Many problems arise when one attempts to define an ethnicity, particularly a past ethnicity with few living descendants. This is the case with the Picts, a people of Celtic descent that lived in Northern England into the European Middle Ages. One of the main problems with identifying the Picts is that they were one of at least five different nations, each with a unique language, which existed contemporaneously in the British Isles. This paper uses a multivariate approach to deal with the issue of identifying the Picts in the historical an archaeological record. In addition to archaeological and historical methods of identification, I examine the linguistic and ethnographic evidence for the existence of the Pictish nation. I conclude that, despite some problems, it is possible to identify the remains of an unique Pictish nation through these methods.

Interpreting the early contact archaeology in southern Ontario usually begins with the assumption that contact with Europeans was an entirely unique experience to Aboriginal people, the impact of which exacerbated by a "profound localism" assumed previously during the Late Woodland. Central to these contact era interpretations of Aboriginal archaeology has been the assumed dominance of European interests and motivations on events and Aboriginal behaviours. Yet these are assumptions that emerge from a distinct conceptual filter: one that sees archaeology interpreted through history. A revised conceptual filter that sees history interpreted through archaeology - archaeology being an oppositional dataset to written records rather than an assumed compliment to them - leads to a very different understanding of the archaeological record. This shift in emphasis and reorientation leave the concept of "contact" to be an oxymoron, and demonstrates archaeological patterns and Aboriginal behaviours to be remarkably consistent with the patterns and behaviours seen archaeologically in previous - and subsequent - centuries.

The Thule Inuit migration eastward from Alaska is one of the great events in the Arctic past, yet many aspects of this process, including its timing, remain unclear. In this paper, we present new dates for the earliest known Thule sites in the Amundsen Gulf / Beaufort Sea region: Nelson River and Washout. This region acted as a "bottleneck" through which Thule migrants would have to pass, and therefore accurate dates for these two early sites have important implications for our understanding of the timing, rate, and nature of the Inuit peopling of the Eastern Arctic.

The relationship between archaeologists and First Nations groups in Canada is an increasing concern and an important issue is whether this relationship can be called a "partnership" in which both benefit. This is a topic discussed in detail by both archaeologists and First Nations, but not from the perspective that I wish to address it. Being a Native North American archaeologist gives me a unique perspective. In the past two years I have worked with several First Nations groups in various archaeological contexts and would like to share aspects of these projects, including what I learned from these experiences. Furthermore, I have an interest in what archaeological encounters other First Nations people have had, and will include a preliminary look at these experiences.

Until about two decades ago, brightly coloured, variegated chert toolstones observed in the Maritimes prehistoric archaeological record were generally assumed to have been acquired by Native people from sources associated with the Jurassic-Triassic (Mesozoic) Scots Bay Formation sediments and North Mountain Formation basalts, exposed on the Nova Scotia side of the Bay of Fundy. More recently, it has become clear that prehistoric Native people acquired some brightly coloured, variegated chert toolstones from sources associated with the Early Carboniferous Mabou Group sediments, exposed around the edges of the New Brunswick Lowlands. Raw materials and finished artifacts of both of these chert types circulated in prehistoric lithic procurement and exchange systems during the Late Maritime Woodland period (ca. 1500 to ca. 500 B.P.). Frequently, artifacts made from both chert types are found in the same archaeological assemblages. Here, we present five criteria-patterns of (1) translucency and (2) variegation, presence of (3) carnelian and (4) strain fractures, and (5) type and scale of infilling silica fabric -for probabilistically distinguishing Carboniferous-associated from Mesozoic-associated chert toolstones using low-cost, low-technology, hand-specimen and microscopic examinations

Archaeological remains of ancient complex societies have traditionally been defined on the basis of visible architectural features, and those of the Maya region are no exception. Even the burgeoning field of household archaeology, considered in the Maya area to be a counterpoint to the excavation of large elite or civic structures, is usually contextualized by reference to the excavation of visibly mounded remains. An expanded spatial methodology - termed as the 'houselot approach' - is employed in this paper to broaden the subsurface data collection capacity of household archaeology. Such an expanded scope is intended to allow more meaningful comparisons between spatially patterned archaeological material and ancient domestic behaviour.

