Culturally Modified Trees of British Columbia

			B.C. Ministry of Forests
			Abstract for MR091

		Culturally Modified Trees of British Columbia - Version 2.0
		Author or Ministry Contact: Archaeology Branch - BC Ministry of Small Business, Tourism and Culture
		Subject: First Nations
		Series: Miscellaneous Reports
		Other details: Version 2 Published March 2001, Version 1 published October 1998

Abstract

This Handbook in an operational guide to the identification and recording of culturally modified trees (CMTs) in British Columbia. It is designed for resource managers and others interested in documenting these trees. There are many kinds of CMTs in British Columbia. Examples include trees with bark removed, stumps and felled logs, trees tested for soundness, trees chopped for pitch, trees with scars from plank removal, and trees delimbed for wood. Some kinds are common; others infrequent. This Handbook is concerned with the most common kinds of CMTs — those most likely to be encountered in BC’s forests. The Handbook focuses on the CMTs of the Coast where CMTs are frequent and better understood than in the Interior, but Interior CMTs are also discussed. The Handbook also provides background information on CMT dating and CMT protection and management as currently practised in British Columbia.

Definition of CMT
A CMT is a tree that has been altered by native people as part of their traditional use of the forest. Non-native people also have altered trees, and it is sometimes difficult to determine if an alteration (modification) is of native or non-native origin. There are no reasons why the term "CMT" could not be applied to a tree altered by non-native people. However, the term is commonly used to refer to trees modified by native people in the course of traditional tree utilization, and is used as such in this Handbook.