Kilgii Gwaay is an early Holocene archaeological wet site located in the intertidal zone of Ellen Island in the southern Haida Gwaii archipelago of coastal British Columbia, Canada. The Kilgii site includes one of the oldest shell middens in western North America and provides evidence of early maritime adaptations by humans. Radiocarbon-dated cultural deposits that surround a small palaeopond (Kilgii Pond) include hearth features, abundant lithic, bone and wood artifacts, and a diverse fossil fauna and flora. The known occupation dates between 10,800 and 10,500 cal bp, when relative sea level was 1–3 m lower than today. The site was submerged and capped by marine deposits by 10,500 cal bp as relative sea level rose. We conducted multi-proxy palaeoenvironmental analyses (magnetic susceptibility, pollen, charcoal, macrofossils) on Kilgii Pond sediments from a core taken beneath the coarse intertidal deposits. Pollen analysis indicates establishment of herb–shrub tundra by 14,500 cal bp, followed by pine-dominated communities after 13,800 cal bp and spruce forest with abundant ferns from about 13,250 cal bp. Macroscopic charcoal in the core is most abundant during the period of confirmed human occupation; however, significant peaks in charcoal abundance are present well below the known occupation horizon. Since lightning and natural forest fires are infrequent in this wet hypermaritime setting, we consider that the charcoal peaks from Kilgii Pond may serve as a proxy for human presence, potentially as early as 13,000 cal bp, approximately 2,200 years earlier than indicated by the AMS-dated cultural deposits and artifacts.

中文翻译：

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加拿大不列颠哥伦比亚省沿海的Kilgii Gwaay考古遗址的晚更新世植被和沉积木炭，可能有13,000 cal bp的人类存在的替代证据

Kilgii Gwaay是一个全新世早期考古湿地，位于加拿大不列颠哥伦比亚省沿海海达瓜伊群岛南部埃伦岛的潮间带。基尔吉（Kilgii）遗址包括北美西部最古老的贝壳中点之一，并为人类早期海洋适应提供了证据。围绕着小型古池塘（基尔吉池塘）的放射性碳定年文化沉积物包括炉膛特征，丰富的石器，骨骼和木器物，以及多样化的化石动植物。当相对海平面比今天低1-3 m时，已知的占领日期在10,800至10,500 cal bp之间。该地点被海底沉积物淹没并封顶了10,500 cal bp随着相对海平面上升。我们对Kilgii Pod沉积物从潮间带较粗沉积下采集的岩心进行了多代理古环境分析（磁化率，花粉，木炭，大型化石）。花粉分析表明，在14500 cal bp处建立了草本灌木冻原，然后在13800 cal bp之后建立了以松树为主的群落，云杉林的蕨类植物丰富，约13250 cal bp。。在确认的人类占领时期，核心的宏观木炭含量最高。但是，在已知的职业视野以下，木炭丰度出现了明显的峰值。由于在这种潮湿的高海上环境中很少发生闪电和自然森林大火，因此我们认为，基尔基池塘的木炭峰可能是人类存在的代表，可能最早出现在13,000 cal bp左右，比AMS指出的早了约2200年。过时的文化遗址和文物。