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2019 Conference Sessions and Abstracts
Thursday May 16, 2019
- Serge Rouleau
Session Abstract
Au cours des dernière décennies, la diminution du recrutement a incité plusieurs communautés religieuses à initier une réflexion concernant leur avenir. Certaines ont vécu une véritable période de transition les menant à réfléchir sur un changement de vocation de leur propriété. Devant ces défis, le potentiel archéologique des sites des communautés fondatrices offre une plus-value indéniable sur plusieurs aspects : meilleure connaissance de l’histoire du site et son identité, compréhension détaillée de son évolution, capacité d’orienter les projets de mise en valeur, commémoration, etc.
La question de la gestion des ressources archéologiques se place donc parmi les enjeux incontournables pour ces propriétés dont le périmètre, pour plusieurs, est demeuré relativement inchangé au cours des siècles. Les présentations des sites institutionnels de Montréal, de Trois-Rivières et de Québec seront abordées sous divers aspects associés à la gestion de ces ressources et leur utilisation.
Presentations
- Louis Gilbert - Artefactuel
Le site du monastère des Ursulines de Trois-Rivières a été classé site patrimonial en 2017, alors qu’il se trouvait en plein cœur d’une démarche visant à lui trouver une nouvelle vocation. En effet, la communauté quittera vraisemblablement dans le courant de l’année 2019 le monastère qu’elle occupe depuis 1701. La décision de classer le site se base entre autres sur sa valeur archéologique, elle-même démontrée par plusieurs interventions échelonnées de 2012 à 2016. Les résultats issus de ces premières véritables recherches archéologiques réalisées sur ce site majeur du patrimoine trifluvien ont révélé des informations inédites qui ont permis de mieux comprendre son évolution architecturale et l’historique de son occupation. Depuis les traces de pas de ses bâtisseurs jusqu’à la sépulture d’une sœur oubliée, à travers les vestiges des bâtiments quotidiens et de ceux où le temps s’arrêtait, les découvertes archéologiques réalisées au site patrimonial des Ursulines-de-Trois-Rivières démontrent l’importance de son potentiel, qui avait été longtemps considéré comme pratiquement inexistant.
- Daniel Simoneau
Au fil des interventions archéologiques qui y furent réalisées, le site du Séminaire de Québec s’est révélé être d’une très grande richesse. Occupé dès les premières années de la colonie, il avait conservé quasi intact un très grand nombre de vestiges exceptionnels tant par leur ancienneté que par leur rareté. À ce jour, ces vestiges ont été préservés in situ mais demeurent à la merci d’éventuels travaux qui pourraient être entrepris sans autres préavis, possiblement dans l’ignorance totale de l’importance de ces témoins, voir même de leur existence. Quels sont ces vestiges et quelle en est la nature? Quelle attitude les autorités devraient adopter face à ceux-ci? Quelles sont les actions qui devraient être entreprises afin d’éviter l’irréparable? La pertinence de ces questions n’a d’égale que l’urgence des réponses qu’elles requièrent.
- Gérald McNichols Tétreault - urbaniste
Au cours des récentes années, la modification des lois touchant la conservation du patrimoine a entrapiné la politisation de la gestion des expertises historiques, archéologiques, architecturales, paysagères et naturelles. Le public s'est désintéressé du patrimoine, au bonheur des intérêts immobiliers fondés sur la prédation des sites. On entend encore les experssions ''contrainte archéologique'' et ''contrainte patrimoniale'' comme des obstacles à la prédation. Le nombre de sites reconnus; l'ampleur, les budgets et la durée des mandats accordés aux archéologues et autres praticiens s'en ressentent. Dans la foulée du néolibéralisme, ce mouvement a guidé le pouvoir politique national et s’est depuis quelques années installé dans de nombreuses municipalités où une nouivelle génération d'élus mal informés a mis de côté le patrimoine et la culture pour se concentrer sur la croissance et l'équilibre budgétaire sans égard à l'appauvrissement de la qualité de la vie collective.
Ce mouvement peut être contrebalancée que par le public, citoyen et électeur si les scientifiques et professionnels prennent soin de partager généreusement leur passion, leurs décovertes et leurs connaissances. Plus que jamais, comme le préconisait l'architecte polymathe Alberti au 16e siècle, les archéologues et autres professions reliées au patrimoine et à l'aménagement doivent entretenir un dialogue interdisciplinaire entre eux d'abord pour ensuite ouvrir ce dialogue au public. Un public éclairé et mobilisé aura toujours l'oreille des milieux politiques.
- Serge Rouleau - Ville de Québec
Les communautés des Ursulines de Québec et des Augustines de l'Hôpital général de Québec sont aux prises avec des choix difficiles concernant leur avenir et l'utilisation de leurs propriétés historiques. Depuis 2010, la Ville de Québec accompagne ces communautés dans leur réflexion. Récemment, cette implication s'est élargie pour prendre en compte le potentiel archéologique de ces propriétés.
La contribution de la Ville de Québec a pris la forme d'une approche de sensibilisation sur le potentiel archéologique de ces sites historiques auprès de ces communautés et des gestionnaires impliqués. La présentation fera état de cette démarche articulée autour de la confection de plans de gestion des ressources archéologiques. À la suite du dépôt de ces documents, des présentations auprès des intervenants responsables ont été effectuées et des inventaires archéologiques préventifs ont été réalisés.
- Nicolas Cadieux, McGill Applied Remote Sensing Lab
Session Abstract
As archaeologists, we are trained to think first and foremost in terms of time dimension.
Yet, continual methodological and technological advances are bringing new dimensions into perspective. The democratization of GIS through OpenSource software, the accessibility of precise GNSS, and progress in photogrammetry, remote sensing, drones and ground-based devices like laser scanners, have allowed 3D space, n dimensional datasets and n dimensional hyperspectral images (HIS) to complement the time dimension. In a science where paper maps and charts still lay on every desk, we will explore how these new dimensions offered by the desktop computer through spatial modeling, point clouds and hyperspectral data cubes can add depth to our knowledge of archaeological sites.
En tant qu’archéologue, la dimension temporelle prend toute son importance.
Toutefois, les progrès du point de vue méthodologique et technologique nous forcent à considérer de nouvelles dimensions. La démocratisation des systèmes d’information géographique (SIG) via les logiciels libres, l’accessibilité des systèmes de positionnement par satellite de haute précision (GNSS), les progrès en photogrammétrie, télédétection, au niveau des aéronefs télépilotés et des relevés au laser 3D permettent d’enrichir l’espace-temps avec la dimension spatiale 3D et les jeux de données et d’imagerie hyperspectrale multidimensionnels. Dans le but de mieux comprendre les sites archéologiques, nous explorons les multiples dimensions offertes notamment par la modélisation spatiale, les nuages de points et les données hyperspectrales.
Presentations
- Simon Paquin - Université de Montréal
- Samuel Seuru - Université de Montréal
- Ariane Burke - Université de Montréal
- François Girard - Université de Montréal
Archaeological surveys use a variety of GNSS receivers (Global Navigation Satellite System) to record the location of artefacts and artefact clusters. Manufacturer’s generally state the accuracy and precision of their devices but do not consider the impact of precision on the ability of the devices to maintain the spatial integrity of clusters of points at scales archaeologists typically work at. Few studies have addressed this issue before now. Yet, this information is critical to assessing how confidently we can interpret “clusters” of artefacts on surveyed archaeological sites and at what scale. With this question in mind, we designed an experiment testing different GNSS receivers of varying cost and advertised accuracy. The experiment was carried out in order to compare the performance of the devices in field-like conditions. We test instrument precision and quantify the shape deformation of clusters of points at 4 distinct spatial scales relevant to archaeological interpretation. Here we set out how the experiment was implemented and present the results of our comparison.
- Anthony Rochon - Université de Montréal
- Alexandre Bisson-Larrivée - Université de Montréal
- Diane Martin-Moya - Université de Montréal
- Isabelle Ribot - Université de Montréal
En sciences humaines, les techniques numériques ont pris une place importante dans les recherches bioarchéologiques au cours des dernières années. L’imagerie 3D, dont la photogrammétrie, est de plus en plus utilisée pour optimiser la collecte de données virtuelles pour affiner les recherches et la diffusion vers le public. Dans le cadre d’une approche préliminaire à la photogrammétrie réalisée durant le premier cycle d’étude universitaire, un premier inventaire anthropologique virtuel a été développé à l’Université de Montréal.
Ces archives numériques ont pour but d’évaluer les possibilités d’intégrer cette méthode dans la formation académique en bioarchéologie. L’acquisition de ces données s’inscrit dans le cadre d’une recherche doctorale en phylogénétique (Diane Martin-Moya sous la direction d’Isabelle Ribot) et des activités de l’équipe ArchéoScience, ArchéoSocial (As2) (anthropologie, Université de Montréal). Cette expérience a permis de tester différents protocoles afin d’optimiser l’acquisition de données sur des collections ostéologiques issues du Laboratoire de bioarchéologie humaine destinées à la ré-inhumation.
Cette présentation a pour objectif d’exposer : ii) les avantages d’intégrer ces compétences au sein d’une formation universitaire préliminaire en bioarchéologie; et iii) les retombées au sein du milieu académique ou professionnel au Québec. La création de modèles numériques présente de nombreux avantages scientifiques, pédagogiques et de diffusion vers le grand public, en plus de fournir un outil d’archivage d’objets archéologiques de haute qualité.
- Diane Martin-Moya - Département d’Anthropologie – Université de Montréal
- Catherine Brun - Département d’Anthropologie – Université de Montréal
- Fabio Negrino - Dipartimento di Antichità, Filosofia e Storia (DAFIST) – Università di Genova
- Julien Riel-Salvatore - Département d’Anthropologie – Université de Montréal
Archaeological excavations are by nature destructive processes, since investigating and documenting past contexts requires paradoxically that archaeologists destroy their initial integrity. With the optimization and accessibility of imagery technologies, it is increasingly possible to digitize a collection of accurate and high-quality datasets that preserve snapshots of a site’s initial structure. In particular, there has been a growing recognition that using photogrammetry is a better alternative than using surface scanners in the field in order to generate photo-realistic 3D models. Photogrammetry is cost effective, replicable and user-friendly. Riparo Bombrini (Liguria, NW Italy) is a small but complex site as a result of successive phases of development of the cliffs at the base of which it is found since the 19th Century. This poses a series of challenges and opportunities for the use of 3D technology. Here, we use the 2018 field season at the site as a case study to test the viability of applying photogrammetry to record the day-to-day evolution of the excavation and to verify the use of adding such datasets to traditional field documentation strategies. It also provides an opportunity to assess the feasibility of applying such methods (acquisition and data processing) by archaeologists and students with no prior 3D modeling experience. Using Agisoft Photoscan, an semi-automated 3D software combined with spatial data, we generated preliminary virtual models that serve two distinct functions: 1) extract detailed information from the excavation (orthophoto) and to generate digital elevation models for GIS and statistical analysis; and 2) improve public outreach.
- Alexandra Lausanne
- Daryl Fedje - Hakai Institute; University of Victoria
- Quentin Mackie - University of Victoria
LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) and LIDAR-derived products such as DEMs (Digital Elevation Models) have emerged in geoarchaeological research as a key tool for mapping landscapes and aiding in archaeological site discovery and interpretation. DEMs and bare-earth DTMs (Digital Terrain Models) can be used to improve the time and efficiency of field surveys. A case study on Quadra Island, British Columbia, utilized these products as important components in an integrated approach to uncovering previously unknown archaeological sites using an archaeological potential model. Palaeo-coastal archaeological sites that are now located at inland and elevated locations were able to be identified by combining: i) geomorphic interpretation of the landscape through LIDAR, (ii) GIS-based archaeological site potential mapping, and iii) local Relative Sea Level (RSL) history. On Quadra Island, the Pleistocene-Holocene RSL shows regression over the past 14,300 years due to post-glacial isostatic rebound. In a period of 50 years, the span of a human lifetime, people in the terminal Pleistocene would have seen the sea level fall up to five meters. By isolating two key elevations (10 m and 30 m above mean sea level), we were able to select two snapshots in time that may represent stillstands in the localized RSL regression. Subsequent archaeological findings suggest that this is a promising integrated methodology for archaeological prospection that can be applied to similar palaeo-coastal settings.
- Nicolas Cadieux - Applied Remote Sensing Lab, Department of Geography, McGill University
- Margaret Kalacska - Applied Remote Sensing Lab, Department of Geography, McGill University
- Andre Costopoulos - Department of Anthropology, University of Alberta
Digital elevation models (DEMs) represent one of the first digital geographical information to be readily available and widely used by scientists. In archaeology, they are frequently employed because they represent a concrete, directly observable reality that humans can relate to: the surface of the planet. Moreover, DEMs allow a vast array of GIS-derived analyses (i.e. slope, shade, aspect, viewshed, path analysis, floods, drainage modelling) that all directly relate to how past and present human beings experience their environments. Since all these models and analyses rely on DEMs, we argue that digital elevation models should not be taken for granted. While they may all look good on the menu, it’s important to recognize that they come in many flavours!
Indeed, researchers navigate the world of geomatics without an awareness that there are multiple DEMs of variable quality to choose from. Since they tend to ignore the DEMs’ qualities and limitations, models are chosen not for their intrinsic qualities or level of precision.
In this study, we evaluated the qualitative and quantitative characteristics of various SRTM-based DEMs. This includes the yet-to-be independently tested NASADEM, coined by NASA as the “finest resolution, global, freely-available DEM products for the foreseeable future”. We also look at the CDEMs (Canadian Digital Elevation Model), ALOS World 3D - 30m, Aster GDEM v.2 model and the TanDEM-X data (© DLR 2017) from the German Aerospace Centre (DLR).
- Richard Lapointe - Expertise laser 3D - iSCAN inc.
Technologies du XXIe siècles pour la documentation technique de sites, de monuments, d’immeubles, d’objets, d’œuvres d’Arts ou de vestiges patrimoniaux, le numérisation 3D et la photogrammétrie aident les professionnels à conserver, transformer, restaurer et mettre en valeur notre patrimoine. Des exemples concrets de différentes techniques employés sur des dizaines de sites, démontrent l’apport important que ces outils apportent pour la gestion, la représentation, la maintenance et la transformation de lieux, de sites, d’espaces, tous uniques, avec leurs intérêts propres.
Multidisciplinaires dans leurs bénéfices, nous tenterons, par un survol rapide, de démontrer les apports techniques d’applications sur des dossiers d’actualité, à la fois en archéologie, en architecture, en ingénierie, en gestion et en muséologie. Technologies du XXIe siècles pour la documentation technique de sites, de monuments, d’immeubles, d’objets, d’œuvres d’Arts ou de vestiges archéologiques, la numérisation 3D et la photogrammétrie aident les professionnels à relever, conserver, transformer, restaurer et mettre en valeur notre patrimoine.
Des exemples concrets de différentes techniques employés sur des dizaines de sites, démontrent l’apport important que ces outils apportent pour la gestion, la représentation, la maintenance et la transformation de lieux, de sites, d’espaces, tous uniques, avec leurs intérêts propres. Multidisciplinaires dans leurs bénéfices, nous tenterons, par un survol rapide, de démontrer les apports techniques d’applications sur des dossiers d’actualité, à la fois en archéologie, en architecture, en ingénierie, en gestion et en muséologie.
- Nicolas Cadieux - Applied Remote Sensing Lab, Department of Geography, McGill University
- Deep Inamdar - Applied Remote Sensing Lab, Department of Geography, McGill University
- Margaret Kalacska - Applied Remote Sensing Lab, Department of Geography, McGill University
- J. Pablo Arroyo-Mora - Flight Research Laboratory, National Research Council of Canada, Aerospace Research Center, Ottawa
- Oliver Lucanus - Applied Remote Sensing Lab, Department of Geography, McGill University
Hyperspectral imagers (HI) collect spectral information (amount of reflected solar radiation) within each pixel of an image (commonly referred to as a hyperspectral image or HSI). From this information, the physical and chemical properties of the materials within each pixel can be inferred. As such, these signatures can be used to detect anomalies such as man-made objects, disturbed soils, and other aspects of a study area that may not be visible to the human eye.
In a HSI, information is not collected with respect to the 3-D structure of the analyzed surface. By fusing HSI with a surface elevation point cloud, it is possible to introduce the 3-D structural information.
The presentation describes a data fusion algorithm to generate a 3D point cloud with integrated spectral information. The algorithm was applied two data sets that were characterized by distinct spatial resolutions. A high spatial resolution example (Mer Bleue Bog, Ottawa, ON) was generated by fusing a surface elevation point cloud (1.6 cm ground sampling distance) generated from UAV a based structure from motion - multiview stereo workflow, with a hyperspectral image that contains 288 bands/channels for each pixel (4 cm).
A lower spatial resolution example (Fort Senneville, Montréal, QC) was generated by fusing a satellite based false color image (1 m) with a LiDAR derived point cloud. These two examples are used to showcase and discuss the potential archaeology applications of the data fusion algorithm.
- Marijo Gauthier-Bérubé, Institut de Recherche en Histoire Maritime et Archéologie Subaquatique & Texas A&M University
Session Abstract
Le Canada bénéficie d’un accès privilégié à l’eau de par son accès à l’océan Pacifique, Atlantique et Arctique en plus de bénéficier d’un important réseau de lacs et rivières qui parcourent son territoire. Cette particularité est au cœur du peuplement du territoire. Ainsi, chaque année, des archéologues mènent leurs projets à travers le pays afin de documenter et analyser le patrimoine maritime.
