Ozette: The North American Pompeii

The Ozette Native American village archaeological site is a different Ozette than that which exists today in Washington State's Neah Bay. This archaeological site is sometimes called the "North American Pompeii" because a number of perfectly preserved artifacts have been discovered there.

Of course, Pompeii is more famous because of the plaster casts of humans and animals in their dying throes and the size of Pompeii. Furthermore, nothing so dramatic or cataclysmic as a massive volcanic eruption took place in Ozette, Washington. However, the mudslide that engulfed seven Ozette longhouses in 1750 was cataclysmic enough for the small Makah Native American whaling village.

The Ozette area had been occupied by the Makah since 400 BCE. It was one of several Makah villages in the area. The tribe continued to live in there until 1917 when white settlers influenced their movement, eventually to a reservation. The reservation is near the La Push reservation in Washington, which was made famous by the Twilight books and films.

In the spring of 1750, a huge mudslide encapsulated seven longhouses (the buildings are exactly what they sound like). The mudslide crushed the houses, but preserved wooden, bone, iron, shell and animal teeth artifacts in and beneath them. The story of the mudslide has existed in Makah oral history since that time, but it was not verified until 1970, when excavations began on the site. Erosion had revealed what was hiding beneath and rumor has it that people were making off with important Native American artifacts. For the next 12 years, Washington State University and the Makah worked to save the artifacts for study and future generations.

More than 50,000 pieces of Makah history were excavated from Ozette. These artifacts are now rightfully held by the Makah at the Makah Cultural Center and Research Center.

Sources

Prehistoric Cultures of North America, retrieved 4/8/11, daphne.palomar.edu/a.s130/site_2.htm

Olympic Peninsula Community Museum, retrieved 4/8/11, content.lib.washington.edu/cmpweb/exhibits/makah/arch.html