Bootlegging on the Point: Point Pelee and Prohibition, Peterborough, 2008 – S. Taylor Abstract
'Rum running', 'blind pigs', 'speakeasies', and 'gangsters', these are not words that come to mind when thinking of Point Pelee National Park. Indeed, the park, which has produced one of the largest Riviere au Vase phase ceramic collections in Ontario, is associated more with the Western Basin Tradition of the Late Woodland Period. However, during the 2007 installation of a 7 km waterline, it was Point Pelee's more recent past that was brought into focus. Five sherry bottles, 3 still corked and full, were discovered buried under an asphalt road. Analysis of the bottles, their contents, and archival research seems to suggest that this find may be part of a Prohibition era (1920-1933) bootleg shipment, stashed underground for later retrieval. And although nearby Middle Island, which is part of Point Pelee National Park, has a direct connection with the Prohibition era, these bottles could be the first evidence to directly link Point Pelee to rum running.
Beyond the Strandlines: A Possible Paleo-Indian Presence at Healey Falls, South-Central Ontario, Peterborough, 2008 – Michael Teal , Brian Ross , and Cesare D'ANNIBALE Abstract
Relatively recently, a number of possible Paleo-Indian artifacts were identified at Healey Falls on the lower Trent River section of the Trent-Severn Waterway. Although the artifacts were recovered from a disturbed area of the site, along with later Archaic and Woodland period material, they have great potential for providing new insight into Paleo-Indian settlement research. Unlike most Paleo-Indian sites in Ontario that are situated on glacial lake strandlines near or on lacustrine environments, the Healey Falls site is located within a riverine setting much further inland. Based on its physiographic location, Healey Falls may have served as a strategic hunting location for big game, as a reliable fishing station, or, as it did in later years, as a portage for travellers wishing to bypass the falls on one of Ontario's oldest transportation corridors connecting the Lake Huron / Georgian Bay and Lake Ontario basins. Perhaps of greatest importance is the clue Healey Falls provides on where new Paleo-Indian sites may be found in Ontario.
The Archaic Lithic Assemblage from the West Burleigh Bay Site: an analysis of the technological constraints of a Middle Trent Valley metasedimentary t, Peterborough, 2008 – Janice Teichroeb Abstract
The recovery of thick, irregularly flaked, asymmetrical tools manufactured on non-chert toolstone at the West Burleigh Bay site is consistent with other Northeastern Archaic sites that have observed increased use of local toolstone and dramatic changes to the appearance of flaked tools. After 8000 BP projectile points throughout the Northeast exhibited a noticeable decline in refinement and morphological sophistication. It has been suggested that changes in appearance are the result of a decline in skill and effort expended to manufacture the tools. In contrast, research conducted on the West Burleigh Bay assemblage suggests the ability to manufacture a bifacial tool on poor quality material may actually represent enhanced knapping skill. Additionally, while the quality of the local toolstone certainly contributed to the asymmetrical appearance of the completed tools, morphologically similar tools were manufactured on fine grained, isotropic cherts, suggesting an alternative reason for the form observed. This paper summarizes the results of the lithic and petrographic analysis of the local metasedimentary toolstone and considers the rationale for the use of this material during a discrete period of the Archaic.
Headstone Weathering at Cemeteries in Central Oxford, UK, Peterborough, 2008 – Mary J. Thornbush Abstract
All types of weathering (physical, chemical, and biological) were evident on limestone headstones in the churchyards of St Peter in the East (at St Edmund Hall College, University of Oxford), St Mary Magdalen, and St Giles Churches in central Oxford. Weathering features included exfoliation such as spalling along bedding planes, dissolution features such as pitting, and biological features associated with insect nests and lichen growths. These were observed close-up under a hand-lens and photographed (using a "photoscope" field technique). Oxford cemeteries sampled in this study were noticeably weathered, perhaps due to air pollution (from combustion) in the city centre.