De par leur nature complexe, les sites archéologiques maritimes sont souvent sous la menace d’une destruction par l’érosion des berges, le développement urbain, les changements climatiques et le pillage. Il importe alors d’autant plus de soulever les différentes problématiques concernant ce patrimoine et rassembler au sein d’une même communauté les différents acteurs œuvrant à sa protection.
Avec cette session, nous souhaitons permettre l’ouverture du dialogue et la collaboration entre les différents centres de recherche et d’intérêts dédiés à la sauvegarde et promotion du patrimoine maritime du Canada.
Canada benefits from a privileged access to water by its proximity to the Pacific, Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, in addition to a complex network of lakes and rivers. These features are central to the human settlement of the Canadian territory. Every year, archaeologists conduct projects throughout the country to document and understand the maritime landscape.
Because of their complex nature, maritime archeological sites are often threatened by erosion, urban development, climate change, and looting. It is important to address the different problematic regarding this heritage and gather the different actors working to preserve it.
This session aims to open a dialogue, along with collaboration between various researchers and others dedicated to protecting and promoting maritime Canadian heritage.
Presentations
- Michael Obie - Trent University
The Kawartha Lakes region of south-central Ontario is dominated by water bodies and rivers, where humans are known to have lived since at least 10,500 years ago only shortly after the retreat of glaciers from the region. Since this time, water levels within the region have changed dramatically as a result of various geophysical, climatological, and human induced phenomenon, leaving modern water levels at a maximum high-stand. The subject of this presentation concerns a cultural assessment of the inundated landscapes around an island within Pigeon Lake of the Kawartha Lakes region in Canada, known as Jacob Island. Using a series of integrated methods, the goals of this research relate to illuminating the nature of the Kawartha Lakes region’s underwater archaeological record and associating specific cultural occupations and land-use strategies with Jacob island’s inundated landscapes.
- Aimie Néron - IRHMAS
À l’automne 2017, un plongeur amateur découvre une pirogue au fond d’un lac en Outaouais. À l'automne 2018, l’Institut de recherche en histoire maritime et archéologie subaquatique (IRHMAS) réalise une première expertise de l’embarcation. Il s’agit de la première pirogue trouvée sur le territoire du Québec qui peut être étudiée dans son contexte d’abandon par des archéologues subaquatiques. Pour l’occasion, l’IRHMAS s’est associé à l’Institut Kenauk, le Centre d’études nordiques (CEN) et avec les Productions Richard Lahaie, le CIEL et le Centre de plongée NEPTEAU. Cette conférence portera sur la présentation des objectifs de recherche scientifique du projet pirogue et des résultats préliminaires de cette première intervention selon les méthodes appliquées à l’archéologie subaquatique au Québec.
- Marijo Gauthier-bérubé - Institut de Recherche en Histoire Maritime et Archéologie Subaquatique
- Vincent Delmas - Institut de Recherche en Histoire Maritime et Archéologie Subaquatique
Visitée pour la première fois en 1980 par une équipe menée par Urbin Corbett, la rivière aux abords du Collège militaire royal (CMR) de Saint-Jean avait révélé un quai daté entre la fin du XVIIIe et du début du XIXe siècle. Pendant de nombreuses années, des artefacts ont aussi été remontés à la surface, démontrant l’important potentiel archéologique de la zone historique du CMR de Saint-Jean. En 2016, un projet de prospection a été mis en place afin de mieux juger de ce potentiel et fut étalé sur trois campagnes, jusqu’en 2018.
Au cours des trois années du projet, la prospection archéologique dans la rivière Richelieu a permis de relever l’emplacement de structures de quai en plus de révéler la présence de vestiges d’un navire. Cette séance présente l’ensemble des résultats du projet et explore les possibilités futures de transformer ce projet en occasion unique de documenter la construction navale de la rivière Richelieu lors de la fin du 18e et début du 19e siècle en plus de contribuer au renouvellement de l’archéologie subaquatique au Québec.
- Érik Phaneuf - AECOM
Hydro-Québec procédait à la réfection des digues appartenant à la centrale des Cèdres aux abords du fleuve Saint-Laurent près de Montréal. Après la découverte d’une anomalie au sonar multifaisceaux située au fond du canal, Hydro-Québec invitait AECOM à se joindre à son équipe de Surveillance Barrages et Robotique Sous-marine Barrages et Ouvrages de Génie Civil et son nouveau véhicule commandé à distance afin d’expertiser une embarcation à fond plat possiblement abandonnée à la fin des travaux de la Cedars Rapids Manufacturing and Power Company“ en 1914. Cette découverte mettait en lumière certaines étapes de la construction de l’aménagement hydroélectrique tout en réaffirmant l’importance de ce type d’embarcation dans les rivières canadiennes au début du siècle dernier.
Hydro-Quebec completed a multibeam sonar survey of the Cèdres Canal before improving the watertightness of the embankment and the headrace dikes of the Cèdres generating station in the St Lawrence River near Montreal. Following the discovery of a possible sonar anomaly, Hydro-Quebec invited AECOM to participate in its expertize. Also, Hydro-Quebec’s underwater robotic surveillance team with its specially built remotely operated vehicle (ROV) conducted the assessment of a small flat bottom craft probably discarded after the construction of the “Cedars Rapids Manufacturing and Power Company“ in 1914. This discovery shed some light in in the way the generating station was erected as well as and re-establishing the importance of this type of flat bottom craft in contemporaneous Canadian rivers.
- Patrick Degrâce
Faisant suite à deux repérages de sites portuaires, en 2017 et en 2018, cette présentation s’articule sur deux plans : la difficulté à identifier des sites dans une région subissant une érosion intense, et la difficulté à protéger ce patrimoine.
Le quai de l’Église de Caraquet : est-il plus ancien que ce que les documents démontrent? Comment interpréter les déchets récents jetés sur le site?
Le quai de village des Poirier : l’exemple même d’un « site fantôme ».
À la fermeture du poste de pêche de la compagnie Robin à Caraquet, en 1958, peu de gens voulaient protéger ce patrimoine. Malgré la découverte de pièces de monnaie du XVe siècle ainsi que de nombreux autres d’artéfacts et de vestiges, aucune protection n’est accordée au site. Pourtant, les découvertes fortuites et l’études des images aériennes démontrent la présence de nombreux autres vestiges.
Le cas du complexe Fruing du Goulet : comment se fait-il que les artéfacts du site soient si anciens? Peut-on y faire un parallèle avec les sites d’autres compagnie de pêche, par exemple celui de la compagnie Robin à Paspébiac? Comment allier protection de l’environnement et protection du patrimoine dans ce site unique au monde?
- Rebecca Dunham - Parks Canada
- Heather MacLeod-Leslie - Kwilmu'kw Maw-klusuaqn Negotiations Office
Archaeology in coastal environments is uniquely challenging these days, thanks to climate change. Heritage management demands frequently pit the best of archaeologists’ intentions against an unpredictable schedule, the need for responsive, multidisciplinary teams and the mobilization of solutions to problems the full range of which we are still learning. In an effort to support the work of our archaeological colleagues working in the coastal environment, this paper documents some of the resources that experience has taught us are necessary for planning, response and solution design. We term the basic information requirements, your WEMEW. Once you have your WEMEW, you can plan a solution suitable to the unique situation that each site represents. We will layout the way to develop and use your WEMEW to protect sites and make long term, sustainable plans to meet the challenges of heritage management along eroding, submerging coasts.
- Marijo Gauthier-Bérubé - Institut de Recherche en Histoire Maritime et Archéologie Subaquatique
- Vincent Delmas - Institut de Recherche en Histoire Maritime et Archéologie Subaquatique
- Daniel Laroche - Institut de Recherche en Histoire Maritime et Archéologie Subaquatique
- Aimie Néron - Institut de Recherche en Histoire Maritime et Archéologie Subaquatique
La création de l’Institut de Recherche en Histoire Maritime et Archéologie Subaquatique (IRHMAS) s’inscrit dans un mouvement visant à mieux connaître, protéger et mettre en valeur les richesses maritimes du Québec et du Canada. L’application de mesures de protection et de gestion offertes par les lois et règlements fédéraux et provinciaux existants contribue déjà à la protection de plusieurs ressources culturelles telles les épaves de navires, mais il reste beaucoup à faire, car le patrimoine submergé est peu connu. L’IRHMAS a donc été créé pour identifier, comprendre et révéler ce patrimoine.
Œuvrant depuis 2016, l’IRHMAS vise à approfondir les connaissances en histoire maritime et archéologie subaquatique en s’investissant à la fois avec des institutions de recherches, des institutions muséales et les communautés locales. Au cours des dernières années, les chercheurs de l’IRHMAS ont agrandi leur sphère d’interactions et mènent maintenant plusieurs projets de front avec différents partenaires.
Ces réalisations ne sont pas sans défi. En plus de développer et d’œuvrer au sein de normes de plongées scientifiques canadiennes, l’IRHMAS développe son expertise professionnelle pour répondre aux besoins des intervenants gouvernementaux et autres responsables publics et privés. Cette présentation souhaite donc présenter l’évolution de l’IRHMAS depuis 2016 et apporter des réflexions sur le développement de l’archéologie subaquatique sur le territoire du Québec.
- Catherine Cottreau-Robins and Barry Gaulton
Session Abstract
Dr. Michael Deal has enjoyed a long and fruitful career in archaeology. His retirement in August 2018, after 33 years of dedicated teaching and university service at Memorial University of Newfoundland, provides a fitting opportunity to reflect upon and recognize his achievements. The papers in this session, presented by colleagues and former/current students, pay homage to the breadth and scope of Mike’s research interests. From the Archaic shoreline of the Annapolis River to the Mexican highlands and the airfields of Gander, Mike has studied the full range of prehistory in the Maritime Peninsula and beyond, influencing regularly the fields of pre-colonial archaeology, ethnoarchaeology, paleoethnobotany, industrial archaeology and aviation archaeology. Join us as we celebrate a remarkable contribution to Canadian archaeology.
Presentations
- Helen Kristmanson - Government of Prince Edward Island
In 1988 Dr. Michael Deal initiated the Minas Basin Archaeological Project in Nova Scotia. What began as a three year archaeological survey soon developed into a long-term research program in the Minas Basin area. During this time Mike provided hands on learning opportunities for many archaeology students, including me, his second Master of Arts candidate. In this paper I trace Mike’s influence in my own career trajectory from pre-contact earthenware ceramics to the intersection of archaeology, Indigenous rights, policy, and the politics of recognition.
- Bryn Tapper - Memorial University of Newfoundland
The Algonquian rock art of the Canadian Maritimes comprises a rich corpus of petroglyphs that contributes to our current understandings of Mi’kmaq and Wolastoqiyik cultural life in the past. Significantly, some of the petroglyphs document the Indigenous perspective of colonial contact, the impact of that contact and the adaptations made; critically, the petroglyphs also demonstrate the persistence of an enduring Indigenous cultural memory.
Building on a programme of survey and conservation initiatives undertaken during the 1970s-80s, a comparative analysis of the technical, iconographic and narrative content of the petroglyphs aligns the corpus with both the pre-and postcontact rock art traditions of neighbouring Algonquian-speaking peoples in the Northeast. Ongoing analysis using computational photography, principally Highlight Reflectance Transformation Imaging and photogrammetry, have revealed the existence of previously unrecorded imagery, provided details relating to petroglyph manufacture techniques, and aided the identification of superimposition sequences in some palimpsest panels.
- Lisa Daly - Independent Researcher
While not the first to conduct aviation archaeology in Newfoundland and Labrador, Dr. Michael Deal focused on the topic over the past few years. This presentation proposes to examine the work he has conducted in Newfoundland and Labrador aviation history and archaeology. His work has influenced others to explore the province’s aviation and modern conflict archaeology, including developing new methodologies for recording and analysing terrestrial aviation crash sites, researching the infrastructure associated with aviation, and working with the public to preserve these sites. This presentation will briefly look at future work coming out of Memorial University, and additional research being done across Canada.
- Barry Gaulton - Memorial University of Newfoundland
Acknowledging Mike’s interest in the archaeology of small-scale industries in Atlantic Canada, this paper explores the evidence for early industry at the colony of Avalon in Ferryland, Newfoundland between 1621 and 1629. Established by Sir George Calvert, this English settlement’s economic lifeblood was grounded in the cod fishery; however, the first years also saw attempts at other industries including timber extraction, mineral exploration and assaying for precious metals, slate quarrying, salt making, and hemp and flax cultivation. At the same time, the growing colony required infrastructure for the small-scale production of dietary staples such as bread and beer. Structural hardware, tools, and fishing implements were also made on-site at the colony’s forge, operated by two blacksmiths. Some of these fledgling industries proved unfeasible or unnecessary beyond the first few years of settlement, whereas others continued until ca. 1640 when Ferryland’s new proprietor Sir David Kirke altered the colony’s operations.
- Meghan Burchell - Memorial University
- Ian Predham - Memorial University
- Marisa Dusseault - Memorial University
- Kristin Poduska - Memorial University
Coastal shell middens are rich archives of cultural and environmental records, and the re-analysis of existing collections has unlimited potential to address questions regarding long-term human interactions with the ocean. In recent years, micro-analytical techniques, including stable isotope analysis, have been widely applied in the North Atlantic to understand long-term climatic signals and seasonality of shellfish collection; however, the full potential of these methods has yet to be applied in archaeological practice in the Canadian North Atlantic. We present the design for a multi-proxy approach to the re-analysis of existing shell midden collections, with an emphasis on Port Joli Harbour, Nova Scotia (2150-3560 cal B.P.) By analyzing the organic and inorganic components of marine shell, the precision and resolution of seasonality interpretations, sea surface temperature reconstructions and radiocarbon dates can be improved while simultaneously investigating long-term histories of hunter-fisher-gatherer subsistence practices.
- Anita Johnson-Henke
Dr. Deal’s interests are diverse, and he embraces new ideas in archaeological research. He is the first archaeology professor at Memorial University to supervise a project in the intertidal zone. Rising sea levels are responsible for the loss of ancient coastal sites world wide and the Beaches (DeAk-01) multicomponent site is suffering this fate. The site preserves evidence of six prehistoric cultures including the Maritime Archaic, who were the first inhabitants on the Island of Newfoundland. A gravel terrace marks the remains of the site and earlier excavations demonstrated that peat separated anthropogenic strata. One peat deposit capped an exclusively Maritime Archaic anthropogenic horizon one to two metres below the surface of the terrace. Four core samples were extracted, and fourteen test pits were dug in the intertidal zone to reconstruct the site when the Maritime Archaic were present, and to reassess the peat stratum that previous researchers discovered. An additional peat stratum was revealed 3.82 metres below sea level (BSL). This paper is a summary of our research at the Beaches site, in Bonavista Bay.
- John Andrew Campbell - Memorial University of Newfoundland
As the Principal Investigator of the Boswell Archaeology Project, Dr. Michael Deal has led archaeological excavations at the Boswell Site (BfDf-08) on an intermittent basis from 2011 to 2018. The Boswell Site, located along the meandering shorelines of the Annapolis River in South Farmington, Nova Scotia, has focused on new perspectives of Ancestral Mi’kmaw lifeways during the Transitional Archaic Period – Mu Awsami Keji’kewe’k L’nuk (4,100-2,700 BP) and subsequent Woodland Period – Keji’kewe’k L’nuk (3,000-450 BP). Excavations led by Dr. Deal present unique perspectives about the stratigraphy of riverine sediments and alluvial soils, along with riparian recovery methods of eroded contexts. The analysis of diagnostic artifacts and ceramic remnants, in conjunction with paleoethnobotanical and radiocarbon dating analyses, has enhanced understandings of the Transitional Archaic and Woodland periods on the Maritime Peninsula. Recently developed chronologies of the Boswell Site as well as a regional synthesis of chronologically and culturally affiliated sites based on previous pXRF lithic identification analysis will be presented.
- Heather MacLeod-Leslie - Kwilmu'kw Maw-klusuaqn Negotiations Office
Michael Deal has made many notable contributions to the discourse and discipline of archaeology in Canada's Atlantic Provinces. In Nova Scotia, those contributions, diverse and many, make distinct and significant contributions to the Mi'kmaw Nation in Nova Scotia's work to have their rights and title recognized and to revive, promote and protect a healthy Mi'kmaw identity. This paper will recognize some of those specific contributions that Michael Deal's work has made as a field archaeologist, a palaeoethnobotanical researcher and as a teacher. As the Senior Archaeologist for the Kwilmu'kw Maw-klusuaqn Negotiations Office of the Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi'kmaq Chiefs, the author, a former graduate student of Deal's, enjoys a unique opportunity to appreciate and build on those contributions. This paper will highlight Deal's leadership as well as his continued scholarship and collegiality as an important figure for archaeologists and Mi'kmaq in the region.
