PhD University of British Columbia
Coastal Archaeology, Historical Ecology, Northwest Coast, Zooarchaeology
I am a coastal archaeologist interested in the history of food and settlement as a medium for understanding human-environmental relations on the Pacific Northwest Coast. I am a specialist in zooarchaeology (the archaeology of animal bones) and historical ecology (contextualizing modern ecosystem observations with those from well before the 20th or 21st centuries). I am also keen on cartography, visualization of archaeological data, and digital archaeological techniques and technologies.
My research focuses on the human use of animals, with a particular concentration on fish, shellfish, and marine mammals along the British Columbia Coast. I explore how these ancient records broaden contemporary perspectives on present day resource management challenges and the legacy of Indigenous settlement, use, and care for coastal environments.
I am participating in research with the Hakai Institute’s marine science programs as well as conducting ongoing fieldwork out of the Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre in Nuu-chah-nulth territories in Barkley Sound along the west coast of Vancouver Island.
Fall 2023
Spring 2024
Historical Ecology and Coastal Archaeology (HECA) Lab page: https://iainmckechnie.wordpress.com
UVic Archaeology Field School in Barkley Sound https://onlineacademiccommunity.uvic.ca/coastalfieldarch/
Zooarchaeology Laboratory website:
https://www.uvic.ca/socialsciences/anthropology/research/facilities/zooarchaeology%20lab/index.php
2022 - Gustas, R. H., I. McKechnie, Q. Mackie, and C. T. Darimont. 2022. Estimating Coastal Shell Midden Site Volumes Using Geometric Solids: An Example from Tseshaht Territory, Western Vancouver Island, British Columbia Canada. Advances in Archaeological Practice 10:200–214. https://doi.org/10.1017/aap.2022.9
2021 – Bullen, C., A. Campos, E. Gregr, I. McKechnie, K.M.A. Chan. The ghost of a giant – Six hypotheses for how an extinct megaherbivore structured kelp forests across the North Pacific Rim. Global Ecology and Biogeography https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.13370
2021 – DeRoy, B.C., V. Brown, C.N. Service, M. Leclerc, C. Bone, I. McKechnie, C.T. Darimont. Combining high-resolution remotely sensed data with local and Indigenous Knowledge to model the landscape suitability of culturally modified trees: biocultural stewardship in Kitasoo/Xai’xais Territory. Facets 6(1):465–489. https://doi.org/10.1139/facets-2020-0047
2020 – Duffield, S., I. McKechnie, D. St. Claire, & D. McLaren. Vibracore Sampling in the Broken Group Islands. The Midden 5(2):34–37. https://journals.uvic.ca/index.php/midden/issue/view/1488
2020 – Hillis, D., I. McKechnie, E. Guiry, D. St. Claire, & C. T. Darimont. Ancient Dog Diets on the Pacific Northwest Coast: Zooarchaeological and Stable Isotope Modelling Evidence from Tseshaht Territory and Beyond. Scientific Reports 10:15630. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-71574-x
2020 – McKechnie, I., M. L. Moss, and S. J. Crockford. 2020. Domestic Dogs and Wild Canids of the Northwest Coast of North America: Animal Husbandry in a Region without Agriculture? Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 60:101209. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaa.2020.101209
2018 – Martindale, A., G.T. Cook, Iain McKechnie, K. Edinborough, I. Hutchinson, M. Eldridge, K. Supernant, and K.M. Ames. Estimating Marine Reservoir Effects (MRE) in Archaeological Chronologies: Comparing ΔR Calculations in Prince Rupert Harbour, British Columbia, Canada. American Antiquity 83(4):659–680. https://doi.org/10.1017/aaq.2018.47
2018 – Salomon, A. K., K. Lertzman, K. Brown, B. J. Wilson (Kii7iljuus), D. Secord &, Iain McKechnie. Democratizing Conservation Science and Practice. Ecology and Society 23(1) https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-09980-230144
2018 - Rodrigues, AT; Iain McKechnie, & DY Yang Ancient DNA analysis of Indigenous rockfish use on the Pacific Coast: Implications for marine conservation areas and fisheries management. PLoS ONE 13 (2), e0192716
2017 – (Armstrong, C. G., A.C. Shoemaker, I. McKechnie, et al.) Anthropological contributions to historical ecology: 50 questions, infinite prospects. PloS One 12(2): e0171883.