Seriation of Headstone Motifs in Three Oxford Churchyards, Peterborough, 2008 – Sylvia E. Thornbush Abstract
This preliminary study for a doctoral research thesis addresses the changing motifs on headstones in three churchyards in Oxford, England. Among these were St Peter in the East (at St Edmund Hall, University of Oxford), St Mary Magdalen, and St Giles churchyards. The aim was to conduct a photographic survey of headstones to document a) headstone dimensions and shapes, b) motifs, c) introductions, and d) epitaphs. Only motifs will be considered here. All headstones in this study were composed of limestone. There were a total of 110 out of 278 (or almost 40%) of headstones with years still legible. Temporally constrained seriations show the use of different headstone motifs, which are evident due to changing fashion trends; the economic status, age, occupation, or religious affiliation of the deceased in these churchyards.
Working with Indigenous Communities on the Archaeology of Contested Lands, Peterborough, 2008 – Peter TIMMINS Abstract
This paper reviews and reflects upon the author's role as a professional archaeologist in recent archaeological projects conducted with and for First Nation communities in Ontario. All projects involve contested lands or landscapes that are the subject of negotiations between the state and First Nations. The paper discusses the variable role of the archaeologist, relationship building with First Nation communities and reconciling archaeological and indigenous concepts of site significance.
Something to Grind Your Teeth Over: House Affiliation as a Factor in Maya Dental Modification, Peterborough, 2008 – Andrew D. Wade Abstract
Dental modification by the Maya, often referred to as dental mutilation, has been the subject of much speculation since its discovery. Treatments of dental modification in the study of the Maya region have focused on the testing of such factors as age, sex, socio-political status, and religious affiliation. It has been suggested by Williams and White (2006) that social/political affiliation, perhaps along the lines of polity or lineage, is a contributing factor to modification. This paper presents a test for correlations between styles of dental modification and group affiliation in terms of the house system proposed by Gillespie (2000a, b), through the analysis of spatial and temporal trends. In addition to examining the distribution of particular styles in time and space, this paper will also discuss problems inherent in the Romero (1970, 1986a) style classification system and the utility of a new system of classification based on stylistic elements.
Caribou Inuit Traders of the Kivalliq, Peterborough, 2008 – Matthew D. Walls Abstract
In 1717 A.D., the Caribou Inuit of the Kivalliq, Nunavut were introduced to the Fur Trade through the Hudson Bay Company. It has been previously posited that between that time and 1900 A.D., the Caribou Inuit were drawn out of a traditional subsistence pattern and into an economy that was a part of a world system. However, the actual process of how trade goods and technologies were incorporated into Caribou Inuit society by the Caribou Inuit themselves has received little attention. Using a combination of archaeology, archival history, and oral history to examine the profiles of specific individuals, this paper demonstrates the importance of Caribou Inuit families that acted as intermediaries between their culture and European trade in the process of Caribou Inuit economic transition during the early historic period.
Six Nations Farming, Peterborough, 2008 – Gary Warrick Abstract
Six Nations farming on the Grand River in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries is examined through archaeology, historical documents, ethnography, and oral tradition. The distinctive characteristics of traditional Six Nations farming, such as the maize-beans-squash triad, swidden system, field size, shape, and location, farmstead layout, crop yields, and contribution of farm produce to the diet are summarized and compared with those of earlier times. The influence on Six Nations farming from the introduction of European crops and domestic animals, horse ploughing, fenced and fixed fields, and farmstead layout is discussed. It is clear from the archaeology, historical records, ethnography, oral tradition, and contemporary views and practices that Six Nations farming has persisted almost unchanged for several hundred years, resisting colonial efforts to Westernize it.
Of one mind: against form/substance imperatives in Iroquoian pottery analysis, Peterborough, 2008 – Christopher M. Watts Abstract
There can be little doubt that our understanding of Iroquoian pottery has benefited from the growth of regional taxonomies, an increase in rigorous quantification methods and advances in various conceptual approaches to design (e.g., grammar, symmetry, and the chaîne opératoire). Despite these developments, a pervasive and insidious thread of Cartesian thinking – that potters impose preconceived form upon inert substance – remains axiomatic, both in the Northeast and beyond. In this paper, I consider Early Ontario Iroquoian pottery within a relational field – as something which comes into being through an agential manifold that implicates and transforms both pot and potter. I argue that while 'mental templates' contribute to the outcome of pottery production, these do not prefigure design to the exclusion of material forces. Moreover, that these contributions play themselves out within experiential settings, including those shaped by nascent village life, ultimately engenders I suggest the regularities we detect in Early Ontario Iroquoian pottery modes.