- Emma Lewis-Sing - Memorial University of Newfoundland
For almost three decades, Memorial University of Newfoundland’s Archaeology Unit (now the Department of Archaeology) offered an ‘Introduction to Palaeoethnobotany’ undergraduate course taught by Dr. Michael Deal. Students were instructed in macrobotanical recovery and interpretation through hands-on flotation and microscopic identification of specimens from never-before analysed archaeological sediment samples. Excavations at the archaeological site of Ferryland (CgAf-02) in the 1990s and early 2000s provided numerous samples for this course, including those collected from hearth features associated with a 16th-century Beothuk occupation. This paper presents the reconciliation of 20+ years of palaeoethnobotanical data with recent analyses of sediments from these Beothuk contexts in an attempt to present a consolidated interpretation of the Beothuk deposits at Ferryland. Intermingled are reflections on my research as Mike Deal’s final MA student, and how getting to know him at the end of his career at MUN was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
- Holly Martelle, TMHC
- Matthew Beaudoin, TMHC
- Joshua Dent, TMHC
- Charles Orser Jr., TMHC
Session Abstract
The archaeology and study of communities, families and individuals of African descent is generally under-represented within the Canadian context. This lack of research is especially apparent when compared to the significant amount of research conducted within the United States. The differing social and political histories between the countries has resulted in a bifurcation in the emphasis on Black histories and narratives. While this bifurcation has manifested in differing emphases in general, it also masks differing social experiences of the time that would have had significant impact on the lived life of the time. For example, in many instances the 19th-century Black settlements in Canada were planned communities that were geographically distinct from earlier pre-emancipation contexts, whereas the sites in the United States often have a larger time-depth which often acts to complicate the continuity and change through that period. The purpose of this session is to bring Canadian researchers together to highlight what has been completed to-date and what are the valued research contexts/questions going forward.
Presentations
- Matthew Beaudoin - TMHC
Introduction
- Catherine Cottreau-Robins - Nova Scotia Museum
It is agreed that within the field of historical archaeology in Canada, the focus on African-Canadian archaeology sites and associated subject matter has been thin. As a result, considerable challenge remains concerning building interest in the sub-discipline and promoting specialization within Canadian university graduate programs. This paper reviews efforts over 30 years in Nova Scotia to create awareness and develop interest in the African Nova Scotian past through archaeological fieldwork and research. Upon reflection and despite the challenges, much has taken place over the decades within the small province. Research topics have ranged from the arrival of enslaved individuals through the eighteenth century, including the Black Loyalist migration, to War of 1812 Black Refugee settlement landscapes and early twentieth-century marginalized communities on the periphery of urban centers. However, it is a recent spirit of collaboration and community-driven, interdisciplinary partnership that has sparked an exciting model which holds promise to take African-Nova Scotian archaeology to the next level. Information sharing and public engagement is critical to success. Momentum building and guidance at the community level is key.
- Heather MacLeod-Leslie
To understand those who have come before us, we must read the records of their lives using the clearest lens. Archaeologies of African Diaspora in the United States, Caribbean and South America apply, as a standard theoretical framing tool and often unarticulated, an Africentric interpretive perspective – one that recognizes the rich, complex and unique cultural heritage of African Diaspora peoples as African-descended as well as Black. Archaeological investigation of the African Diaspora in Atlantic Canada is quite nascent, with Nova Scotia as home to the greatest number of professional archaeological studies thus far. In an effort to encourage understanding of the African Diaspora identity and membership of Black Canadians’ long history and culture here, this paper will present an Africentric interpretation of the mound complexes in Birchtown, Shelburne County, Nova Scotia. This paper will highlight some important features and examples of Africentric archaeological study and encourage further studies to more fully explore and understand the African Diaspora heritage of Canada.
- Sara Beanlands - Boreas Heritage Consulting Inc.
Archaeology is not just about recovering artifacts and the debris of past lives, it is also about recovering meaning. When space has meaning attached, it becomes an authentic place, thus providing historical context and greater understanding of a cultural environment. Preserving the physical elements of the past is important – but so is preserving its historical memory. Yet, because many of these historical places represent aspects of heritage that are less material in nature, there is little to help us preserve the memory of meaningful places that have, over time, become seemingly empty spaces. There are numerous lakes in Nova Scotia that were traditionally used as places of baptism for local African Nova Scotian communities. Interestingly, most communities seem to have had their own baptism lake where people gathered for social and spiritual exchanges that contributed to the identity and sustainability of these communities. Indeed, these places reflect the culture, beliefs, values and world view upon which these communities were built – the very things archaeologists struggle to uncover and define. This paper will discuss the value of mapping, recording and integrating these democratically defined public spaces into the greater archaeology of historic African Nova Scotian communities.
- Holly Martelle - Timmins Martelle Heritage Consultants Inc.
This paper discusses the engagement of African Canadian Descendants and communities in archaeological projects throughout Ontario, focussing on work undertaken within the cultural resource management sector over the last 15 years. Its purpose is twofold. First, it is intended to highlight just how little has been done in African Canadian focussed archaeology in Ontario. Our need to address this significant gap in archaeological knowledge is dire given that many of the earliest areas of Black settlement have been already been destroyed or are under threat of new development. Second, using examples from projects completed primarily by Timmins Martelle Heriage Consultants Inc., it hopes to bring awareness to the wealth of opportunities available for such work that emerge from bringing archaeologists and Descendants together and harnessing their shared passions for the preservation and exploration of historical pasts.
- Nicole Brandon - Timmins Martelle Heritage Consultants
In 2015 Timmins Martelle Heritage Consultants Inc., under the direction of Infrastructure Ontario, excavated a block in The Ward, an area of downtown Toronto once home to immigrants seeking a better life. Hundreds of thousands of artifacts were recovered. Among the many unique finds was the porcelain bust of a Black doll. Dolls depicting persons of colour are rare. Furthermore, such dolls were either depicted as exaggerated stereotypes of Africans or, in the case of porcelain faces, made from molds for White dolls, resulting in brown-complexioned Caucasian dolls. The Ward doll is particularly special because she is neither a grotesque caricature nor a blackface doll – she is African, and she is beautiful. The doll has become a symbol of the Black presence in 19th-century Toronto. She is a tangible link to the Black families who built a community while forging a path to the future. This exceptional artifact raises a multitude of questions about her manufacture, sale, and her place in history. This paper seeks to explore some of these questions and contextualise her story. Please note this paper contains offensive language and imagery.
- Matthew Beaudoin - TMHC
The identification of 19th-century Black settlement sites in Ontario is a difficulty process that currently relies on in-depth background research. This paper discusses the recent work conducted by TMHC on the Little River settlement near Windsor, Ontario. This community was a planned Black settlement community established by the Colored Industrial Society in the mid-to-late 19th-century. This paper discusses the archaeological work and background research that has completed to date to tease apart the sites that are associated with early Black settlers from later French settlers. This paper emphasizes some of the archaeological difficulties in identifying site affiliations based on material culture, while also discussing how the integration of the material culture and historic research can recover significant forgotten narratives.
- Joshua Dent - Timmins Martelle Heritage Consultants Inc.
The archaeology of Early Black Settlements in Ontario and the Maritimes is a growing field with important Descendant community and public archaeology components, but what about elsewhere in Canada? This paper examines the current state, or rather absence, of Black archaeology in Western Canada (British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan). Through site inventory queries, site inventory form analysis and regulatory policy review, this paper addresses the various structural factors potentially affecting the formation of this distinct field of archaeology. Black Settlements and Homestead sites, identified through historical research and queries to local experts, are presented to demonstrate that the substantive potential for this field’s expansion into Western Canada.
- Thomas McGovern - CUNY
- Grace Cesario - CUNY
Presentations
- Paul M. Ledger - Memorial University of Newfoundland
- Véronique Forbes - Memorial University of Newfoundland
The UNESCO World Heritage site of L’Anse aux Meadows in northern Newfoundland is the only accepted site of pre-1492 presence of Europeans in the Americas. In August 2018, we undertook fieldwork to sample a naturally accumulating column of peat to use in a high-resolution multi-proxy assessment of the environmental impacts of Norse settlement at L’Anse aux Meadows. Instead, we encountered a new cultural horizon located 30 m east of the Norse ruins. Here we report our fieldwork at this iconic site and a Bayesian analysis of legacy radiocarbon data, which contrast with previous conclusions and suggest the Norse settlement may have endured for up to a century. In light of these findings, we reflect on how the new cultural horizon and its floral and faunal content may relate to indigenous and Norse activity at L’Anse aux Meadows.
- Paul Adderley - University of Stirling
- James Woollett - Laval University
- Najat Bhiry - Laval University
- Guðrún Alda Gísladóttir - Institute of Archaeology, Iceland
- Uggi Ævarsson - The Cultural Heritage Agency of Iceland
Climate is commonly invoked as the major force in determining landscape use during the early years of the Norse settlement of Iceland. In contrast, the later post-settlement period is increasingly understood from excavation and analyses of the material culture associated with farming practices, as well as literature-based and geomorphological perspectives. While climate evidence provided by regional proxies such as ice-core data interpretation is increasingly and readily available, the linkage from these data to patterns of landscape use and management remains largely speculative based on long-term correlations between climatic shifts and past regional economies. Such changes typically have multi-decadal timeframes such that the decision making of individual farmers remains unexplored. In this paper we seek to address this scale and in doing so approach an archaeology of weather.
A site-specific approach examines homefield areas – areas of intense management – across a set of farm-sites on the Svalbarð estate, North East Iceland with novel high-temporal resolution instrumented analysis of above- and below-ground temperature and moisture conditions. Using a combination of scaling methods and hindcasting, this study reveals land management practices were used to moderate soil temperatures and hence homefield productivity. This enables a new view on how past farming communities were able to adapt and to maintain landscape productivities during year-to-year changes in weather patterns.
- James Woollett - Université Laval, Centré d'études nordiques
- Céline Dupont-Hébert - Université Laval, Centré d'études nordiques
- Guðrun Gísladóttir - Fornleifastofnun Íslands, Iceland
- Uggi Ævarsson - Minjavörður Suðurlands, Iceland
This study contrasts the settlement and landscape histories of two neighboring farm sites in Thistilfjord, NE Iceland. Research conducted by the Archaeology of Settlement and Abandonment of Svalbarð Projecthas determined that both sites were settled in the late 10thcentury AD in what was likely the initial wave of Viking-era settlement of the region. These sites appear to have been the most favoured sites in their vicinity as they both had access to a mix of terrestrial and marine resources and long histories of persistent settlement lasting into the modern era. Nevertheless, Svalbarð and Hjálmarvíkhad much different histories; Svalbarð became a church farm and the center of a sprawling estate while Hjálmarvík shrank from a middle-rank farm into a tenant farm around AD 1300 and again afterwards into an outlying fishing, herding and grazing station belonging to Svalbard. Zooarchaeological analyses of animal remains from middens of these two sites define clear changes in the subsistence economies of Svalbarð and Hálmarvík, notably regarding the relative importance of herding and dairying and the manner in which marine resources were appropriated at these sites. The diminishment of Hjálmarvík at circa. AD 1300 was accompanied by a large-scale transfer of access to the marine resources that had formerly sustained Hjálmarvík, to Svalbarð. At the same time, a specialised sheep-herding economy was installed at Hjálmarvík, for which the coastal farm was poorly equipped.
- Christian Koch Madsen - Greenland National Museum & Archives
The Norse that settled in Greenland between c. AD 985-1450 depended greatly on local to regional Arctic marine resources for both subsistence and oversees trade. However, the practical and social organization around this marine economy have only left a limited imprint on the archaeological record, which today appears dominated by evidence of terrestrial farm- and shieling activities. The Winter is Coming Project (WiCP) considers long-term Norse settlement, organization, and land- and sea use in environmentally marginal parts of the Greenland settlements. Initial findings suggest that the Norse living in such areas adjusted their farming and land use strategies to exploit their advantageous access to Arctic marine resources, i.e. becoming “marine farms.” Initially at least, this adaptation appears to have been successful and probably enough to mitigate the first negative effects of the "Little Ice Age" beginning in the 13th century. The study thus aims to outline complex ecodynamics across varying spatiotemporal scales-from single feature to regional settlement patterns-to outline a long-term historical ecology of medieval Norse settlement in Low Arctic Greenland.
- Elie Pinta - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne / UMR 8096
The search for Arctic commodities led the Medieval Norse to the edge of the known world. Starting around the first half of the 9th century A.D, populations from Norway and the British Isles settled the North Atlantic islands. In the Faroe Islands, Iceland or Greenland, the Norse kept strong cultural, economic and political relationships with mainland Europe. For people whose originally come from Northern Europe, trees and timber are an essential part of their landscape, mythology and material culture. In the poorly wooded landscapes of the North Atlantic islands, they still managed to rely on wood and timber as a fuel source, a construction material for homes and boats, and in the production of tools and objects.
In this paper I will present a methodology which has proven useful providing answers as to the provenance of wooden materials used by Norse Greenlanders. In addition to using locally available timber, archaeological and historic sources have proven that the Norse also relied on imported materials, although it is still difficult to assess to which extent or how to identify areas of origin of these resources. Furthermore, there is a possibility that the origins of the timber used in the Norse Settlements could have differed according to aspects such as location, trade patterns or political connections between each area of settlement. Native, drifted or imported, wherever the timber used by Norse Greenlanders might have come from, the sea provided them with the materials they needed.
- Lísabet Guðmundsdóttir - University of Iceland
The demise of the Norse colonies in Greenland in the 14th and 15th centuries have long been debated with most explanations revolving around isolation and harsh environmental conditions. This led to the collapse of the Norse settlement since they were not able to adapt to these environmental changes. The demise of the Norse colonies is most likely more complicated picture and therefore necessary to look at it from more angles. Wood was one of the most important recourses used for housebuilding, boats, tools, vessels and fuel. It has been assumed that the Norse were reliant on import and had inadequate access to wood resources. Until now no systematic research has been carried out to throw light on this matter. Wood assemblages from two sites in Eystribyggð are being identified to get the discussion about wood utilistation on firmer grounds, the episcopal see at Garðar (Igaliku) and middle status farm Ø172 in Vatnahverfi. Both sites have produced thousands of wooden artefacts, off-cuts, chips and twigs which will support inferences about where the Greenlanders got their wood, whether there was a lack of this resource and how the wood use changed as the climate got colder and harsher. Today climate change is threatening arctic sites with good woord preservationLi and it is quite clear that as climate gets warmer this material group is under great threat. It is therefore necessary to get as much information about wood use before it is too late.
- Seth Brewington - Lehman College, CUNY
Marine fishing has long played a critically important role in the subsistence and market economies of the Faroe Islands. While the earliest historical documentation for fishing in the islands dates to the 14th century CE, archaeological evidence for earlier periods has until recently been extremely limited. In this paper I present archaeofaunal evidence for the role of fishing in the Faroes from the 9th to 13th centuries. This evidence suggests an early focus on gadids, particularly cod (Gadus morhua), some of which was likely air-cured. An apparent decline in fishing in the 12th and 13th centuries coincides with the transition to a more terrestrially-focused domestic economy, and an increased emphasis on sheep farming and wool production. The available data thus suggests a significant contrast between the Faroe Islands and typical contemporaneous Icelandic sites, where an increasing demand for local exchange and foreign export of dried fish drove an intensification of marine fishing.
- Hans Christian Küchelmann - German Maritime Museum, Leibniz Institute for German Maritime History, Bremerhaven, Germany
- Florian Dirks - German Maritime Museum, Leibniz Institute for German Maritime History, Bremerhaven, Germany
Central aim of the project is the extraction of marine environmental history data from historical documents and archaeozoological fish remains. The project draws on research undertaken from 2015-2018 within the research project "Between the North Sea and the Norwegian Sea - Interdisciplinary studies of the Hanseatic League" at the German Maritime Museum Bremerhaven. During this project a large amount of historical documents concerned with the 15th – 17th century trade of the Hanseatic League with the North Atlantic islands (Iceland, Shetland, Faroes) kept in archives in Northern Europe have been identified, transliterated and made publically available in a database (HansDoc). The documents contain lots of marine environmental history data particularly about Gadidae species, which were subject of the large-scale stockfish trade. Additionally, we aim to mine the evenly extensive historical sources on Hanseatic herring trade. Another focus of the previous Hanse project were fish remains from archaeological sites related to Hanseatic trade. There is now a complete inventory of all Gadidae bones recovered from sites in Germany and these can be used to address further research questions like provenance identification, geographic and diachronic distribution and development patterns, etc. using morphological, osteometrical and biomolecular analyses.
These data will form a valuable part in international research and approaches to reconstruct and restore past marine ecosystems like e.g the History of Marine Animal Populations Project (HMAP), the Oceans Past Initiative (OPI), the Northern Seas Synthesis Project or the European Marine Strategy Framework Directive.
- Michele Hayeur Smith - Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology, Brown University
This paper will focus on women, subsistence and cloth recycling in Norse societies of the North Atlantic. Various estimates have been given for the amounts of time required for processing and producing both wool and cloth in the North Atlantic, as well as for the amounts needed by households over the course of seasons, years, or other spans of time. In this paper production times involved in spinning and wool consumption rates will be discussed. These have direct implications for subsistence and household organization in Norse Greenland. With these figures in mind, how did Norse women meet their textile needs in a cooling climatic environment, and with changes in hunting and subsistence patterns? One way was to resort to cloth recycling, as an extensive practice found across the North Atlantic.
- Kenneth Holyoke, Doctoral Student, University of Toronto
- Gabriel Hrynick, Assistant Professor, University of New Brunswick
Session Abstract
Northern New England and the Atlantic Provinces of Canada (loosely defined here as the Far Northeast) have seen recent archaeological syntheses of the Palaeoindian and Archaic periods, but not yet such a consideration of the last ca. 3000 years. In the Eastern Woodlands broadly, unified taxonomic notions of “Woodland” have drawn increasing scrutiny as attributes such as horticulture, village formation, mortuary ceremonialism, and various technologies now appear to have developed less synchronously than once thought, and archaeologists have increasingly illuminated sub-regional and diachronic variability. The Far Northeast deserves particular attention because it has long occupied a unique—if at times, marginal—position in Woodland discourse, starkly signaled by taxonomic dissimilarity; but how different is the Ceramic/Maritime Woodland period, Recent Indian period, or Woodland period in the Far Northeast in terms of archaeological history than elsewhere in the Northeast? And how much sub-regional and diachronic variability was there in the most recent period of prehistory in the Far Northeast? This session includes both topical and regional papers that consider questions of culture change in the Far Northeast, especially studies that are situated within these broader concerns.
