By 1992 over thirty thousand artifacts had been uncovered at Xá:ytem. Amongst these were pebble and large flake tools that would be used for woodworking. Obsidian was also discovered. It is not native to British Columbia and indicates that the Stó:lō people would have traded with peoples as far away as Oregon. Furthermore, the presence of cultural staples of the Stó:lō like ochre and paint stones demonstrate the longevity of these practices. Gaming stones were also found, one smaller ball about the size of a golf ball and one large stone about the size of an ostrich egg. Additionally present were remnants of the Stó:lō diet, like salmon vertebrae, bird bones and mammal bones.
Gordon Mohs speaks to the press (1991)
Gordon Moh’s findings indicate that the building that resided next to the transformer stone was a major settlement five thousand three hundred to five thousand seven hundred years ago. At this time the structure would have stood just off the bank of the Fraser River. There is evidence of occupation up to nine thousand years ago but this era is entirely unknown.
“There was a huge rock there and people built their village around it. They didn’t worship it, but they respected it because of its age. The reason why it is important to me is to teach our families, our young people how old our teachings are… Like when we initiate new dancers into the spirit dancing, we teach them in the old ways. Hatzic Rock is a good example because there was ochre on the floors, ochre we use in the longhouse…people can learn from what was excavated at Hatzic Rock, learn there haven’t been many changes in our lifestyle in the past 6000 years: the food we relied on – we find bones from animals that are in existance today – the salmon, the deer. And the social life you know, and the red ochre … now I can tell my young people, I can say: five thousand or six thousand years ago we had spirit dancing. Our medicine men say spirit dancing was given to us by the Creator so we could survive during the winter; that’s why we only have spirit dances during the winter and it gave us life”
– Chief Frank Malloway, Stó:lō Spiritual Leader (1993)