Spring 2008 Sand Creek Byway archaeological excavations north of the Bridge Street bridge near where the Lakeside Motel once stood. Photograph by Robert C. Betts, Vanguard Research.
The Bonner County Historical Society will host its annual meeting on Saturday, May 14, at the Sandpoint Elks Club. The public is invited to attend this luncheon and presentation of “From Time Immemorial: Sand Creek and the Prehistory of Sandpoint, Idaho” by Roberts Betts of Vanguard Research. The cost of the luncheon and presentation is $20.00, or $18.00 for members of the Historical Society. Reservations are required.
The Sandpoint Byway archaeological excavations of the historic Sandpoint townsite involved ten sessions of field work over a period of three years and is the largest archaeological project ever undertaken by the State of Idaho. Close to 570,000 artifacts were recovered. Artifact analysis and report preparation is currently under way at the University of Idaho. While excavation focused on recovery of artifacts associated with the early Sandpoint townsite, a small number of prehistoric artifacts were also recovered that reflect Native American activity at the mouth of Sand Creek that preceded the establishment of the early townsite by thousands of years.
Robert Betts was involved in all three years of the Byway excavations. He will discuss what the stone tools and other prehistoric artifacts recovered can tell us about the Native Americans who were utilizing resources in the vicinity of Sandpoint for thousands of years. Some of the prehistoric artifacts found at Sand Creek point towards long distance trade and cultural contacts with regions far to the south in Idaho as well as to the north in Canada and suggest that since “Time Immemorial” people living on the north shore of Lake Pend Oreille were well integraded into regional prehistoric trade networks.
The presentation is sponsored by the Bonner County Historical Society, Vanguard Research, SWCA Environmental, and the Idaho Transportation Department.
To make a reservation for the event, contact bcmuseum@frontier.com or 263-2344. Reservations are requested by May 6.