Presentations
- Kenneth Holyoke - University of Toronto
- Gabriel Hrynick - University of New Brunswick
From our vantage, the Maritime Peninsula, the Woodland period (ca. 3000 BP to contact) presents an image of interregional and sub-regional diversity and diachronic change that would have been hard to identify a few decades ago. However, it remains a fuzzy image, and one that is being actively wiped away by contemporary issues of sea-level rise and development. Recent research and the aggregation of data at scales ranging from the domestic to the inter-regional raise questions about how the Maritime Peninsula fits in the Far Northeast, the Northeast, and the Woodland concept. In this paper we use the Maritime Peninsula to explore questions, themes, and developments about this crucial period in the Far Northeast.
- Helen Kristmanson - Government of Prince Edward Island
- Erin Mundy - Government of Prince Edward Island
The archaeological research reported here began in October 2006 as part of a broader Mi’kmaq-led initiative to conserve and protect the ecological and cultural resources of Hog Island and the Sandhills in western Prince Edward. At the invitation of the Mi’kmaq Confederacy of PEI the project began with a small team of First Nations representatives who teamed up with us to conduct a foot survey of Georges Island and the Hog Island Sandhills. Our shared objective was to identify and create a record of archaeological sites in the study area and to this day we continue to partner on this community oriented project. In this presentation we will provide an update on the Pitawelkek site (CdCw-5) which has been the focus of our research.
- John Andrew Campbell - Memorial University of Newfoundland
In 1973 and 1974, archaeological investigations conducted by Dr. Jim Tuck of Memorial University, in conjunction with The Canadian Museum of Civilization, recovered a fascinating array of artifacts and ecofacts on Prince Edward Island – Epekwitk. Among these collections is the previously unreported Canavoy Site (CcCq-1[9]) collection which ranges from the Archaic Period – Mu Awsami Saqiwe’k (9,000-4,000 BP) to the presence of Historic Mi’kmaq – Kiskukewe’k L’nuk (1000-250 BP). Although contextual documentation is limited, this reanalysis will explore regional connections within the Far Northeast. By reanalyzing these collections through the lens of Etuapmunk, or “Two Eyed Seeing”, the narratives presented through materiality unveils certain activities and practices of Ancestral Mi’kmaw lifeways which speaks to continuity between the archaeologically arbitrary division of the Woodland – Keji’kewe’k L’nuk (3,000-450 BP) and Historic – Kiskukewe’k L’nuk periods. Furthermore, this reanalysis will present the diachronic exploration of “historical gravity” and the importance of re-examining previously excavated archaeological collections.
- Arthur Anderson - University of New England
In 1605, Champlain described an Almouchiquois village along the Saco River estuary in Maine, which he named Chouacöet in his account and chart. Recent work at the site has complicated archaeological narratives of the site as a contained Protohistoric village, instead suggesting more varied settlement over several thousand years. This work highlights the fact that equivalencies drawn between the archaeological record of the Protohistoric and European accounts can be tenuous. This work will be presented alongside a reassessment of the later Ceramic and Protohistoric period of coastal Southern Maine, an area in which cultural associations with areas to the north and south are only tentatively understood, both ethnohistorically and archaeologically.
- Claude Chapdelaine - Université de Montréal
Abstract. Archaeological data support the participation of the Eastern Townships in the Meadowood interaction sphere during the Early Woodland, probably through the connexion between the St. Lawrence Valley and the Saint-François River. It is however during the Middle Woodland with the integration of pottery decorated with the pseudo scallop shell decoration that the region seems more intensively occupied. During the Late Woodland, there is no indication of major changes in the settlement pattern, the lithic network and certainly not in the use of ceramic vessels. Contact with the St. Lawrence Iroquoians is limited. A nomadic way of life was maintained during the whole Woodland Period and cultural continuity will be addressed. The material culture, mostly ceramics and lithic tools and debitage, will be discussed as well as the major lithic sources to provide a better picture of the Woodland groups of the study area.
- Julia Gustafson - University of Southern Maine
- Nathan Hamilton - University of Southern Maine
The North Atlantic acts simultaneously as a barrier and way of passage for the human settlements that border it. Entire cultures have risen out of the dynamic relationship between humankind and the sea. The archaeological record from the shore of the North Atlantic establishes the importance of interdisciplinary research within the physical and biological sciences. Increasingly ecofacts associated with diagnostic cultural deposits are being utilized as proxy for past environmental and climatic conditions, notably the Little Ice Age (AD 1300-1850). Our research is focused on four themes that co-opt data from published excavations on coastal sites from 40° south to 70° north latitude and extending from the northeastern United States to Northern Europe. These themes include sea-level position and trajectory of rise during the Holocene, Carbon 13/ Nitrogen 15 isotope analysis to understand human and animal diet from the marine and terrestrial ecosystems, DNA of human and non-human populations for adaptation and movement over time, and general landscape configuration. The data sets vary significantly but in combination offer strategic approaches to the theoretical and practical use of archaeological landscape data in several of the world’s most productive and complex marine ecosystems. This presentation is concentrated on notable New World sites of the United States and Canada from the past 3000 years. Data from Smuttynose Island, Gulf of Maine is presented throughout our research to highlight the importance of integrative and collaborative analysis methods and to emphasize critical environmental threats facing coastal heritage sites at present and into the future.
- Allan Wolfrum - Graduate Student, Memorial University
- Scott Neilsen - Assistant Professor, Memorial University
Archaeological, geomorphological and geophysical investigations undertaken sporadically between 1998 and 2018 – on the Ushpitun landform (FhCb-12) north of the community of Happy Valley-Goose Bay in Upper Lake Melville, Labrador – have resulted in the identification and recovery of stone tools, pit and cobble combustion features, and paleoenvironmental traits associated with the period between ~2900 and 2300 cal BP. Each investigative method and outcome is discussed in reference to its potential effectiveness in archaeological research in this region of the Boreal forest, and to contribute to knowledge of the nebulous (post-Archaic) Intermediate pre-contact period in Labrador. The critical discussion of these multi-disciplinary methods and the identified archaeological traits also allows for comment on topics related to cultural resource management practices in this region – such as the identification of site boundaries, and the potential connection between archaeological cultures across the Far Northeast, during the period in which the Ushpitun landform was utilized.
- Catherine Cottreau-Robins - Nova Scotia Museum
This research project uses in-situ non-destructive laser ablation inductively-coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICPMS) to compare trace metal concentrations in copper artifacts from pre-contact sites in the Maritime Peninsula (Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Maine), to natural copper samples from geological sources in Michigan, Ontario, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and the western and eastern regions of the Bay of Fundy. The objective of the research is to determine the provenance of copper artifacts relative to source regions. Upon review of over 5200 analyses obtained from over 460 copper artifacts, a consistent observation has been the contrasting composition of Lake Superior copper and Bay of Fundy sources, with the latter showing much higher zinc and much lower arsenic concentrations. In fact, a Bay of Fundy provenance is explicit for many artifacts analyzed. Importantly, no artifacts have chemical compositions consistent with Lake Superior sources. The results establish the importance of local (Fundy) copper to pre-contact period Indigenous peoples of Nova Scotia and the Maritimes, negating the Lake Superior model. Furthermore, recognition of distinct eastern and western Fundy copper provenance within the artifact collection has significance in the broader context of territorial procurement of copper and trade relationships.
- Ellen Cowie
- Gemma-Jayne Hudgell
- Robert Bartone
- Nancy Asch Sidell
- Frances Stewart
- Karine Taché
- Aida Romera
Archaeological investigations along the Missisquoi River in the Champlain Lowlands of northwestern Vermont have provided a wealth of data on Native American lifeways, particularly during the Late Archaic and Woodland periods. Along a stretch of the river in Swanton, archaeological deposits document trends in subsistence and settlement through virtually the entirety of the Woodland period. Zooarchaeological data from dozens of cultural features suggest a heavy reliance on fish throughout the Woodland period, while complementary paleobotanical evidence documents changes in bottomland forest vegetation associated with adoption of maize agriculture and domesticated Chenopodium berlandieri (chenopod) as well as harvesting of wild rice and blueberries. Ongoing lipid analysis by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry of visible and absorbed residues recovered from ceramic pots representing the full span of the Woodland period will be compared with the existing data to determine if these established subsistence patterns are further confirmed, or perhaps new patterns emerge.
- Evan Mann - CUNY The Graduate Center
- Karine Taché - CUNY Queens College
- Roland Tremblay - Ethnoscop Inc.
- Aida Barbera - CUNY The Graduate Center
The recovery of ceramic fragments north of the St. Lawrence Lowlands can no longer be coined anecdotal and is thereby challenging the long-held assumption that nomadic hunter/gatherer populations of the Eastern Subarctic greatly rejected or ignored pottery technology. Here we present the combined results of typological, technological, and residue analysis of recent ceramic data collected from the High Laurentian region of Québec, Canada. While questions surrounding the origins, production, and use of these containers abound, their intensive investigation utilizing the latest bio- and geochemical methods can shed new light on old dishes. This work is part of a larger research project investigating how Northern Algonquian populations negotiated their identities through foods and foodways in the face of inter-societal contact and technological innovations.
- Christian Gates St-Pierre, Université de Montréal
Session Abstract
Résumé: Cette session bilingue propose de jeter de nouveaux regards sur les Iroquoiens du Saint-Laurent à partir de travaux récents menés au Québec, en Ontario et dans l’État de New York. Les communications présentées dans cette session offriront une grande diversité d’approches conceptuelles, de méthodes d’analyse et de thématiques de recherche visant à mieux comprendre cette grande nation iroquoienne. Certains proposeront aussi des réflexions plus personnelles sur l’impact social de leurs recherches sur des enjeux contemporains. C’est donc à la fois le dynamisme et la pertinence sociale des recherches actuelles sur les Iroquoiens du Saint-Laurent qui s’exprimeront à travers les propos des participants.
Abstract: This bilingual session proposes to take a fresh look at the St. Lawrence Iroquoians based on current studies conducted in Quebec, Ontario and New York State. The papers presented in this session will offer a wide variety of conceptual approaches, analytical methods and topics to better understand this great Iroquoian nation. Some will also offer their personal thoughts regarding the social impacts of their research on more contemporary issues. Therefore, it is both the dynamism and social relevancy of the current research on St. Lawrence Iroquoians that will be expressed through the participants' presentations.
Presentations
- Susan Dermarkar - University of Toronto
Nonlocal, or ‘foreign’, pottery first appeared in significant numbers on Iroquoian village sites of the central Lake Ontario north shore early in the fifteenth century. This was a period of expanding long distance interaction and trade throughout the north east. The number and diversity of these ceramics increased markedly in the later part of the century. With this florescence came the emergence of two unique ceramics within these practice communities; a north shore version of the St. Lawrence Durfee Underlined vessel type and an everted lip jar form reminiscent of the Haudenosaunee Otstungo Notched type. This paper explores the social significance of the appearance, rising popularity, and demise of these and other nonlocal tradition ceramics at the Keffer site and across north shore Iroquoia.
- Jonathan Micon - University of Georgia
- Jennifer Birch - University of Georgia
- Louis Lesage - Huron-Wendat Nation
In this paper, we consider how Iroquoian-speaking groups in the St. Lawrence Valley negotiated their peripheral position vis-à-vis groups in Ontario through dynamic networks of social relatedness and connectivity. We propose that flexibility in categories of social relatedness allowed persons and groups originating in the St. Lawrence Valley to establish relationships of kin- and clanship with neighboring communities during the late precontact and early contact eras. We then use this framework to analyze data related to the relocation and incorporation of populations from the St. Lawrence Valley into neighboring communities during the late fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Data on the distributions and frequencies of characteristic St. Lawrence artifacts on the Joseph-Picard, Parsons, Kirche and Benson sites in Ontario, Canada are utilized to demonstrate the scale of population movements and processes of connectivities and incorporations. We argue that flexibility in categories of biological and fictive kinship (e.g., lineages, clans, nations) allowed St. Lawrence communities to establish and maintain cross-regional relationships with neighboring communities prior to their relocation. Using recent social network analyses as an interpretive frame, we argue that these kin-based networks facilitated the incorporation of St. Lawrence newcomers into established Huron-Wendat social and settlement structures in the sixteenth century. As such, we argue that interpretive frameworks that explicitly incorporate categories and institutions of relatedness combined with material culture analyses can shed new light on the movement of Iroquoian groups from the St. Lawrence valley and their influence in the emergence of political confederacies in the Lower Great Lakes region.
- Timothy Abel - SUNY-Canton
Recent Bayesian modeling of new high-precision AMS dates has caused me to rethink many aspects about the Iroquoian occupation of northern New York. The manifestation is now firmly dated between AD 1450-1520 with no good evidence for developmental precursors in the region. This mere 70-year period must now accommodate more than 50 village components, meaning dual village settlement for many of the clusters now seems likely. For the ceramic seriation to be true, one of the cluster sequences must be reversed, having significant implications for Wendat ethnogenesis. Finally, while their dispersal from northern New York remains complex, it must be rethought considering the new chronology. In this paper I’ll lay out some of these thoughts for consideration, along with some evidence to support them.
- Christian Gates St-Pierre - Université de Montréal
Le site Isings est un village iroquoien du XIIIe ou XIVe siècle situé à Saint-Anicet, en Montérégie. Il s’agit du plus ancien établissement sédentaire et agricole connu à ce jour au Québec. Cette courte communication présente les objectifs du projet de recherche à long terme sur ce site unique, ainsi qu’un résumé des découvertes de la première saison de l’École de fouilles du Département d’anthropologie de l’Université de Montréal durant l’été 2018. Elle met aussi la table à la présentation d’un film documentaire réalisé par un des stagiaires d’origine autochtone et intitulé Trous de mémoires.
- Pier-Louis Dagenais Savard - Université de Montréal
À travers l’oeil et le discours introspectif d’un stagiaire Wendat, cet essai audiovisuel est une réflexion libre sur l’école de fouilles préhistoriques de l’Université de Montréal. Le site Isings, lieu de transmission du savoir archéologique, se révèle sous un angle des plus personnels.
- Marie-Ève Boisvert - Université de Montréal
- Christian Gates St-Pierre - Université de Montréal
- Suzanne Needs-Howarth - Perca Zooarchaeological Research, Toronto, Canada
En présentant des données inédites issues de l’analyse de la collection d’os ouvragés récupérés sur le site Quackenbush, situé dans la région des lacs Kawartha, nous espérons contribuer à l’amélioration des connaissances concernant les modes de production de l’outillage en os des populations iroquoiennes du Sylvicole supérieur. Dans l’optique de documenter les différences et similitudes technologiques entre des assemblages iroquoiens, nous privilégierons une approche comparative, où le site Quackenbush, possiblement occupé par des Hurons-Wendat ancestraux, sera comparé au trio de sites villageois des Iroquoiens du Saint-Laurent de la région de Saint-Anicet (McDonald, Droulers et Mailhot-Curran). Une attention particulière sera accordée au choix de la matière osseuse transformée, aux techniques de fabrication (chaînes opératoires), ainsi qu’aux styles et fonctions des outils en os analysés. Ce faisant, cette étude contribuera à obtenir une meilleure compréhension et contextualisation des systèmes techniques et culturels de ces communautés.
- Claire St-Germain - Ostéothèque de Montréal, Inc.
- Michelle Courtemanche - Ostéothèque de Montréal, Inc.
La région de Saint-Anicet recèle plusieurs sites archéologiques témoignant de la présence des Iroquoiens du Saint-Laurent. Ces sites ont livré des centaines de milliers de restes squelettiques provenant de divers vertébrés. Les assemblages fauniques des sites McDonald (circa 1350 de notre ère), Droulers (circa 1475 de notre ère) et Mailhot-Curran (circa 1524 de notre ère) ont fait l’objet d’analyses qui ont permis de dresser un portrait des activités halieutiques et cynégétiques. C’est surtout de la collection du site Droulers-Tsiionhiakwatha dont il sera question ici. La comparaison des données avec celles des sites McDonald et Mailhot-Curran permettra de considérer dans son ensemble l’exploitation de la faune par les communautés villageoises de cette partie de l’Iroquoisie.
The Saint-Anicet region has several archaeological sites testifying to the presence of the St. Lawrence Iroquoians. These sites have delivered hundreds of thousands of skeletal remains from various vertebrates. The faunal assemblages of the McDonald sites (circa 1350 AD), Droulers (circa 1475 AD) and Mailhot-Curran (circa 1524 AD) were the subject of analyzes that allowed to draw a portrait of the halieutic and cynegetic activities. It is especially from the collection of the Droulers-Tsiionhiakwatha site that will be discussed here. The comparison of the data with those of the McDonald and Mailhot-Curran sites will allow to consider in the whole the exploitation of the fauna by the village communities of this part of Iroquoisie.