2016 – (Iain McKechnie and Madonna L. Moss) Meta-analysis in Zooarchaeology Expands Perspectives on Indigenous Fisheries of the Northwest Coast of North America. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports doi:10.1016/j.jasrep.2016.04.006.
2015 – (with Sarah W. Kansa & Steve Wolverton) Snapshots of Digital Scholarship in Zooarchaeology: Introduction to the Special Issue Ethnobiology Letters. 6(2):218-223. DOI: 10.14237/ebl.6.2.2015.556
2015 – (with Alan D. McMillan) Investigating Indigenous Adaptations to British Columbia’s Exposed Outer Coast: Introduction to These Outer Shores. BC Studies (187):3–20.
2015 – (Gerald Singh, Iain McKechnie, Todd Braje & Breana Campbell) “All Models are Wrong But Some Are Useful”: A Response to Campbell’s Comment on Estimating Mytilus californianus Shell Size. Journal of Archaeological Science 63(11):160–163.
2015 – (Iain McKechnie, Gerald Singh, Todd Braje & Breana Campbell) Measuring Mytilus californianus: an Addendum to Campbell and Braje (2015) and Singh and McKechnie (2015) including commentary and an integration of data. Journal of Archaeological Science 58(6):184–186.
2015 – (Gerald Singh & Iain McKechnie) Making the Most of Fragments: A Method for Estimating Shell Length From Fragmentary Mussels (Mytilus californianus and M. trossulus) on the Pacific Coast of North America. Journal of Archaeological Science 58(6):175–183.
2014 – (Iain McKechnie, Dana Lepofsky, Madonna L. Moss, Virginia L. Butler, Trevor J. Orchard, Gary Coupland, Fredrick Foster, Megan Caldwell & Ken Lertzman) Archaeological data provide alternative hypotheses on Pacific herring (Clupea pallasii) distribution, abundance, and variability. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA 111(9):E807–E816.
2013 – (with Nicole Smith) Coastal Field Archaeology in Huu-ay-aht First Nation Territory, Southwestern Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. SAA Current Research Online 153(1).
2012 – (Paul Szpak, Trevor Orchard, Iain McKechnie & Darren Gröcke) Historical Ecology of Late Holocene Sea Otters (Enhydra lutris) from Northern British Columbia: Isotopic and Zooarchaeological Perspectives. Journal of Archaeological Science 39(5):1553–1571.
2012 – (Camilla Speller, Lorenz Hauser, Dana Lepofsky, Daniel Peterson, Jason Moore, Antonia Rodriguez, Madonna Moss, Iain McKechnie & Dongya Y. Yang) High Potential for Using DNA from Ancient Herring Bones to Inform Modern Fisheries Management and Conservation. PLoS ONE 7(11):e51122.
2012 – Zooarchaeological Analysis of the Indigenous Fishery at the Huu7ii Big House and Back Terrace, Huu-ay-aht Territory, Southwestern Vancouver Island. In Huu7ii: Household Archaeology at a Nuu-chah-nulth Village Site in Barkley Sound, edited by Alan D. McMillan and Denis E. St. Claire, pp. 154–186. Archaeology Press, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC.
2011 – (with Rebecca Wigen) Toward a Historical Ecology of Pinniped and Sea Otter Hunting Traditions on the Coast of Southern British Columbia. In Human Impacts on Seals, Sea Lions, and Sea Otters: Integrating Archaeology and Ecology in the Northeast Pacific, edited by Todd J. Braje and Torben C. Rick, pp. 129–166. University of California Press, Berkeley.
2011 – (Quentin Mackie, Daryl W. Fedje, Duncan McLaren, Nicole Smith & Iain McKechnie) Early Environments and Archaeology of Coastal British Columbia. In Trekking the Shore: Changing Coastlines and the Antiquity of Coastal Settlement, edited by N. F. Bicho, J. A. Haws and L. G. Davis, pp. 51–103. Springer, New York.
2011 – (with Sarah W. Kansa) Transformations in Digital Communication and Collaboration: Recent Perspectives From Zooarchaeology. SAA Archaeological Record 11(1):10–29.
Google Scholar Profile: https://scholar.google.ca/citations?hl=en&user=3CTtlfYAAAAJ&view_op=list_works&sortby=pubdate
2015 – co-edited with Sarah W. Kansa and Steve Wolverton Digital Zooarchaeology. Ethnobiology Letters 6(2)222–284.