Environment, Subsistence, and Politics: A Comparison of Two Late-Terminal Classic Polities on the Southwest Periphery of the Maya Lowlands, Peterborough, 2008 – Dean H. Wheeler Abstract
A comparison of two Late-Terminal Classic period polities in the Upper Grijalva Basin, Chiapas, Mexico, reveals differing subsistence strategies linked to differences in environmental setting. One polity is located in a river valley with ample land amenable to extensive farming techniques. The other polity is situated in a piedmont zone where rugged upland terrain and lack of perennial water sources would have presented distinct challenges to farmers. Agricultural intensification in the piedmont zone may have been an elite political strategy to increase wealth by providing incentives or coercing farmers to attain their full productive capacity.
The 'Grand Cycle' of Life and Death: Body Position as an Extension of Venus Commemoration during the Terminal Classic, Peterborough, 2008 – Lana Williams , and Christine White Abstract
Specific variations in body position for burials found at Lamanai and other coastal Maya sites suggest a strong association with 'watery underworld' figures. These figures are also seen in Maya iconography as representing underworld gods and Venus identities related to commemoration during the Terminal Classic and Postclassic. The temporal and spatial extent of the burials are unknown and require further investigation to better understand their purpose and reflection of spiritual ideology among the ancient Maya. A new approach to understanding a possible ideological shift associated with these mortuary practices is explored using archaeoastronomy and spatial analysis.
Unsolved Mysteries of New Brunswick Archaeology: Selections from the George Frederick Clarke Collection, Peterborough, 2008 – Cora A. Woolsey , Anne E. Thornton , Christian C. Thériault , Kristine A. Roesler , Ramona A. Nicholas , Angus Morrison , Sarah E. Little , Kenneth R. Holyoke , and Sarah C. Durham Abstract
Over the course of half a century, avocational archaeologist Dr. George Frederick Clarke (1883-1974) amassed, through surface finds and excavation, a collection of artifacts spanning approximately 8000 years of New Brunswick archaeological history. The 2700 artifacts in his collection were recently donated to the University of New Brunswick by the Clarke family. Honours students in archaeology are conducting preliminary research into a selection of these artifacts. Here we present research directed toward fulfilling UNB's commitment to the Clarke family — to use the collection for public promotion of New Brunswick and First Nations' heritage. Each student has chosen an artifact to analyze, placing it in geographical and chronological context, and considering material, manufacture, and function. The artifacts selected are a low-fired ceramic sherd, a ground-slate gorget, a unifacial end-scraper, a bi-pointed biface, a bifacial scraper, a flaked and ground stone axe, a clay tobacco pipe, a flaked-stone drill, and a bulbous plummet.
Home, Home on the Rez: First Nations Household Archaeology, Peterborough, 2008 – Eldon Yellowhorn , and Simon Solomon Abstract
The household is the most basic unit of analysis for studying production and family life. Domestic spaces define their inhabitants, who internalize and reproduce the broader culture. Historic archaeology in First Nations is an underappreciated mode of examining the struggles of aboriginal families who made the transition from traditional ways of life to the lifestyle mandated by governmental and religious institutions. This paper reports on the excavations conducted on the Piikani First Nation. It chronicles the balance made between tradition and modernity in one Indian family confronted with a fluid cultural environment. Elements from the old culture remain visible at the same time that a new culture emerged in their household. One family's experience provides some insights about the challenges for a community settling into a farming life on the Peigan Reserve beginning in the late nineteenth century.
Akikpautik in the Reconciliation of Worldviews about Archaeological Research, Toronto, 2006 – William Allen Abstract
This presentation provides a case study about Akikpautik, an ancient Indigenous sacred site, fishing and sugaring location on the Ottawa River at Chaudiére Falls. Nineteenth century development has left substantial industrial period archaeological remains on the cultural landscape here, proof of abrupt alteration of the former use of the land and water. The author, as historian and practitioner of Indigenous Archaeology (IA), is working extensively with revered spiritual leader, Dr. Elder William Commanda of Kitigan Zibi, a dynamic descendant of a long line of distinguished ancestors. In search of details about the history and context of Akikpautik, IA is useful. It recognizes both the strengths and limitations of conventional archaeological research, but is open to gleaning site documentary evidence from such sources as wampum, oral tradition, nuances of linguistics and the relationship between the land under study and traditional sacred ceremonies and gatherings. One result of using IA in researching Akikpautik may be growth toward a reconciliation of differing worldviews about the scope of Stage 1 archaeological research, the pre-excavation stage which treats detailed documentary research of the land.