- Adrian Burke - Université de Montréal
Dans cette conférence je présente les résultats de l’analyse technologique de trois collections lithiques provenant de sites villageois iroquoiens dans la région de Saint-Anicet (MRC du Haut-Saint-Laurent). Les trois villages – MacDonald, Droulers-Tsiionhiakwatha et Mailhot-Curran – font partie du groupement de Saint-Anicet et datent du quatorzième au seizième siècle. J’ai analysé les outils taillés et aussi les outils bouchardés et polis afin d’identifier et de décrire les chaînes opératoires. De plus, j’ai reconstitué l’économie des matières premières lithiques. Les trois assemblages lithiques se ressemblent et reflètent un manque d’investissement marqué dans les outils taillés. La plupart des outils taillés sont des outils expéditifs (par ex. éclats utilisés ou retouchés) fabriqués sur des éclats souvent petits. Il y a très peu d’outils formels comme des bifaces ou des grattoirs. On retrouve un grand nombre de nucléus et blocs taillés de façon bipolaire, ce qui est caractéristique de la technologie lithique des Iroquoiens de la région de Saint-Anicet. L’outillage bouchardé et poli (meules, haches) est typique de ce qu’on trouve sur des villages iroquoiens dans le Nord-Est. Cependant, l’assemblage est assez limité compte tenu du nombre de personnes qui devaient habiter dans ces villages. Les matériaux locaux et régionaux (< 100 km) dominent les matières premières utilisées mais il y a quelques outils taillés importés de l’extérieur de la région du Haut-Saint-Laurent.
- Claude Chapdelaine - Université de Montréal
La région de Saint-Anicet a connu une longue phase d’acquisition de données sur trois sites villageois entre 1992 et 2017. Les sites McDonald, Droulers et Mailhot-Curran constituent une séquence régionale s’étendant du XIVe au XVIe siècles. La majorité des indices matériels et en particulier la présence de maisons-longues, de la culture du maïs et d’un riche corpus céramique indiquent sans équivoque une identité iroquoienne. Tout en voulant contribuer à une archéologie sociale des communautés en privilégiant la fouille extensive des maisons-longues, les interventions étaient guidées par une conviction voulant que les Iroquoiens de Saint-Anicet appartiennent à un groupe distinct que les archéologues identifient aux Iroquoiens du Saint-Laurent. Cette présentation a pour but de réviser les fondements de cette conviction.
The Saint-Anicet region between 1992 and 2017 received a continuous attention by acquiring a large database on three village sites. The McDonald, Droulers and Mailhot-Curran sites represent a local sequence covering the XIVth to the XVIth centuries. The material evidence and especially the longhouses, the growing of corn and the rich ceramic assemblage indicate without doubt an Iroquoian identity. While the major goal was to build a social archaeology with the extensive excavation of longhouses, the fieldwork was guided by the conviction that the Saint-Anicet Iroquoians were members of a distinct group named by archaeologists as St. Lawrence Iroquoians. This paper will review the foundation of this conviction.
- Louis-Vincent Laperrière-Désorcy - Université de Montréal
Une présence iroquoienne sur le site de l’île Saint-Bernard (BiFk-5), à Châteauguay, Québec, est attestée au Sylvicole Supérieur, mais se remarque particulièrement à la période de contact. Un seul établissement occupe les lieux de 1673 à 1703 et les contextes archéologiques fouillés attestent d’une co-présence entre les Mohawks et Français au XVIIe siècle pour y réaliser des activités de traite. Cette conférence présente les résultats des fouilles sur le site BiFk-5 et s’attarde à une analyse zooarchéologique de la collection faunique. L’analyse de 3914 restes squelettiques mammaliens démontre une exploitation faunique très diversifiée par les occupants des lieux. La présence de multiples marques de découpe diagnostiques atteste des comportements alimentaires, mais illustre principalement les pratiques régulières d'extraction de fourrures animales sur le site archéologique. Cette présentation explorera, par une perspective zooarchéologique, divers aspects de la vie courante des occupants mohawks et français à l’île Saint-Bernard.
- Roland Tremblay - Ethnoscop inc
Depuis l'été 2016, des travaux effectuées dans le cadre de différents projets par la Ville de Montréal à l'intersection des rues Sherbrooke et Peel ont mis au jour des vestiges iroquoiens du Saint-Laurent. Leur proximité spatiale avec le site Dawson situé un peu à l'est laisse entrevoir qu'ils sont associés à cette même occupation. Nous proposons une présentation de ces nouvelles données ainsi qu'un examen de leur articulation avec celles qui avaient jadis fait l'objet de récoltes dans la seconde moitié du XIXe siècle. Quelques implications sur la recherche iroquoianiste dans la région de Montréal seront ainsi mises de l'avant.
- Jesseca Paquette - Université de Montréal
- Christine Zachary-Deom - Mohawk Council of Kahnawake
- Isabelle Ribot - Université de Montréal
- Christian Gates St-Pierre - Université de Montréal
This preliminary inventory of archaeological sites with human skeletal discoveries was initiated on the request of the Mohawk Council of Kahnawake and is achieved in collaboration with the AS2 Research Group based at the Université de Montréal. It aims to create a detailed database listing all the archaeological sites in Quebec in which human bones and/or teeth belonging to Indigenous Peoples were found. First, the project collates diverse information (e.g. site location, dates, excavation reports, number of burials, etc.), from site reports and publications, to assess the number and location of prehistoric and historic indigenous skeletal remains that have been recovered from archaeological contexts thus far. The second stage will identify the current location of these individuals. The ultimate goal is to make this inventory available to the various Indigenous communities concerned. We hope that the outcome of this project will be helpful to the communities and will encourage a discussion regarding future research and the rematriation or repatriation of these human remains.
- Christine Zachary-Deom - Mohawk Council of Kahnawake
For the Mohawks of Kahnawake, the past is part of the present. This was recently exemplified in the case of Montreal about the identity of the Indigenous peoples who inhabited the territory where the city of Montreal now sits. Most archaeologists and historians believe the Montreal area was the territory of the St. Lawrence Iroquoians, but we assert that Montreal is Mohawk ancestral traditional territory. We believe that the Mohawk point of view has yet to be taken into account and that archaeology can play a significant role in achieving this end through adapting methodologies in Quebec with those of New York and Ontario. In this paper we will present different initiatives that we have been involved with Montreal and explain how data from archaeology and oral tradition (among other sources) can be used to construct a more complete and adequate narrative about the past.
- Louis Lesage, Bureau du Nionwenstïo, Nation Huronne-Wendat
- Alicia Hawkins, Laurentian University
- Stéphane Noël, Ville de Québec
- Allison Bain, Université Laval
Session Abstract
Huron-Wendat ancestral landscapes, sites, and artifacts are a rich source of knowledge and pride for present day Huron-Wendat peoples. To help protect this precious heritage, in the last decades the Huron-Wendat Nation has become increasingly involved in the management of this cultural heritage. This session will explore collaborative research projects between the Nation and archaeological researchers, projects which aim to address questions of importance to the Nation from both before and after European contact.
Presentations
- Bonnie Glencross - Wilfrid Laurier University
- Gary Warrick - Wilfrid Laurier University
The Tay Point Archaeology Project (TPA) involves a multiyear program of historical and archaeological research. Beginning in 2014, students from Wilfrid Laurier University have been active in the investigation of Ahatsistari (BeGx-76) and Chew (BeGx-9), two early 17th century Huron-Wendat village sites. TPA has adopted a variety of minimally invasive and standard field methods including magnetic susceptibility, metal detecting, surface and shovel test pit surveys, as well as 100% recovery through fine screening, and the examination of archived collections. Archaeological and historical evidence collected to date suggest that Ahatsistari is a good candidate for the historically referenced village Carhagouha, visited and described by Samuel de Champlain and Recollect priest, Joseph LeCaron circa A.D. 1615.
- Beatrice Fletcher - McMaster University
- Bonnie Glencross - Wilfred Laurier University
- Gary Warrick - Wilfred Laurier University
- Eudard Reinhardt - McMaster University
Archaeologists and Indigenous communities are constantly seeking minimally invasive methods of investigation that balance the utility of archaeological knowledge with the importance of site preservation and conservation. In this paper, we assess the feasibility and utility of multi-element x-ray fluorescence soil analysis at the Ahatsistari site (BeGx-76). This 17th century Huron-Wendat village, located on Tay Point in Simcoe County, Ontario, provided an excellent opportunity to test new analytical methods at an unplowed village site. Following magnetic susceptibility and metal detecting work undertaken during previous field seasons, soil chemical analysis was employed to confirm longhouse orientation, assess village boundaries, and identify the chemical impacts of surrounding agricultural fields. This paper presents the concentrations of six key anthropogenically enriched elements across 213 systematically sampled locations. Our analysis employed Itrax™ core scanning, a high-resolution, non-destructive x-ray fluorescence technique. This technique generates concentrations of over 80 different elements for each bulk soil sample while also providing the capacity for future investigations of intact stratigraphic sequences. Our preliminary results suggest a potential boundary for the village along with highly variable chemical signatures within the village boundaries. Our results, though requiring future ground-truthing, present the utility and ambiguities of interpreting anthropogenic chemical signatures generated through minimally invasive surveying, sampling, and analysis.
- Stéphane Noël - Ville de Québec
Établie sur un plateau sablonneux surplombant la rivière Lorette, la mission Notre-Dame-de-Lorette est le lieu fondateur de la ville de L’Ancienne-Lorette, près de Québec. Fondée en 1673, cette mission jésuite était occupée au départ par environ 300 autochtones, majoritairement des Hurons-Wendat, mais aussi des Iroquois convertis. Les familles occupaient des « cabanes » en écorce disposées en carré autour d’une place centrale au centre de laquelle se trouvait une chapelle en briques. En 1697, pour différentes raisons, la mission déménage plus au nord, près des chutes de la rivière Saint-Charles à l’endroit qui deviendra Wendake.
À l’été 2018, des fouilles archéologiques intensives financées par la Ville de L’Ancienne-Lorette ont été menées par l’équipe de GAIA, coopérative de travail en archéologie, en collaboration avec la Nation huronne-wendat. Cette intervention majeure a eu lieu préalablement à la construction du nouveau centre communautaire de la municipalité. Ce site revêt une grande importance puisqu’il permet d’explorer archéologiquement, pour la première fois, la période charnière entre la dispersion des Hurons-Wendat vers 1650 et leur établissement permanent à Wendake en 1697. Cette communication présente les principaux résultats des recherches archéologiques de 2018 qui permettent de jeter un regard unique sur l’architecture, les modes de vie, l’économie et l’alimentation des familles autochtones qui occupaient la mission à la fin du 17e siècle.
- Marie-Hélène Daviau
- Anja Herzog
- Michel Plourde
- Roland Tremblay
- Stéphane Noël - GAIA, coopérative de travail en archéologie
Les fouilles archéologiques menées en 2018 sur le site de la mission Notre-Dame-de-Lorette (L’Ancienne-Lorette, QC) par GAIA, coopérative de travail en archéologie, ont livré plusieurs milliers d’artéfacts provenant des différentes phases d’occupation du site. Dans cette communication, nous dresserons un portrait général de cette riche collection et examinerons plus particulièrement les artéfacts issus des contextes de la mission jésuite (1673-1697) ayant fait l’objet d’études ciblées comme la céramique de tradition autochtone, les perles de verre et de catlinite, les pipes en terre cuite fine argileuse, ainsi que les témoins de fabrication de pipes de pierre.
- Heather Walder - UW-La Crosse
- Stéphane Noël - GAIA, coopérative de travail en archéologie
Glass trade beads recovered during the 2018 excavations of CeEu-11, the site of a c. 1673-1693 Huron-Wendat village at L'Ancienne-Lorette, were analyzed using Laser Ablation - Inductively Coupled Plasma - Mass Spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS). This minimally-invasive analysis, conducted with permission from the Huron-Wendat Nation of Quebec, provides information about glass bead recipes that can be compared to other known samples from across eastern North America. This paper compares L'Ancienne-Lorette glass beads compositions to those from other 17th century Wendat archaeological sites in the Western Great Lakes and in Southern Ontario. These sites are dated both prior to and after the dispersal of Huron-Wendat people from Wendake c. 1650. Temporal and spatial patterning of the glass bead recipes is examined at inter-site and intra-site scales. Preliminary results indicate that glass beads from across many of these sites are compositionally similar, which we may interpret as evidence of continued acquisition and use of glass beads from long-standing trading partners.
- Louis Lesage - Conseil de la Nation huronne-wendat
- Jean-François Richard - Conseil de la Nation huronne-wendat
- Michel Plourde - Université Laval
Les connaissances de la communauté scientifique à l’égard de la Nation huronne-wendat sont indéniablement liées à la discipline de l’archéologie. Les nombreuses fouilles exécutées depuis plusieurs décennies sur des sites archéologiques hurons-wendat ont généré un corpus considérable de données qui permettent de mieux comprendre la culture matérielle et les coutumes de cette société. Un mouvement nommément appelé « la recherche collaborative » s’opère actuellement quant à l’usage de l’archéologie par et pour les Hurons-Wendat. Bien que des étapes importantes aient été franchies, les Hurons-Wendat souhaitent s’engager davantage dans une relation de collaboration avec les professionnels de cette discipline dans le cadre de projets de recherches fondamentaux, appliqués et même accessoires à l’archéologie allant de la protection de l’environnement à la médecine légale, par exemple. Cependant, les défis sont nombreux et cette recherche collaborative nécessite de la détermination et un esprit d’ouverture, à la fois de la part des archéologues et de la Nation huronne-wendat. Le projet d’aire protégée de la Nation huronne-wendat dans la région de Ya’nienhonhndeh (lac à Moïse) est présenté afin d’illustrer comment ce type de collaboration et les questions éthiques fondamentales qui sont soulevées par l’usage de l’archéologie sont traités par la Nation huronne-wendat de manière contemporaine.
- Bonnie Glencross - Wilfrid Laurier University
- Taylor Smith - McMaster University
- Gary Warrick - Wilfrid Laurier University
- Tracy Prowse - McMaster University
Stable isotope analysis of bone collagen in 48 dogs (Canis familaris) was conducted to investigate geographic and temporal variation in diet at five Huron-Wendat sites (A.D. 1250-1650) in southern Ontario, Canada. The dog isotope values were compared to published human isotope values to better understand convergence of food and dietary behaviour between the two with the goal of developing an animal isotopic dietary proxy. Analyses reveal that the human dietary staple maize is clearly present in the diet of dogs, and that δ13Ccol values for dogs and humans correspond well at each village through time suggesting that dogs can serve as proxies for contemporary human maize consumption. δ15Ncol values show dogs feeding on high level sources of protein however, when compared with humans are more variable and should be established for each archaeological context separately.
- Alicia Hawkins - Laurentian University
- Louis Lesage - Nation Huronne-Wendat
- Amy St. John - Western University
- Gregory Braun - University of Toronto
- Mélanie Vincent - Nation Huronne-Wendat
In 2016 the Huron-Wendat Nation initiated a community-based research project to examine pottery vessels from the Ontario and Quebec. The goal of this project was to try to see beyond decorative motifs and tools, to try to better understand the ways in which Huron-Wendat potters undertook the practice of pottery making. We approach this from a technological perspective that includes chemical analysis of clays in used pots; determination of recipes for clays used in pots; and reconstruction of the gestures and actions used to produce pottery. Through this we aim to better understand how pottery production varies, or does not, over space. In this paper we present our current interpretations based on the three interconnected analyses in the context of Huron-Wendat understandings of their history in present day Ontario and Quebec.
- Alicia Hawkins - Laurentian University
- Joseph Petrus - Laurentian University
Pottery decoration has long been used as a criterion for identification of “foreign” components in
pottery assemblages. Sherds identified as Huron-Wendat have been found on sites in northern Ontario
and Quebec, as well as in the St. Lawrence valley. But were these pots made locally or do they represent
pots transferred from Huronia in the course of trade or other activities? Previous attempts to source
Iroquoian pottery have not been met with great success owing to the heterogeneity of pottery and the
difficulty of separating clay from temper. Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass
Spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) can isolate the locations within sherds for analysis so as to avoid inclusions.
In this paper we present the results of LA-ICP-MS analysis of sherds from Ontario and Quebec to address
the question of whether pots with Huron-Wendat decoration were made with the same clays as pottery
with more local decoration.
- Gregory Braun - University of Toronto
One way of investigating the relationships between the ancestral Huron-Wendat communities of Ontario and Quebec is through an examination of their technological practices. In this paper, petrography is used to reconstruct the clay-temper ‘recipes’ used to make pottery at a number of sites in Huronia and the St. Lawrence region. Part of a larger project, these data are used to situate ancestral Huron-Wendat potters within a shared community of practice, and explore their choices in pottery-making that are informed both by technical traditions and by the affordances of their respective landscapes.
- Amy St. John - The University of Western Ontario
Micro computed tomography (CT) analysis offers a new perspective on ceramic manufacture through access to interior features related to technological practices. High resolution, three dimensional, micro CT images reveal different ways of forming vessels, identifying characteristic tendencies in motor habits and learned behaviours that are grounded in specific communities of practice. This micro CT study makes up one small part of a larger project initiated by the Huron-Wendat Nation (HWN). This project asks, in part, how archaeological ceramic data can be analysed and interpreted in light of HWN knowledge systems. To explore this, I have scanned high-collared rim sherds from 74 ceramic vessels from archaeological sites in an area encompassing the north shore of Lake Ontario and Huronia, the St. Lawrence Valley, and the Canadian Shield north of these areas, focusing on archaeological materials from the 16th and 17th centuries. Through micro CT scanning the interior features of pots are made visible and can be connected to the social dimensions of potting.
