Archaeologists love their jargon. Here's a handy alphabetical guide to the most common terms you'll encounter in BC.

AAIF - Archaeological Assessment Information Form: A document required by the BC Oil and Gas Commission for projects related to the transport or recovery of oil or gas.

AIA - Archaeological Impact Assessment: An archaeological assessment conducted under permit, allowing for shovel testing.

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AOA - Archaeological Overview Assessment: An office-based assessment of an area's potential to contain archaeological sites. Unlike a desktop review, these are usually conducted for a large area. They act as both a trigger for archaeological assessments, as well as a guide to focus field work. Most of the existing AOAs in the Kootenays are the product of Mr. Wayne T. Choquette.

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AOP - Area of Potential: An area identified during a PFR as having potential to contain unidentified archaeological sites (see also: HAP).

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APTS - Archaeological Permit Tracking System: The BC Government online application for submitting and managing archaeological permits.

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Arch Branch - BC Archaeology Branch (part of the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations): The regulator of archaeology permits and standards in British Columbia.

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Artifact: An object created or modified by humans. In the Kootenays, these typically take the form of stone artifacts (tools and flakes), FAR, and bone.

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BCAPA - British Columbia Association of Professional Archaeologists: A professional standards body for consulting archaeologists in BC.

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Cultural Depression: The general term for any pit or depression created by humans. These may include house pits, cooking or roasting pits, and cache pits, where food or other items were stored. 

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Debitage: The waste material created through the process of creating stone tools (flintknapping).

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DTR - Desktop Review: A focused desktop assessment of archaeological potential within the scope of a single project.

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FAR/FBR/FCR - Fire-Altered Rock/Fire-Broken Rock/Fire-Cracked Rock: Whichever you call it, FAR is an artifact type defined by distinctive breakage patterns. It is indicative of cooking and hearth activities. Forest fires do not produce FAR.

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Faunal Material: Organic remains of animals (usually bone).

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Feature: A cultural creation that cannot be moved. Examples include pictographs, cairns, stone circles, hearths, and cultural depressions.

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Flake: A piece of debris (debitage) created in the process of making a stone tool, or created to use as a tool itself.

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Flintknapping: The process of creating stone tools through controlled percussive strikes and directed pressure.

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HAP - High Archaeological Potential: An area identified during a PFR as having potential to contain unidentified archaeological sites (see also: AOP).

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HCA - BC Heritage Conservation Act: The legislation governing archaeology in BC, administered by the BC Archaeology Branch.

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Interim Report - Blanket permit interim report: Don't let the name fool you; under a blanket permit, an interim report is the final product delivered to the client (the report is later incorporated into a larger report, with interims from many other projects).

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OGC - Oil and Gas Commission: The OGC regulates most archaeological assessments within Northeast BC, and requires AAIFs for oil and gas related projects elsewhere in the province.

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PARL - Provincial Archaeological Report Library: Online application administered by the BC Archaeology Branch as a repository of permitted reports.

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PFR - Preliminary Field Reconnaissance: A non-permitted field assessment. No shovel testing is allowed, but surface sites and areas of archaeological potential can be identified for avoidance or further inspection under permit.

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Pictograph: Drawings on stone, usually done with ochre. These are always protected in BC, regardless of age, and are considered to have extremely high importance to most First Nations peoples.

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PO - Project Officer: The person assigned by the Archaeology Branch to a specific permit or project.

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Polygon - Archaeological Overview Assessment Polygon: The areas of medium and high archaeological potential identified during an AOA or DTR are referred to as polygons.

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RAAD - Remote Access to Archaeological Data application: A map-based database of known archaeological sites, site forms, and AOA polygons. Though not comprehensive, RAAD is a useful project screening tool.

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RISC - Resource Information Standards Committee: A standardized course for archaeological technicians in BC.

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SAP - Site Alteration Permit: A Permit type under Section 12 of the HCA. This allows for alterations to a known site, usually with an archaeologist monitor.

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STL - Shovel Test Location: An area where shovel tests have been conducted in search of archaeological sites.

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Section 12 Alteration Permit: See SAP.

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Section 14 Inspection Permit: See AIA.

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Shovel Test: A small stratigraphically controlled test pit used to look for subsurface artifacts and features. Placed systematically or judgementally over a landform.

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Site Inventory Section: The section of the BC Archaeology Branch responsible for curating site records in BC.

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Site Form: A form containing details of new and revisited archaeology sites; filled out and submitted by an archaeologist to the Site Inventory Section.