In Search of Commodore Walker, Toronto, 2006 – Patricia Allen , Alice R. Kelley , Frances L. Stewart , and Dominique Bérubé Abstract
In 1763, shortly following the last events of the Acadian Expulsion in Nova Scotia, former British privateer Commodore George Walker settled on the tip of Alston Point, Nepisiguit Harbour, in Baie des Chaleurs near modern Bathurst, New Brunswick. From all accounts, Walker carried on a thriving fishing, trading and shipbuilding station at Alston Point until the place was destroyed in 1777. Currently, beach erosion, recreational and other human activities have buried, altered or destroyed much of the Points heritage potential. In 2003, the Province of New Brunswick, the City of Bathurst, and the University of Maine, sponsored a Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) survey and archaeological testing project to verify the Walker connection. In one area, GPR identified an unusually compact buried soil horizon that proved to be cultural. Testing in 2005 identified two cultural levels one of which had mid 18th century ceramics associated with bone food refuse. Combined, the geophysical and archaeological test results appear to have located an undisturbed portion of George Walker's 18th century establishment.
Trade and Exchange in the Nuuk-Area, West-Greenland, Toronto, 2006 – Martin Appelt , and Mikkel Myrup Abstract
From the early historical sources on Greenland it is apparent that long-distance trade and exchange were important strategically means to on the one hand ensure a wide access to geographically restricted resources and on the other to maintain and develop social ties that among others were crucial in times of need. The Steatite Objects Analyses Project (S.O.A.P.) 2005 - 2007 focuses on the two main articles that were traded out of the Nuuk-area in early historical times, namely steatite and caribou skin. During the project we will highlight the "life-histories" of both these products and the social systems and circumstances that brought the products to life. With the knowledge gained from the combination of archaeological, historical and geochemical analyses of the historical material we will then try to move back in time to analyse the likely palaeo-Eskimo exchange systems along Greenland's West coast.
Correlations between Oral Traditions and Archaeology during the Middle Period on the Northern Mainland Coast of British Columbia, Toronto, 2006 – David ARCHER Abstract
The Middle Period (3500 - 1500 BP) was a crucial one in the culture history of the Prince Rupert area with major developments occurring in almost all aspects of life. Although several attempts have been made to account for these changes, as yet no consensus has been reached on the causal factors involved and their relative weight. To advance the discussion, several researchers have begun to work with the rich body of oral traditions passed down by the indigenous groups of the region. When carefully analyzed, oral traditions provide a record of past events that were of enduring cultural importance. As such, they form a natural complement to the archaeological record. The challenge lies in the process of integrating the two sources of historical information within an absolute chronological framework. This paper offers an update on the process with particular attention to settlement data recently gathered within the Dundas Island Group.
Agents as Cultural Motivators, Toronto, 2006 – Jordan J. Ardanaz Abstract
In this presentation, I shall discuss the concept of agents, in groups or as individuals, as motivators for cultural change. I shall propose an ideological scheme that is fit for understanding the cultural influence that an agent may have expressed in the archaeological record. I will infer that by understanding the agent within the context of a macro-system, yet simultaneously being subject to unique microcosmic biases, he or she may have been able to express and diffuse non-discursive information into a social system that may have influenced its cultural representations. Furthermore, I will explore the need for a methodological approach, involving a stylistic and spatial analysis of cultural materials, from which we may attempt to understand the extent of an agent's diffused biases.
The Metepenagiag Heritage Park project, Part I, Toronto, 2006 – Madeline Augustine Abstract
Metepenagiag Mi'kmaq Nation is undertaking the development of Metepenagiag Heritage Park (MHP) with the primary objective of protecting and presenting the national significance of Augustine Mound and Oxbow National Historic Sites of Canada - two of the most outstanding archaeological sites in Eastern Canada. This presentation will explore the history and development of the park, and the relationships that have developed between archaeologists and the community of Metepenagiag.