- Allison Bain, CELAT, Université Laval
- Geneviève Treyvaud , Grand Conseil de la Nation Waban-aki & INRS
- Najat Bhiry, CEN, Université Laval
- Pierre Francus , INRS
- James Woollett, CEN, Université Laval
Session Abstract
Cette séance d’affiches présente les recherches récentes des membres du Groupe de recherche en archéométrie. Cette équipe de recherche a été fondée en 1994 et financée par le Fonds de Recherche du Québec - Société et Culture. Les affiches présentées dans cette session sont des résultats de notre programmation «Archéométrie : analyses de la composition, de la structure et de la fonction du mobilier archéologique et recherches intégrées en archéologie environnementale». Les chercheurs de l'équipe et leurs étudiants travaillent sur l'étude des artefacts et sur des analyses en archéologie environnementale en intégrant les méthodes pluridisciplinaires à la pointe de la recherche. Les thèmes de recherche présentés dans cette session incluent l’occupation et la transformation des territoires de différentes régions (Islande, Québec, Labrador), les développements technologiques par plusieurs cultures (Inuits, Premières Nations, Norrois, Européens) et le mobilier issu de ces sites.
This poster session presents recent research by members of the Archeometry Research Group (Groupe de recherche en archéométrie). Founded in 1994, the team is funded by the Fonds de Recherche du Québec – Société et Culture. The posters presented in this session are the results of our recent research programme entitled "Archeometry: Analysis of the composition, structure and function of archaeological material culture and integrated research in environmental archeology". The team's researchers and their students undertake both the study of artefacts and analyses in environmental archeology via the integration of a multidisciplinary approach and cutting edge research methods. The research themes presented in this session include the occupation and transformation of several regions (Iceland, Quebec, Labrador), their technological developments (Inuit, First Nations, Norse, Europeans) and the material culture generated by these sites.
Presentations
- Thiéfaine Terrier - Université Laval
- Allison Bain - Université Laval
- Véronique Forbes - Memorial University of Newfoundland
Le site de Nunalleq, situé à l’embouchure du fleuve Kuskokwim, fait l’objet depuis plusieurs années de fouilles de sauvetage. L’érosion virulente de la berge qui le menaçait a conduit les habitants du village de Quinhagak et l’association Qanirtuuq Inc. à travailler avec l’Université d’Aberdeen pour mener un projet de recherche collaboratif visant à documenter leur passé.
L’habitation semi-souterraine mise au jour a livré des milliers d’artefacts qui, grâce à la présence du permafrost, furent retrouvés en très bon état de conservation. Des analyses archéoenvironnementales ont ainsi pu être effectuées sur le site, notamment l’étude préliminaire des restes entomologiques menée par Véronique Forbes. C’est dans la continuité de ces travaux que s’inscrit ce projet de maitrise qui vise à identifier des pratiques domestiques au sein de l’habitation, perceptibles presque uniquement par la collecte et l’analyse des restes d’insectes. De très nombreux fragments ont été identifiés, en particulier des coléoptères, des puparia de mouches et de très nombreux poux d’humains et de chiens. Ces données peuvent permettre de mieux comprendre certaines pratiques domestiques, comme par exemple l’épouillage, le stockage de matériaux, le travail des peaux etc.
Cette affiche présente donc la méthode archéoentomologique appliquée sur un site dans l’Arctique, ainsi que les résultats préliminaires qui en découlent.
- Héloïse Barbel - Université Laval / Centre for northern studies (CEN)
- James Woollett - Université Laval / Centre for northern studies (CEN)
- Dominique Todisco - Département de géographie, Université de Rouen
Plusieurs recherches archéologiques menées sur des sites hivernaux inuit datant des XVIIe-XVIIIe siècles au Labrador ont documenté les économies de subsistance des Inuit de cette période (e.g., Kaplan, 1983; Woollett, 2003). Depuis quelques années, une attention est accordée aux processus taphonomiques de formation des dépotoirs, dont la compréhension s’avère essentielle pour cerner la temporalité des occupations humaines qui les ont générés. Ce projet de doctorat vise à documenter les processus taphonomiques de déposition et d’enfouissement des dépôts anthropiques et naturels des dépotoirs. Une étude géoarchéologique des dépotoirs de maisons hivernales du site inuit HdCi-20 (baie de Nain, Labrador) sera couplée à une analyse géoarchéologie d’un dépotoir expérimental. En replaçant le site dans son contexte géomorphologique local, des analyses macro- et micro-stratigraphiques seront effectuées pour renseigner la structure et de la composition des dépôts. L’étude de l’altération des artefacts et écofacts et de leur distribution documentera le rôle des processus dépositionnels et post-dépositionnels dans les conditions de préservation des restes archéologiques de leur possible redistribution spatiale. La fouille préliminaire des dépotoirs suggère une courte chronologie d’occupation du site. Les données seront comparées aux résultats des recherches de Foury (2017) et Couture (2014) sur le site d’Oakes Bay, dont la complexité de la structure des dépotoirs, issus d’occupations hivernales réitérées, rend l’interprétation chronostratigraphique laborieuse.
- Olivier Lalonde - Univeristé Laval
- Juliette Houde-Therrien - Université Laval
In this poster we explore archaeoentomology, the study of insects collected in archaeological sediments, with a particular emphasis on human establishments. There are different forms of relationships between insects and humans; some insects are synanthropic, depending on the presence of humans to thrive, while others are largely unaffected by anthropic activities. Insects thus have multiple responses to humans on the landscape. The masters theses presented here indicate two different examples of human-insect interactions. The semi-permanent Inuit winter settlement of Parngnertokh (code Borden ici, Oakes Bay 1), located on Dog Island in the Nain region of Labrador, and the 19th century urban settlement of Kingston, Ontario, are great examples of how we, as specialists, must adapt how archaeoentomological data are processed and interpreted according to their specific contexts. In return, insects help us better understand human activities and onsite conditions.
- Anne Laberge - Université Laval
- Daphné Marquis - Université Laval
Le chantier-école de l’Université Laval effectue, depuis l’été 2017, des fouilles archéologiques au site Anderson dans le secteur de Limoilou à Québec. Le site est un témoin du XIXe et du XXe siècle, période durant laquelle une révolution industrielle importante a lieu. Les fouilles de 2018 ont permis de découvrir deux latrines et une fosse à déchets en bois dans la cour arrière de la maison connue sous le nom de Hedley Lodge. Ces dernières ont révélé une riche culture matérielle, de nombreux restes fauniques et une quantité importante de matières organiques ayant un grand potentiel archéobotanique. Ces structures seraient associées aux occupations plus tardives du site, vers la fin du XIXe siècle et le début du XXe siècle. Dès 1870, Charles Pitl, un consul allemand et un marchand prospère, s’installe sur la propriété avec sa famille où ils auraient vraisemblablement utilisé l’une de ces structures. Puis en 1897, les Pitl quittent la propriété qui est ensuite divisée en plusieurs logements par la Quebec Land Company. Dans le cadre de nos maîtrises, nous souhaitons aborder la manière dont les choix alimentaires peuvent refléter l’identité des occupants du site à l’aide d’analyses zooarchéologiques et archéobotaniques. L’identification de leur régime alimentaire mis en contexte avec les documents historiques devrait nous permettre de discuter du statut socio-économique des personnes ayant utilisé ces structures et possiblement d’adresser la notion d’ethnicité.
Anne Laberge, Daphné Marquis, Allison Bain et James Woollett
- Pascal St-Jacques - Université Laval
Tekhnē: Incarnation, à travers la pratique et l’action, d’une indissociable combinaison d’art, d’habileté et d’artisanat, de principes et de savoir, de méthodes, de compréhension et de conscience. Cette définition du Oxford English Dictionnary est très éloignée de celle du Larousse ou du Petit Robert qui, quand on souhaite en apprendre sur la technologie ou la technique, associe plutôt ces termes à la science ou la théorie générale. Elle n’en est pas moins pertinente, tout à fait juste en réalité et se prête parfaitement à définir la technologie de manière plus inclusive et humanisante. La présente recherche adopte donc l’agency pour observer la nature de la technologie de la pierre taillée afin de réaliser des expérimentations de taille de pierre qui ne sont pas qu’une simple séquence de fractures, mais qui incarnent les processus dynamiques de cette technologie préhistorique. L’objectif est d’accomplir une activité de taille qui est appuyée par un cadre théorique conséquent qui va au delà de la reproduction d’objets lithiques. Cette recherche se penche sur la taille du chert Onondaga, matériel peu considéré au delà de sa présence/absence et de sont lien avec la tradition culturelle meadowood.
- Serena Hendrickx - Université Laval
- Sarah Robert - Université Laval
Érigé au début du XVIIIe siècle par des militaires français et abénakis pour héberger la mission jésuite de Saint-François-de-Sales, le fort d’Odanak est un exemple unique en Nouvelle-France d’une fortification commandée par le roi de France Louis XIV mais construite et occupée par une communauté autochtone. Entre 2010 et 2018, des campagnes de fouilles menées par les archéologues Geneviève Treyvaud et Michel Plourde avec le soutien des membres de la communuté abénakise d'Odanak, ont permis de mettre au jour les vestiges du fort d'Odanak, à l'emplacement de l'actuel Musée des Abénakis. Les fouilles ont dévoilé des traces d'habitations et de fortifications et livré de nombreux artéfacts qui fournissent des renseignements précieux sur les modes de vie et les pratiques culturelles des Abénakis aux XVIIeet XVIIIesiècles. Dans le cadre d'un projet de recherche de maîtrise et d'un projet de doctorat, des étudiantes de l’Université Laval vont mener une étude archéoenvironnementale multidisciplinaire, alliant zooarchéologique, archéobotanique et géoarchéologie. Cette étude portera sur le contenu des fosses retrouvées au sein des habitations en vue d’obtenir une connaissance plus précise de la vie quotidienne au sein du fort.
Hendrickx, Robert, Bain, Treyvaud, Bhiry, Woollett
- Antoine Guérette - Université Laval
Le quartzite à mica est reconnu depuis plusieurs décennies en Haute Côte-Nord comme une matière première d'origine régionale. On le retrouve abondamment sur les sites archéologiques de la région sous forme de débitage et d'outils, et dans des contextes aussi anciens que 8 000 ans AA. Jusqu'à tout récemment, le quartzite à mica n'avait jamais constitué un sujet d'étude en soit, et sa définition vague dans la littérature rendait son identification souvent hasardeuse par les archéologues. En 2013, des fouilles ont été effectuées par la firme Ethnoscop Inc. dans le cadre du projet de contournement routier de la municipalité de Longue-Rive. Le site (DdEh-8) a dévoilé des structures de combustion, des caches d'outils et des concentrations de débitage liées au façonnage d'outils en quartzite à mica. Des datations au radiocarbone et des rapprochements typologiques ont permis de dater le site entre 2800 et 2930 ans AA, correspondant à la période du Sylvicole Inférieur. Vu l'utilisation ciblée du quartzite à mica sur le site, la collection de DdEh-8 nous a permis d'explorer la variabilité de ce matériau, de définir ses principales caractéristiques visibles à l'oeil nu et en pétrographie sur lame mince, et d'évaluer la présence d'une gestion préférentielle des différentes variétés de quartzite à mica au sein de l'outillage. Nous vous présentons ici les résultats de nos analyses pétrographiques, nos hypothèses quant aux sources possibles, de même qu'un survol de l'utilisation du quartzite à mica dans la technologie des occupants de Longue-Rive au Sylvicole Inférieur.
- Dorothée Dubé - Université Laval
- Allison Bain - Université Laval
- James Woollett - Université Laval
- Paul Adderley - University of Stirling
Les habitants de la région de Svalbarðshreppur, au nord-est de l’Islande, ont subi plusieurs transformations sociales importantes au cours du dernier millénaire. Ces adaptations humaines, sous formes d’occupations, d’abandons, de transformations du territoire et de son exploitation, sont possiblement liées à divers facteurs sociaux, économiques et environnementaux (fluctuations climatiques liées à l’Optimum climatique médiéval (XI ͤ au XIV ͤ siècle) et au Petit Âge glaciaire (XVII ͤ au XIX ͤ siècle)).
Pour ce projet de recherche, la compréhension des modes d’exploitation des terres sur l’ensemble du territoire permettra de mieux concevoir l’occupation de la ferme centrale, mais également des différentes fermes auxiliaires qui ont été occupées et réoccupées au fil du temps. Pour ce faire, deux différentes stratégies de collecte des données sur le terrain et d’analyses en laboratoire ont été développées afin de pouvoir intégrer les deux grandes sous-disciplines de l’archéologie environnementale, soit la bioarchéologie et la géoarchéologie. Cette étude intégrative en archéoentomologie (l’étude des restes fossiles insectes préservés en contexte archéologique) et en archéopédologie (l’étude des sols en archéologie) est l’une des premières réalisées en Islande et elle permet de tester de nouvelles avenues scientifiques.
- Marie-Anne Paradis - Université Laval
La Réalité Virtuelle révèle d’année en année son immense potentiel pour la recherche archéologique. Nous proposons d’explorer un nouvel angle au croisement entre l’informatique et l’archéométrie : la contextualisation d’un artefact, de la nature intrinsèque de celui-ci, à son contexte de découverte, de celui de fabrication, ou d’usage. La Réalité Virtuelle offre la possibilité de dépasser les limites physiques du monde réel (visuelles et spatio-temporelles) et de regrouper tous les formes d’information au même endroit afin de redécouvrir plus en profondeur la culture matérielle et d’ouvrir l’interprétation aux experts et au public.
Le cas d’étude présenté est celui de statuettes égyptiennes (oudjas) retrouvées au site du Palais de l’Intendant à Québec lors des fouilles archéologiques de 2009. Nous avons donc réalisé une démonstration 4D multi-échelles scénarisée en lien avec les statuettes et leur contexte. La première échelle révèle l’intérieur d’une de ces statuettes, dévoilée grâce à la technique de tomodensitométrie. La deuxième consiste à visualiser à quel endroit elles ont été retrouvées, c’est à dire l’aire de fouille de l’escalier monumentale du deuxième palais. Puis, afin de mieux comprendre leur contexte d’usage, nous pouvons voir une reconstitution de l’escalier monumentale à l’époque de déposition des statuettes. Ce retour dans le temps vient nous confronter à la réelle utilisation de ces artefacts et au contexte historique du site au début du XVIIIesiècle. Enfin, la dernière démonstration est celle de l’état actuel du palais de l’Intendant et de la ville de Québec.
- Geneviève Treyvaud - GCNWA et INRS-ETE
Des techniques innovantes d'acquisition et de caractérisation 3D ont été utilisées pour numériser, modéliser, et étudier virtuellement deux wampums offerts par les Premières Nations Huronne-Wendat et W8banaki au chapitre de la cathédrale de Chartres à la fin du XVIIe siècle et des perles de wampums issues du site archéologique Fort et mission d’Odanak (CaFe-7). Des chercheurs de plusieurs domaines et des représentants de ces Premières Nations se sont associés pour retrouver les secrets de la fabrication de ces objets exceptionnels utilisés pour sceller des traités diplomatiques par les Premières Nations d'Amérique du Nord. Nous proposons de présenter les premiers résultats issus de cette étude numérique qui a combiné différentes technologies telles que la tomodensitométrie, la photogrammétrie ou la lasergrammétrie, et qui a permis de produire des restitutions inédites des deux wampums. Ce travail est réalisé dans le cadre d’un projet pluridisciplinaire dont l’objectif est d'accéder à l'intérieur des objets archéologiques, sans les détruire, pour aider à en déterminer la nature, la fabrication, l'usage et la provenance, grâce à une combinaison d’imagerie médicale et de technologies 3D telles que la réalité virtuelle, la réalité augmentée et l’impression 3D. Ce projet associe des scientifiques en archéologie, informatique et sciences de la Terre.
- Roxanne Lévesque
Au cours des 10 dernières années, deux campagnes de fouilles ont eu lieu dans le quadrilatère historique d’Odanak. Ces fouilles ont permis la découverte de l’emplacement de la mission fortifiée de 1700 ainsi que de l’emplacement de plusieurs maisons longues. Les campagnes de fouilles de 2017 et 2018 ont vu la mise au jour de plusieurs vestiges appartenant à une maison longue. Cette habitation contenait plusieurs fosses à déchets, des foyers et une quantité importante de trous de poteaux. La présentation qui suit fera un survol des résultats obtenus lors de ces deux campagnes de fouilles et mettra l’accent sur l’implication et l’intégration de la communauté d’Odanak tout au long du processus archéologique. En effet, les fouilles prenant place dans un lieu central pour la communauté, cette dernière est impliquée à toutes les étapes du projet de la manière la plus inclusive possible.
- Véronique Marengère - Université Laval ; Centre d'études nordiques
- James Woollett - Université Laval ; Centre d'études nordiques
- Kevin Smith - Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology, Brown University
Cette affiche est le résultat d’une analyse zooarchéologique des ossements brûlés et fragmentés du site de Surtshellir en Islande. Cette étude compare des résultats d’archéologie expérimentale aux restes fauniques brûlés provenant du site. La méthodologie en laboratoire et les résultats zooarchéologiques préliminaires seront mis de l’avant dans le but de tenter une compréhension globale du site.