In 1995 excavation began at the Lenape Meadow site in Basking Ridge, NJ; conducted as an archaeological field school open to the general public through the Somerset County Parks Commission and directed by Dr. Alan Cooper. This site consists of a historical component, the cabin of Lord Stirling (a resident of the area in the 18th century), and a prehistoric component. Excavation thus far has focussed on the latter, which dates primarily to the Late Archaic/Early Woodland periods. This presentation will describe the prehistoric findings from this ongoing project of an intact site on the edge of the Great Swamp.

Recent palaeoethnobotanical research carried out at the Clam Cove site in the Minas Basin region of Nova Scotia has added new information to the study of Late Woodland hunter-gatherer groups in this area. Although this small midden site is considered to be in a marginal area, the large clam bed located near the site, and the modest compliment of plant and animal species made this location suitable as a temporary camp during lithic collection trips to Davidson's Cove, a quarry site across Scots Bay. Evidence of previously unknown species to the Clam Cove site, including beech (Fagus grandifolia), poplar (Populus sp.), strawberries (Fragaria sp.) and blueberries (Vaccinium sp.) have been recovered through flotation and charcoal analysis. This information will be compared to habitation sites in the area to gain insight into the movement of people during the Late Woodland.

The customary use of canoes by prehistoric groups can have a pronounced effect on the local and regional archaeological record. Regular manufacture and use of canoes affects not only the kind and distribution of material culture, but is also suspected to have had a profound influence on individual, local and regional economic interactions, social relations and worldview. These effects have important implications for our approaches to seemingly inaccessible landscapes, and might challenge some of our assumptions regarding mobility, site location and classification, organization of labour, and concepts economic risk management. The social significance of canoes is explored through cross-cultural examples, specifically addressing the complex social phenomena that stem from expanded interaction spheres and changes in relative wealth. A general model of canoe-dependent cultures is proposed, presented as a suite of traits that have the potential to affect the archaeological record. This canoe-culture hypothesis is applied to Pitt Meadows, B.C., a unique alluvial environment in Coast Salish territory on the lower Fraser River.

This paper presents the preliminary results of research toward a much larger research work. The information is offered in the hope of deriving suggestions, ideas and comments to guide further work. Throughout the 19th Century there was an extensive trade in bone as a raw material to support a wide array of industries. The bone and cutlery industries are generally well known but these represent some of the smallest users of bone. The bone trade was dominated by the fertilizer, sugar and steel industries. The demand for bone by these industries was so great that the prairies of North America were largely stripped of bone material over the course of three decades coincident with the construction of the transcontinental railways of the United States and Canada. However, the enormous demand for bone neither began nor ended with this orgy of consumption. To answer the demand for bone, garbage dumps, cemeteries, battlefields, fossil deposits and archaeological sites were pillaged on a global scale. The history of the industry will be outlined together with examples of resource locations exploited. The implications of this industry to archaeology will be discussed.

In the summer of 2005, excavations at two sites on the Churchill West Peninsula revealed different aspects of Pre-Dorset occupation in the region. One site, IeKn-12, bore many similarities to the well-known Seahorse Gully site excavated by Nash and Meyer in the late 1960's and 1970's. Though limited excavations revealed only a single feature at IeKn-12, the range of lithic raw materials, tool types, manufacturing techniques and faunal remains showed strong parallels to those at Seahorse Gully. Excavations at IeKn-77 produced a very different picture. While a hearth feature and tool frequencies were similar to those at Seahorse Gully, the occupants of IeKn-77 utilized distinct lithic raw materials and manufacturing techniques. These data indicate functional similarities between the three sites, but suggest that the occupants of IeKn-77 were part of a distinct social network.