Shell Remains and Prehistoric Shellfishing in Prince Rupert Harbour, Northern British Columbia., Toronto, 2006 – Joan Banahan Abstract
Although vertebrate remains such as those of salmon, sea otter, deer and sea birds are relatively abundant in midden sites in Prince Rupert Harbour, invertebrate remains are by far the dominant fauna at sites in this area, and shell remains are often the primary component of midden deposits. However, invertebrate remains at sites around Prince Rupert have received little attention, and prehistoric shellfishing as an important and organised economic activity in the harbour area has not been considered. Emphasising in this paper the capacity of shell remains to inform us about settlement, subsistence, and household organisation on the Northwest Coast, I discuss ethnographic and ethnohistoric information on aboriginal shellfishing practices in Prince Rupert Harbour and in other areas on the Coast, and I present and discuss new (preliminary) data on size, abundance and variability of shell remains from column samples at four prehistoric middens in Prince Rupert Harbour.
Dorset Inner Bay Settlement And Subsistence as Seen Through Rattling Brook 1 (DgAt-1)., Toronto, 2006 – Stuart K. Barnable Abstract
Dorset Palaeo-Eskimo warm season sites are poorly understood. This paper focuses on the investigation of a Dorset summer season site, known as Rattling Brook 1, located in the inner region of Notre Dame Bay, NL. Recent excavations of both a structure and the surrounding features of the site, situated at the mouth of Rattling Brook, will be used to examine the settlement and subsistence patterns of the Dorset Palaeo-Eskimo in eastern NL. Specifically, this paper will investigate their use of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) as a resource. The paper will also identify the purpose and timeframe of Dorset occupation at Rattling Brook and the reasons for considering this a warm season site. To date, Dorset research in Newfoundland has not been able to identify the full seasonal round of the Dorset. Therefore, the research undertaken at Rattling Brook is capable of expanding our understanding of not only the Dorset, but also seasonal movements.
Bringing Archaeology to the Public: A Kingston Viewpoint, Toronto, 2006 – Susan M. Bazely Abstract
Kingston's past is rich in historical detail, whether it be architectural, political or archaeological. The staff of the Cataraqui Archaeological Research Foundation has drawn upon the archaeological collections from a variety of excavations, and Kingston's museum community to develop public access to the history and archaeology of the area. In addition to school workshops, the Foundation provides a well established summer archaeology program, and utilizes a variety of methods to bring archaeology to the public. These efforts have exposed both the process of archaeology, and an insight into the past, to the public.
Identifying Anthropogenic Deposits in Alluvial Settings, Toronto, 2006 – Kathryn Bernick Abstract
Environmental processes that shaped the landscape throughout antiquity and continue to do so today also affected the archaeological record. This is particularly apparent in alluvial settings. Excavations at the Scowlitz Wet Site (DhRl-16W) in the Fraser Valley illustrate that not all culture-bearing deposits represent in situ materials buried by accumulated sediments. A review of previous investigations at the Sunken Village site (35MU4) in the lower Columbia River region suggests that lack of attention to hydrological processes led to misinterpretation of cut-bank exposures and auger-test results. Addressing cultural questions with data from dynamic environments requires a research strategy that gives primacy to geoarchaeological reconstruction and determination of the stable landforms at the time of occupation.
A Search for the Public Interest in the Cultural Resource Management Industry in Ontario, Toronto, 2006 – Jennifer Birch Abstract
The growth of consulting archaeology in Ontario over the past twenty-five years has resulted in a situation where professional practitioners now undertake hundreds of projects each year. New sites are revealed every day in the cities and neighbourhoods that we live in and the vast majority of these rediscoveries occur without receiving a ripple of acknowledgement in the community. This raises questions about accountability, and it has been suggested that archaeologists have an obligation to public education and outreach. The results of a recent survey undertaken among archaeological practitioners in Southern Ontario suggests that the current system of cultural resource management in this province is lacking in policies and practices that permit meaningful communication with the public.