- Jacques Chabot - Université Laval
- Maldague Xavier - Université Laval
- Marie-Michelle Dionne - Université Laval
En tracéologie, les comparaisons de microtraces archéologiques avec des référentiels expérimentaux sont indispensables. Ces comparaisons permettent de « lire » et de « traduire » les traces, afin d’arriver à diagnostiquer la fonction d’un outil en pierre taillée. Toutefois, la constitution de référentiels, représentatifs de fonctions et de matières lithiques variées, est un travail long et ardu. Parvenir à reproduire une usure correspondant à une utilisation prolongée d’outils, dans le cadre de programmes expérimentaux conventionnels, représente un défi presque irréalisable. Grâce aux développements récents en intelligence artificielle et en apprentissage approfondi, il est à présent possible de prévoir certains comportements ou altérations subtiles de matériaux archéologiques, pour extrapoler le développement des traces au-delà des expérimentations. Fruit d’une collaboration originale entre ingénieurs et archéologues de l’Université Laval (dirigé par X. Maldague, Département de génie électrique et de génie informatique et J. Chabot, Département des sciences historiques), la création d’un tout nouvel outil de prédiction de l'évolution des traces sera rendue possible grâce à l’obtention récente d’une subvention du Conseil de recherches en sciences humaines du Canada (Programme Développement Savoir). L’affiche présentera la phase initiale du projet qui a permis de confirmer la faisabilité du projet et d’en établir les paramètres de réalisation. Elle exposera également le plan qui sera mis en œuvre pour la suite de la conception de cet outil méthodologique unique et universel (adaptable à toute aire culturelle).
- Manon SAVARD, Laboratoire d'archéologie et de patrimoine, Université du Québec à Rimouski
- Nicolas BEAUDRY, Laboratoire d'archéologie et de patrimoine, Université du Québec à Rimouski
Session Abstract
Depuis le tournant du millénaire, une archéologie du passé contemporain ou récent s’est constituée comme un nouveau champ de recherche et de pratique. Cette archéologie soulève des questions épistémologiques nouvelles telles que sa relation au temps et à l’ancienneté, aux individus et aux communautés vivantes; sa contribution à la construction des mémoires et des patrimoines; la valeur de la matérialité dans la reconstitution du passé; etc. Dans quelle mesure cette archéologie du passé récent est-elle une extension de l’archéologie historique? Que peut être son apport à l’archéologie publique? Quels nouveaux terrains, quels objets originaux, quelles questions nouvelles s’offrent aux archéologues?
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Since the turn of the millennium, an archaeology of the contemporary or recent past has emerged as a new field of research and practice. This archaeology raises new epistemological questions such as its relation to time, to living individuals and communities; its contribution to the construction of memory and heritage; the value of materiality in the reconstruction of the past; etc. To what extent is this archaeology of the recent past an extension of historical archaeology? What can be its contribution to public archaeology? What new terrains, what original objects, what new questions are opened to archaeologists?
Presentations
- Martin Perron - Parcs Canada
- Mathieu Côté - Parcs Canada
- Emilie Devoe - Parcs Canada
- Jean-David Dupuis - Parcs Canada
Depuis quelques décennies, l'érosion côtière cause d’importants dégâts sur les berges du Parc national Forillon. Les grandes marées et les violentes tempêtes hivernales ont ponctuellement affecté l'état des plages à Penouille, Grande Grave, Petit-Gaspé et Cap-des-Rosiers et menacé l’intégrité de lieux commémoratifs et de sites archéologiques connus ou présumés.
La surveillance archéologique réalisée en 2016 et 2017 dans le cadre des travaux de restauration de la dynamique naturelle côtière de la plage de Cap-des-Rosiers a permis de de documenter la présence de différents types d’ouvrages de protection des berges implantés successivement le long de la route du Banc dans le cours du XXe siècle. Le retrait de ces ouvrages et le reprofilage mécanique de la plage ont permis la restauration d’une dynamique naturelle côtière saine qui atténue l’impact de l’érosion dont les effets et la progression menacent néanmoins, à court et moyen termes, certains vestiges archéologiques associés à l’occupation du secteur par de nombreuses familles aux XIXe et XXe siècles.
Cette communication dressera le portrait des différents types d’ouvrages de protection des berges recensés à l’état archéologique lors des travaux et fera état des initiatives mises en oeuvre par la Direction du Parc national Forillon et le Service archéologique de Parcs Canada pour cartographier et documenter les sites archéologiques à risque et élaborer des outils de gestion permettant de protéger ces sites face au phénomène récurrent d’érosion côtière.
- Jean-Christophe Ouellet - Université de Montréal
Le site archéologique EgCt-01 est constitué par les vestiges d'un petit établissement de piégeage installé dans le cours supérieur de la rivière Romaine en Moyenne-Côte-Nord. Son élément central, une modeste cabane en rondins abandonnée telle quelle avec tout son matériel, tient le rôle de capsule temporelle et nous plonge dans l'univers des activités de piégeage des années 1930 à 1950 dans l'arrière pays nord-côtier.
Malgré un âge récent, le site archéologique de « la cabane du trappeur » est important pour l'histoire qu'il raconte, mais surtout parce qu'il constitue une représentation matérielle de l'abandon de la pratique intensive du piégeage. Le récit porté «la cabane du trappeur » renvoie donc à un point tournant de la petite histoire nord-côtière et dont les vestiges archéologiques sont un puissant véhicule de transmission.
Le site EgCt-01 a été fouillé par l'équipe d'Archéotec en 2010 dans le cadre des aménagements hydroélectriques de la rivière Romaine.
- Laurence G. Bolduc - Université de Montréal
Je présente les résultats des interventions archéologiques menées sur le site d’un camp forestier des années 1940 dans le cadre d’un projet d’archéologie publique au parc national du Lac-Témiscouata. Le site de la vieille écluse a révélé un assemblage d’artéfacts particulièrement riche, toutefois homogène et standardisé caractéristique d’un environnement matériel contrôlé par une compagnie forestière. Dans ce contexte matériel uniforme créé par le capitalisme industriel, comment pouvons-nous observer les choix et comportements individuels des bûcherons? Je suggère que l’analyse des bouteilles de médicaments et d’alcool retrouvées sur le site peut témoigner des diverses stratégies utilisées par les travailleurs pour négocier leurs conditions de vie et maintenir un certain contrôle sur leur environnement. Je vais également discuter de l’utilisation sociale de l’espace du camp forestier par l’étude de la distribution spatiale de la collection d’artéfacts retrouvée en surface de la zone de dépotoir du camp. Aujourd’hui le patrimoine forestier occupe une place importante dans l’histoire familiale des Québécois et fait partie intégrante de la mémoire collective. Dans ce contexte, je suggère que l’archéologie publique du passé récent offre le potentiel d’engager les communautés contemporaines dans la découverte et la construction de la mémoire d’une culture ouvrière souvent inexplorée.
- Holly Martelle - Timmins Martelle Heritage Consultants Inc.
This paper provides an overview of an archaeological investigation within Toronto's St. John's Ward, a multicultural working class neighbourhood where first generation Irish, Black, Italian, Jewish and Chinese families established their first residence in the city. The archaeological remains span successive waves of immigration between the mid-19th and mid-20th centuries. The dates of the archaeological deposits are immaterial. Their value lies in their ability to speak to the parallel and culturally situated immigrant working class experiences of the site residents. The wealth of organic and inorganic remains from over 40 sealed privy deposits from all eras allows the reconstruction of intimate details of lived experience that can be used to test or counter English Protestant political critiques of "The Ward," one of Toronto's most infamous and dynamic multi-cultural communities. In this instance, archaeology can help tell the story of the politically and historically disenfranchised. Furthermore, inquiries of these data share the same essential concerns for the human condition as parallel investigations in anthropology, sociology and cultural geography.
- Paulina Scheck - University of Toronto
Honest Ed’s was a famous bargain store in downtown Toronto, between 1948 and 2016. Although the store’s physical premises were demolished, its status as a Toronto landmark led to the incorporation of a significant heritage component into the new development that is taking place at the site. Based on more than 2 years of photographic survey and participant observation, this paper documents the way the heritage significance of the site is produced through practices associated with the redevelopment process. Honest Ed’s redevelopment is informative of the treatment of contemporary heritage, particularly that of 20th century big retail establishments, in the context of urban development, and outside of a formal heritage designation. Cross-referencing of various material media, such as site redevelopment plans, architectural renderings, informative displays, art commissioned by the developers, as well as the building’s increasingly ruined and graffitied surfaces reveal a productive search for meaning, leading to multiple, concurrent versions of heritage.
- Manon Savard - Laboratoire d'archéologie et de patrimoine, Université du Québec à Rimouski
- Nicolas Beaudry - Laboratoire d'archéologie et de patrimoine, Université du Québec à Rimouski
Cette communication présentera quelques expériences vécues par le Laboratoire d’archéologie et de patrimoine de l’UQAR dans le cadre d’activités archéologiques concernant le passé récent.
Les vestiges récents sont souvent associés à des personnes ou des communautés toujours vivantes; ils sont susceptibles de révéler une part de leur intimité, et leurs témoignages peuvent enrichir les interprétations et les récits. Au-delà de la valeur que l’on peut accorder à l’ancienneté, la culture matérielle du passé récent est celle avec laquelle le public peut développer le plus facilement un lien d’empathie. La familiarité des objets réveille les mémoires, elle évoque des souvenirs, des gestes et des émotions. Ce pouvoir évocateur n’est sans doute pas étranger au fait que l’archéologie du passé récent soit si souvent investie par des démarches artistiques. L’archéologie du passé récent offre donc des perspectives intéressantes et originales à l’archéologie publique.
Friday May 17, 2019
- Isabelle Lemieux, MCCQ
Session Abstract
Un bref retour dans le passé : le dévoilement de la politique culturelle Partout la culture en juin 2018 marque un jalon important mettant de l’avant ce lien étroit entre les populations, la culture et la vitalité du territoire, notamment en accordant une place importante au secteur du patrimoine. Également, les principes et objectifs de la Stratégie maritime du Québec seront abordés, en présentant au passage les actions entreprises afin de documenter et valoriser le patrimoine culturel maritime. Le Ministère présentera donc un tour d’horizon des réalisations 2018-2019.
En route vers le futur : cette partie de la session sera l'occasion pour le Ministère d’exposer à la communauté archéologique l’orientation actuelle du Gouvernement du Québec en termes d’accessibilité et de partage des données, ainsi que le Plan culturel numérique du Québec dont certaines mesures touchent spécifiquement le patrimoine archéologique. Le Ministère fera également état de ses réflexions sur le déploiement d'une offre numérique soutenant la connaissance, la protection, la mise en valeur et la transmission du patrimoine culturel.
La conservation, la transmission et la valorisation du patrimoine : c’est une question de mobilisation de tous les acteurs. Le ministère de la Culture et des Communications du Québec œuvre en ce sens au bénéfice de toutes et de tous!
Presentations
- Isabelle Lemieux - Ministère de la Culture et des Communications du Québec
Présentation de la Politique culturelle du Québec par le Ministère de la Culture et des Communications du Québec.
- Isabelle Lemieux - Ministère de la Culture et des Communications du Québec
Présentation des réalisations du ministère de la Culture et des Communications du Québec en 2018-2019
- Valérie Janssen - Ministère de la Culture et des Communications du Québec
Présentation de la Stratégie maritime du Québec par le Ministère de la Culture et des Communication du Québec.
- Claudine Giroux - Ministère de la Culture et des Communications du Québec
- Marie-Michelle Dionne - Musée Pointe-à-Callière
Présentation de la stratégie numérique du Québec et du plan culturel numérique du Québec par le ministère de la Culture et des Comunications du Québec
- Éric Graillon, Musée de la nature et des sciences de Sherbrooke
- Claude Chapdelaine, Université de Montréal
Session Abstract
Les objectifs de cette session visent à présenter des données inédites sur deux sites de Brompton en Estrie où des indices archéologiques révèlent une très longue succession d’occupations amérindiennes à partir du Paléoindien récent jusqu’au Sylvicole supérieur. Sur le site d’en haut, Kruger 2 ou BiEx-23, le bilan de la campagne de 2018 est présenté alors que les résultats de trois interventions sur le site d’en bas, Kruger 3 ou BiEx-24, témoignent d’une présence amérindienne sur plus de 130 cm de profondeur. Le site Kruger 3 est donc un cas d’exception le long de la rivière Saint-François et il constitue un exemple édifiant de la pertinence de fouiller des petits sites marqués par une faible densité des vestiges culturels / The presentation of new data on two sites located in Brompton, Eastern Townships, is the main objective of this session. Archaeological data indicate a long human occupation of the area starting with Late Paleoindian to the Late Woodland period. BiEx-23 or Kruger 2, located on the upper terrace, was last excavated in 2018 and the new information is presented. At BiEx-24 or Kruger 3, located on the low terrace, the bedrock has not yet been found and the long sequence of human occupation is still present at 130 cm below the surface. This small site is thus exceptional within the Saint-François River Basin and it constitutes a good example of the relevance of digging small sites with low density of cultural remains.
Presentations
- Pierre J.H. RICHARD - Département de géographie, Université de Montréal
Les sites archéologiques BiEx-23 et BiEx-24 sur les rives du Saint-François à Brompton, près de Sherbrooke, témoignent de multiples occupations par diverses populations humaines préhistoriques durant près de 9000 ans,du Paléoindien récent au Sylvicole supérieur. La reconstitution des paysages physiques, de la végétation et des climats qui se sont succédés durant cette longue période permet de circonscrire les conditions environnementales qu’ont vécues les occupants. Le caractère plus ou moins rapide ou graduel des changements du milieu au fil du temps sera abordé.
Archaeological sites BiEx-23 and BiEx-24 on the banks of Saint-Francis River at Brompton, near Sherbrooke, testify of multiple occupations by different human populations during almost 9,000 years, spanning the Late Paleoindian to the Late Woodland. The reconstruction of the physical landscapes and of the vegetational and climatic conditions that took place during this long timespan provide clues to the environmental conditions experienced by the people who occupied the place. The more or less rapid or gradual character of the environmental changes will be examined.
- Éric Graillon - Musée de la nature et des sciences de Sherbrooke
Une dernière campagne de fouilles a eu lieu sur le site Kruger 2 en 2018, un site du Paléoindien récent qui s’est révélé exceptionnel par la densité et la variété des vestiges lithiques pour un site de cette période. Depuis sa découverte en 2013, les archéologues ont fouillé 104 m2 tout en impliquant des chercheurs de différentes disciplines. Cette approche multidisciplinaire a permis l’avancement des connaissances relativement au peuplement de l’Estrie et du Québec tout en confirmant l’importance de ce site. Le petit site Kruger 3, voisin du site Kruger 2 et occupant une étroite terrasse cinq mètres plus bas, a également fait l’objet d’une dernière fouille en 2018. L’objectif était de compléter la documentation de ce site à faible densité artéfactuelle sur lequel des présences associées au Sylvicole et à l’Archaïque supérieur avaient été reconnues en 2013 et en 2017. Une surprise nous attendait toutefois justifiant un retour sur le site Kruger 3 en 2019. En effet, les fouilles de 2018, en plus de confirmer davantage la nature des occupations connues du Sylvicole er de l’Archaïque, ont permis d’étendre la séquence d’occupation à plus de 9000 ans, une des plus longues enregistrées à ce jour au Québec sur un même site, une histoire étalée sur plus de 130 cm de profondeur.
- Lise Boisvert - AAQ
Cette analyse est liée, tout d'abord, à la présence dans l'aire #3 du site Kruger 2 d'une possible structure de combustion, la structure #1, constituée d'une concentration de pierres chauffées et éclatées par le feu, et où ont été trouvés des restes osseux et une forte concentration de vestiges lithiques, y compris des pointes et des forets de la culture Plano. L'objectif visait à vérifier si, dans les puits qui englobent la structure, des éclats comportant des traces d'exposition au feu (cupules, altération de couleur) permettaient d'appuyer la présence d'une structure de combustion. L'analyse comporte aussi un volet comparatif entre les aires #2 et #3 à l’aide de plusieurs études sur le débitage et dans le but de mesurer l'apparentement entre les groupes qui ont fréquenté le site. Les deux volets de cette analyse semblent appuyer respectivement la fonction de la structure #1, ainsi que la relative homogénéité culturelle entre les deux aires.
- Jolyane Saule - Trent University
Kruger 3 est un site dont l’importance pour l’archéologie de l’Estrie est désormais remarquable suite aux fouilles de 2018. Le site se distingue par la présence de matériel datant des périodes du Sylvicole et de l’Archaïque et par son caractère peu perturbé. Il s’agit d’un lieu de portage où se sont arrêtés périodiquement des groupes autochtones. On y reconnait au moins quatre épisodes du Sylvicole et plusieurs occupations de l’Archaïque incluant les traditions Susquehanna, Laurentienne, du Golfe du Maine et Neville de l’Archaïque moyen. La communication discutera des multiples occupations étalées sur près de 9000 ans AA à travers la présence d’objets diagnostics. Puis, seront présentés les résultats de l’analyse du débitage. Cette analyse avait pour but de dresser un portrait chrono-culturel de BiEx-24 à travers l’étude des déchets de taille. Une approche par attributs ainsi qu’une évaluation des distributions verticales et horizontales ont été favorisées afin de quantifier les spécificités des industries lithiques des différentes périodes. C’est donc en utilisant les principes de la séquence de réduction et l’identification des matières premières que les assemblages respectifs ont été décrits et confrontés. Les résultats suggèrent que les comportements ─notamment de mobilité─ étaient effectivement distincts aux deux périodes.
