I am an anthropological archaeologist whose research and teaching expertise has focused on the archaeology of hunter-gatherer-foragers, lithic technology, public archaeology, archaeological heritage management, and the use of quantitative methods in archaeology.

I pursue research on public opinion and archaeological heritage preservation at the regional and national level in Canada, and the history of policy and legislation relating to archaeological heritage management.

My interests in archaeology of hunter-gatherer-foragers and lithic technology have allowed me to participate in a range of fieldwork projects in northwestern Canada (British Columbia, Northwest Territories), northern China, and Kenya.

I have a long-term interest in the archaeology of montaine and intermontaine Northwest North America that currently focuses on two projects. The first is root resource subsistence intensification in the mid-Fraser River region of the BC Interior Plateau. With colleagues Sandra Peacock (UBC-Okanagan) and Brian Kooyman (U.Calgary) we are studying root harvesting and processing intensification processes, relationships between these processes and climate change, as well as cultural complexity during the past 4000 years. The second major project is the archaeology of the Milliken-Esilao site locality. These sites have been the foundation for chronologies of Northwest Coast archaeology since excavation in the 1950s and 1960s, but have yet to be fully analyzed and published. I have now compiled a database of approximately 120,000 artifacts in the collection; analysis will culminate in a book-length manuscript on the occupation sequence at the locality and its role in the development of regional adaptive patterns.

I am also collaborating with colleagues in China (particularly Qian Yihui, Beijing Normal University) to analyze production organization employed by stoneworkers in early Chinese Bronze Age lithic industries and what aspects (e.g., utilitarian vs. ritual/prestige items) were retained and made and used by Shang society. We are comparing two site assemblages to study the nature and distribution of raw materials utilized, manufacturing techniques involved, and the that role stone tools assumed in early Bronze Age economies in China.

I am developing a research collaboration with the National Museums of Kenya to initiate field research on Acheulean archaeology in the eastern highlands of the country. To date, we have conducted surface mapping and exploratory test excavations at one site in the Kenya highlands, to assemble sufficient background information to initiate further work at this and other highland sites.

Archaeology of hunter-gatherer-foragers; public archaeology; archaeological resource management; lithic technology; quantitative methods, Paleolithic in East Africa.

Pokotylo, D. and A. Mason (2014) “Canada: Cultural Heritage Management.” In, C. Smith (ed.) Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology, Vol. 2, pp. 1103-1107. New York: Springer.

Pokotylo, D. and A. Mason (2014) “Canada: Cultural Heritage Management and First Nations.” In, C. Smith (ed.) Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology, Vol. 2, pp. 1107-1114. New York: Springer.

Mason, A. and D. Pokotylo (2014) Canada: World Heritage. In, C. Smith (ed.) Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology, Vol. 2, pp. 1119-1122. New York: Springer.

King, A., D. Lepofsky, and D. Pokotylo (2011) Archaeology and Local Governments: Perspectives of First Nations and Municipal Councillors in the Fraser Valley B.C. Canadian Journal of Archaeology 35: 258-291.

Pokotylo, D. and A. Mason (2010) “Archaeological Heritage Resource Protection in Canada: The Legislative Basis” In Cultural Heritage Management: A Global Perspective, P. Messenger and G. Smith eds., pp. 48-69. University of Florida Press, Gainesville.

Pokotylo, D. (2007) “Archaeology and the ‘Educated Public’: A Perspective from the University.” The SAA Archaeological Record, May 2007: 14-18.

Pokotylo, D., (2001) Public Opinion and Canadian Archaeological Heritage: A National Perspective. Canadian Journal of Archaeology 26:88-129.

Hanks, C. and D. Pokotylo (2000) “Mountain Dene In Situ Adaptation and The Impact of European Contact on Mackenzie Drainage Athapaskan Land Use Patterns.” Anthropological Papers of the University of Alaska 25(1):17-27.

Pokotylo, D. & N. Guppy (1999) Public Opinion and Archaeological Heritage: Views from Outside the Profession. American Antiquity 64:400-416.

Mitchell, D. and D. Pokotylo (1998) “Prehistory of the Northern (Canadian) Plateau,” in Handbook of North American Indians, Volume 12: Plateau. D.E. Walker, ed., pp. 80-102. Smithsonian Institution: Washington D.C.

Pokotylo, D. and Brass, G. (1997) “Interpreting Cultural Resources: Hatzic Site”, in Presenting Archaeology to the Public: Digging for Truths, edited by John H. Jameson Jr., pp.156-165. Altamira Press.

Holm, M. and D. Pokotylo (1997) From Policy to Practice: A Case Study in Collaborative Exhibits with First Nations. Canadian Journal of Archaeology 21:33-43.

Pokotylo, D. and D. Mitchell (1996) “Early Period Components from the Milliken Site, British Columbia,” in Early Human Occupation in British Columbia, pp. 65-82, edited by R. Carlson and L. DallaBona. University of British Columbia Press, Vancouver.

Pokotylo, D. (1994) “Archaeological Investigations at Vihtr’iitshik (MiTi 1), Lower Mackenzie Valley, 1992,” in Bridges Across Time: The NOGAP Archaeology Project, edited by J.L. Pilon, pp. 171-92. Canadian Archaeological Association Occasional Paper No. 2

Pokotylo, D., and A. Mason (1991), “Public Attitudes towards Archaeological Resources and their Management,” in Protecting the Past: Readings in Archaeological Resource Protection, edited by J. E. Ehrenhard and G. S. Smith, pp. 9-18. CRC Press, Boca Raton

Pokotylo, D. and C. Hanks (1989) “Variability in Curated Lithic Technologies: An Ethnoarchaeological Case Study from the Mackenzie Basin, N.W.T., Canada.” In “Experiments and Observations in Lithic Technology”, edited by R. Maudlin and D. Amick, pp. 49 66. British Archaeological Record International Series 528. Oxford.

Pokotylo, D., M.E Binkley, and A. J. Curtin, (1987) The Cache Creek Burial Site (EeRh l), British Columbia. British Columbia Provincial Museum, Contributions to Human History, 1.

Pokotylo, D. and Froese, P.D. (1983) Archaeological Evidence for Prehistoric Root Gathering on the Southern Interior Plateau of British Columbia: A Case Study from Upper Hat Creek Valley. Canadian Journal of Archaeology 7: 127-155.

Archaeological methods and theory; archaeology of western North America (Plateau and subarctic); cultural resource management; public archaeology; quantitative techniques; lithic technology; ethno-archaeology; paleolithic in East Africa.































































|Associate Professor Emeritus, Anthropological Archaeology

Archaeological methods and theory; archaeology of western North America (Plateau and subarctic); cultural resource management; public archaeology; quantitative techniques; lithic technology; ethno-archaeology; paleolithic in East Africa

Phone: 604-822-2594

Email: david.pokotylo@ubc.ca