategies used by people in the past.

Faunal Analysis

Faunal analysis is the study of animal remains recovered from archaeological sites. Faunal remains recovered from archaeological sites can indicate prehistoric diet, habitat, seasonality and occasionally represent spiritually or ideologically significant species to a prehistoric group. Bone tools are also analyzed when found. Our Faunal and Zooarchaeological analysis is provided by Becky Wigen, MA with Pacific IDentifications. Ms. Wigen is one of B.C.’s leading experts on faunal analysis. Pacific IDentifications can be viewed on their website at http://www.pacificid.com/.

Historical Archaeology

Historical archaeology is the study of historical materials from archaeological sites, including material types such as ceramic, glass and metal. Historical archaeology is unique in that there may be archival and documentary materials in addition to data recovered from archaeological sites to provide information regarding activities in the past. The protohistoric period is a poorly understood time period on the Northwest Coast; historical archaeology helps provide information about interactions between First Nations, fur traders, missionaries and later settlers in the late 1700s and 1800s.

Paleoethnobotanical Analysis

Paleoethnobotany is the study of ancient plant remains, including macrofossils and seeds, recovered from archaeological sites. Paleoethnobotanical analysis provides information regarding plant use by ancient peoples, including dietary and utilitarian purposes, as well as providing information regarding prehistoric environments. While our samples are prepared and processed in the laboratory in house, they are sent to Simon Fraser University for skilled analysis and identification.

Dendrochronological Analysis

Dendrochronology is a method of providing specific calendar dates on the basis of tree core samples and counting and comparing tree ring growth patterns. This dating method works best for trees up to several hundred years old and can be used on a variety of species. On the Northwest Coast, dendrochronology is most commonly used to date specific modifications of trees by First Nations people.

Geomorphological Analysis

We conduct geomorphological analyses on landform formation processes in archaeological contexts. Geomorphological analysis is provided by Pierre Friele, MSc, PGeo. Mr. Friele is a terrain specialist with research interests in Quaternary science and geological hazards.

Pedological Analysis

We study soil formation processes in archaeological contexts, including the development of paleosols created by past human activities. Pedological analsis can be used to identify separate occupations over time at an archaeological site.

Paleontological Analysis

Palaeontology provides information on ancient life forms, past ecosystems, evolution, natural climate change and extinction. Palaeontological resources, or fossils, comprise any evidence of past multicellular life, including body fossils (e.g., bones, shells, wood), impressions (e.g., leaf imprints) and trace fossils (e.g., dinosaur trackways). Fossils range from thousands to hundreds of millions of years old and are often the remains of extinct species. Fossilization is the exception rather than the rule, and as the communities no longer exist, fossils are nonrenewable resources. The rock surrounding a fossil is the stratigraphic context, which provides important information on age, environment and associations. Therefore, site integrity is extremely important to interpreting the remains. We collaborate with our partners for this type of analysis.

Data Modelling

We use vegetation, slope, aspect, archaeological sites, water bodies, light detection and ranging optical remote sensing (LiDAR), orthophotos, traditional use studies (TUS) and aboriginal trails to generate models of archaeological potential.

Cartographic presentation

We specialize in cartographic presentation, using recent orthophotos, GIS layers, and spatial data gathered via fieldwork to create project specific maps at various scales, as well as archaeological site maps.

Orthophoto Analysis

We offer orthophoto and aerial photo analysis of archaeological landscapes to contribute to our GIS analyses.

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