- Claude Chapdelaine - Université de Montréal
Résumé. La distribution verticale des témoins culturels dans le sol sablonneux meuble du site BiEx-24 a permis de fouiller dans le secteur sud-ouest une unité de 2 x 1,5 m2 jusqu’à une profondeur de 130 cm sans atteindre la roche en place. Les trois niveaux arbitraires, 100-110 cm, 110-120 cm et 120-130 cm, se sont avérés positifs avec un total de 30 éléments lithiques et 63 os blanchis. L’absence d’un outil diagnostique ne nous permet pas d’inférer une tradition culturelle, mais en plus de la profondeur, la présence de certaines matières premières et la datation d’un échantillon charbon de bois prélevé à 125 cm de profondeur nous incite à proposer une occupation remontant à plus de 9000 ans étalonnés avant aujourd’hui. Les principaux indices de ces niveaux inférieurs du site BiEx-24 seront décrits et discutés tout en précisant les implications chronologiques et culturelles à l’échelle régionale sans négliger le cadre géographique plus vaste de l’Extrême Nord-Est.
- Claire St-Germain - Ostéothèque de Montréal, Inc.
- Christian Gates St-Pierre - Université de Montréal
- Michelle Courtemanche - Ostéothèque de Montréal, Inc.
Plusieurs milliers de restes fauniques ont été récoltés sur les sites BiEx-23 (Kruger 2) et BiEx-24 (Kruger 3) entre les années 2013 et 2018. Les restes squelettiques blanchis du site Kruger 2 constituent possiblement la plus importante collection ostéologique du Paléoindien récent au Québec, et peut-être même du Nord-Est américain. Dans la présentation, nous ferons la synthèse des informations faunistiques du site Kruger 2 en intégrant les restes récoltés en 2018. Quant à la faune du site Kruger 3, elle couvre 9000 ans d’occupation, du Sylvicole à l’Archaïque et peut-être même une brève occupation au Paléoindien récent. Nous esquisserons les premiers résultats de notre analyse.
Several thousand faunal remains were harvested at the BiEx-23 (Kruger 2) and BiEx-24 (Kruger 3) sites between 2013 and 2018. The animal remains from Kruger 2 are associated with the Plano period. To date, this assemblage constitutes the most important osteological collection of the Late Paleoindian in Quebec, and possibly of the American North-east. In the presentation, we will summarize the faunal data of the Kruger 2 site by integrating the remains collected in 2018. As for the Kruger 3 site fauna, it covers 9000 years of occupation, including the Woodland and Archaic periods and maybe a brief Late Paleoindian presence. We will sketch the first results of our analysis.
- François Courchesne - Département de géographie, Université de Montréal
Les profils de sol du site BiEx-24 montrent des variations verticales au plan de la couleur, de la densité et du contenu apparent en matière organique et en fer. Ces contrastes sont nets dans la partie centrale du profil et suggèrent l’existence d’une discontinuité pédologique située à une profondeur de 65-70 cm à partir de la surface actuelle. Afin de valider ces observations de terrain, les propriétés chimiques (tous les horizons du profil) et la minéralogie par diffraction des rayons-x (horizons sélectionnés) ont été déterminées en laboratoire. Ces marqueurs chimiques et minéralogiques tendent à soutenir l’hypothèse d’une discontinuité dans la stratigraphie du sol, notamment les contenus en oxydes métalliques, en matière organique et en phosphore extractible. L’origine de la discontinuité ainsi que les implications de ces variations verticales des caractéristiques de la coupe de Kruger 3 sur son interprétation archéologique seront mises en relief.
- Chelsea Meloche, Simon Fraser University.
- Erin Hogg, Simon Fraser University.
Session Abstract
Archaeology has changed drastically in recent decades. As the latest CAA meetings have shown, conversations have shifted. The theory wars and repatriation debates of the late-twentieth century have mostly quieted and working by, with, and for local and descendant communities is now the norm. UNDRIP and other legislative developments have ensured that a whole generation of archaeologists has been trained in collaborative practices. However, while graduate students and junior scholars are undertaking novel research with communities, they are often underrepresented in disciplinary dialogues on such topics. In this session, we explore examples of engaged practice from graduate students and junior scholars to highlight the voices of the next generation.
Presentations
- Erin A. Hogg - Simon Fraser University
- Chelsea H. Meloche - Simon Fraser University
Collaborative archaeology has become increasingly popular in recent decades with the impetus to engage “communities” becoming common practice. In many institutions, research training now incorporates some experience with qualitative methodologies, ethnography, and collaborative research design. Policy developments have ensured that stakeholder communities have more of a voice in archaeology than ever before. Junior scholars are meeting the challenges of this new research landscape and collaborating with a variety of stakeholders. In this presentation, we use examples from our own experiences and research to reflect upon what it means to engage with archaeology’s different stakeholders, including Indigenous descendants, the “public,” legal practitioners and policy makers, and archaeologists themselves.
- Rebecca Goodwin - University of Western Ontario
- Lisa Hodgetts - University of Western Ontario
Community-oriented archaeology is becoming increasingly common within North America, including the Canadian Arctic, although it is still far from the norm. As part of the Inuvialuit Living History Project (ILH), Goodwin’s doctoral research has interrogated the complexities in Inuvialuit gender identity and performance, past and present. In partnership with Inuvialuit Elders, her research attempts to centre the voices of descendant community members in interpretations of the archaeological record. Through a series of semi-structured interviews and archaeological ethnographic processes Goodwin and the Inuvialuit Elders attempt to answer the question of what it means to be an Inuvialuit man, woman or other gendered individual both now and far into the past. In this paper we will describe the process of Goodwin’s PhD from inception through to dissemination back to the wider Inuvialuit community. We will focus in particular on the successes and difficulties in building a meaningful, community-oriented research project under the limitations of a doctoral program. In addition, this paper will discuss how centering the voices of community Knowledge Holders can reveal important insights into complex questions of identity. The privileging of Elders voices within the archaeology of the Inuvialuit and their ancestors can help us work towards decolonizing archaeological practice.
- Dawn Wambold - University of Alberta
Conducting archaeology as the member of a descendant community embodies acts of decolonization and the reclamation of one’s heritage. However, it can also bring emotional and relationship entanglements to the practice of archaeology which need to be navigated. At the end of the research project, the descendant archaeologist cannot simply move on to the next project but must continue to live with the impact of their research on their community. In this presentation, I will discuss my personal journey as a Métis archaeologist and how engaged practice has influenced my experiences of studying the material culture of my ancestors.
- Josh Dent - Timmins Martelle Heritage Consultants
The primary perceived driver of engaged practice in archaeology has traditionally been academia, however a big part of the future progression of engaged practice now resides in non-academic sectors including commercial heritage practice and in Descendant communities themselves. Emerging scholars and graduate students are increasingly familiar with commercial archaeology with many participating in the practice before, during and, for most, after their studies. Whether through their own initiatives or in collaboration with existing companies with similar philosophies, the participatory discourse taught in academia is increasingly resonating in commercial heritage domains. Commercial space also offers new avenues for innovation and an increased emphasis on meaningful and accessible work products and service outcomes. Indigenous and other Descendant communities are also increasingly exercising their own agency in heritage management domains. This paper explores this expanding environment and profiles some of the engaged practice innovations commercial heritage practitioners and community stewards are developing.
- William Wadsworth - University of Alberta
Geophysics and remote sensing technologies are commonly incorporated within the archaeologist’s toolkit. In practice, these surveys are typically implemented after or without community consultation, limiting the depth of knowledge achieved by these efforts. I will discuss why these techniques have increased in popularity within Canadian Archaeology, and how they might be used in community driven practice. Geophysical surveys from different regions and communities will be used to illustrate this point. Finally, I will briefly discuss the significance of incorporating these techniques into future heritage management strategies in light of a post-TRC archaeology and decolonization.
- Jeff Grieve - Department of Anthropology, University of Western Ontario
- Lisa Hodgetts - Department of Anthropology, University of Western Ontario
- Natasha Lyons - Ursus Heritage Consulting
Many Indigenous communities are mobilizing to document and share their traditional knowledge and cultural heritage. The pervasiveness of the internet, social media, and other mobile technologies have created new opportunities for Indigenous communities, archaeologists, heritage groups, and technologists to collaborate with and together on digital strategies and tools to address these objectives. Every Indigenous community has a unique history and world view, so the use of these digital approaches must be tailored to the needs of each case.
The Inuvialuit Living History project is a community archaeology project that brings together Inuvialuit knowledge holders, archaeologists, and other heritage specialists to create, document, and disseminate Inuvialuit traditional knowledge and cultural heritage in the digital realm. The Inuvialuit are the Inuit of the Western Arctic and their traditional knowledge is practiced through land-based activities such as hunting, fishing and berry picking. The spatial nature of these activities has good potential to be represented in an interactive Google Earth map in a way that uniquely aligns with Inuvialuit epistemology and worldviews. By incorporating photographs, videos and other digital representations of personalized stories and artifacts into specific traditional places on Google Earth, map users have the opportunity to virtually “experience” traditional knowledge in a geographically specific and highly contextualized way. This paper discusses the effectiveness, benefits, challenges, and implications of using a Google Earth map in this way for the documentation and intergenerational sharing of Inuvialuit traditional knowledge, archaeological history, and cultural heritage.
- Rebecca Bourgeois - University of Saskatchewan
The discipline of archaeology in Canada has transitioned into an era of community driven work as a step to decolonize the practice. Bioarchaeology, on the other hand, has largely become focused on international projects and has all but halted in Canada. Under the recent (2015) recommendations put forth by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, this paper proposes the Informed Behavioural Model by which bioarchaeology can re-enter Canada by assuming a consultant role and functioning as a tool for the mortuary management of at-risk sites and the preservation of Canadian stories. Drawing on theoretical approaches such as the biocultural model, behavioral archaeology, archaeologies of personhood, shared histories, and general social theory, the Informed Behavioural Model outlines a pragmatic approach to orienting and interpreting bioarchaeological data under a specific intention and a heightened focus on personhood. This model contends that a holistic, community driven approach to bioarchaeological research activates the expertise of communities to achieve meaning and impactful outcomes.
- Rae Fletcher - University of Victoria
- Katie McPherson - University of Victoria
- Katherine Cook - Université de Montréal
Our experiences of the world are multi-sensory, and yet our representations of landscapes of the past are so often one dimensional. Developments in technology, open source software, and media, paralleled by demands for more dynamic, accessible, and thought-provoking heritage programming, have created new opportunities for engaging with the past using all of our senses. How can we use sound to help to create, or recreate, memories? To engage with heritage sites? This paper will present narrative soundscapes created as part of a pop-up exhibition at the Royal BC Museum with the University of Victoria in 2017. Using sounds and temporality to create immersive experiences for public engagement, this project examined the role of changes in landscapes over time to bring to life three local archaeology sites. Our methods relevant to digital applications and public archaeology, as well as the challenges and impact of this project, will be examined to contribute to contemporary approaches to powerful storytelling in heritage and archaeology.
- Solène Mallet Gauthier, Université Laval
- Eli Blouin-Rondeau, Université Laval
- Allison Bain, Université Laval
Session Abstract
Un nombre important de sites archéologiques découverts lors de travaux de construction en contexte urbain sont associés à des occupations datant de la fin du XVIIIe siècle et du XIXe siècle. Souvent vus comme une obligation en vue d’un développement urbain éventuel plutôt que le centre d’intérêt de projets de recherche, la fouille et l’analyse de ce type de site constituent toutefois des éléments non-négligeables de la recherche archéologique canadienne actuelle. L’étude approfondie de sites archéologiques urbains datant de la fin du XVIIIe et du XIXe siècle, parfois sous-estimée, s’avère être une source importante d’informations sur le passé. Cette session se veut donc un tour d’horizon des recherches récentes réalisées sur des sites urbains de cette période au Canada, autant en contexte académique que professionnel.
/Many archaeological sites encountered in urban contexts during construction work date from the late 18th and 19th centuries. Often seen as an obligation related to future site development and not necessarily of interest for research projects, the excavation of these sites are a significant part of current Canadian archaeological practice. The in depth analyses of these sites dating from the late 18th and 19th centuries proves to be an important source of information about the recent past, that has been undervalued in some regions. This session aims to provide an overview of recent archaeological studies carried out on urban sites from this period throughout Canada, both in academic and professional contexts.
Presentations
- Marie-Claude Brien - Arkéos
- Marie-Geneviève Lavergne - Ville de Montréal
En 2017, l’emplacement présumé de la mission du fort Lorette (1696-1721) est menacé par un projet de développement immobilier. La Ville de Montréal et le ministère de la Culture et des Communications recommande alors un inventaire archéologique afin de statuer sur la présence et l’intégrité des contextes archéologiques anciens. Les résultats sont sans équivoque : des vestiges et des artéfacts rattachés à la mission autochtone sont toujours préservés sur le site. Ces découvertes mènent à l’imposition d’une réserve foncière par la ville de Montréal et, par le fait même, à la protection du patrimoine archéologique du terrain. En 2018, le site est officiellement classé par le MCC au moment où se déroule un inventaire complémentaire. Si cette nouvelle intervention permet de mieux appréhender le site, elle apporte également de nouvelles interrogations. La Ville travaille actuellement à identifier la meilleure façon de mettre en valeur le lieu pour le rendre accessible à la population.
- Katherine Cook - Université de Montréal
Laws protecting post-contact archaeological sites and heritage buildings vary across Canada, however their value in contributing to collective understandings and consciousness of the ongoing legacies of this period of conflict, oppression and trauma should not be underestimated. How do we connect with the tangible and intangible heritage from the 18thand 19th centuries to challenge the legacies of colonialism in our cities? This paper will present three case studies from British Columbia and Quebec using the historical archaeology of objects, monuments and buildings with digital applications. These projects sought to present new narratives of Canadian colonial history, challenging mainstream attitudes and encouraging historical and contemporary empathy, inclusion and equity. In particular, collaborative methodologies, creative media and public engagement in Canadian archaeology will be evaluated, including ongoing barriers, limitations and future directions.
- Melissa Labonté-Leclerc - Université Laval
La fouille de sites historique en milieu urbain est souvent réalisée dans des conditions difficiles et demande de nombreux efforts physiques et psychologiques. Cependant, tout cela est parfois récompensé par la découverte de latrines et de son contenu! La fouille de telle structure et son analyse permettent de jeter un nouveau regard sur la vie quotidienne des habitants. Dans cette présentation, il est question de démontrer l’importance d’une méthodologie adéquate du terrain au laboratoire dans l’étude de la culture matérielle afin de comprendre les processus de déposition et de raffiner la datation des contextes. La méthodologie employée et les résultats d’analyse des artefacts provenant de latrines datées de la première moitié du XIXe siècle à l’îlot des Palais (CeEt-030-56C) seront présentés.
- Rachel Archambault - Université Laval
Depuis 2017, le chantier-école en archéologie de l’Université Laval se déroule à Limoilou, sur le site Anderson. Ce site archéologique présente des occupations des XIXe et XXe siècles, période où ce secteur se transforme considérablement sous l’effet de l’étalement urbain et de l’industrialisation. Alors que les fouilles effectuées à l’été 2017 n’ont révélées qu’une culture matérielle modeste, les découvertes de 2018 ont été bien différentes. Les fouilles de l’été dernier se sont concentrées dans la partie ouest du site, dans l’arrière-cours de la demeure. L’opération 3A a mis au jour deux fosses d’aisances ainsi que deux fosses à déchets de la deuxième moitié du XIXe siècle, fournissant une collection exceptionnellement riche et unique pour ce secteur de la ville et pour cette période. La découverte d’une brosse à dent portant des initiales gravées à la main a d’ailleurs permis d’associer le contenu de la latrine principale à Charles Théodore Pitl et sa famille. Il fut consul d’Allemagne pour la région de Québec ainsi que marchand commissionnaire pour la Weston Hunt Company, de 1868 à 1897. Cette présentation portera sur la culture matérielle excavée qui fut associée aux Pitl, collection qui offre un portrait unique du quotidien d’une famille bourgeoise de Limoilou durant la deuxième moitié du XIXe siècle.
- Eli Blouin Rondeau - Université Laval
Using the study of material culture and historical documents, this project seeks to answer questions regarding the practices and standard of living of households of Quebec City’s lower town during the late nineteenth century. To this end, ceramics found in trash deposits linked to the occupation of a dwelling between 1875 and 1920 in a mostly industrial and diverse area of Quebec City, at the time, are being studied. Historical documents such as archive papers and censuses are also used to generate a realistic portrait of the families who lived there. The more specific aims of this project are twofold. The first objective is to determine if the households who produced this trash lived and consumed similarly to the inhabitants of the neighbouring St-Roch Ward. The second objective is to find out if the studied household’s practices matched the norms of the social, economic, and cultural groups to which they could have belonged. Preliminary ideas and results on these questions will be discussed during this presentation.
- Olivier Gratton - Université Laval
En fin 1804, le site de fondation de Montréal (BjFj-101) est officiellement acheté par le marchand écossais James Dunlop. Rapidement, un aménagement commercial est mis en place, où l’on retrouve un entrepôt, un hangar et une longue remise faisant office de tonnellerie. Jusqu’à la mort de Dunlop en 1815, le site devient l’un des nombreux maillons de son réseau commercial, qui s’étend de la métropole britannique au Canada en passant par les Antilles. Ce réseau, dont les principaux centres sont Montréal et Glasgow, résiste et prospère dans la succession de conflit prenant place entre 1793 et 1815, au point où Dunlop se considérait à la fin de sa vie comme l’homme le plus riche du Canada.
À l’intérieur de cette présentation, nous tenterons de documenter l’utilisation du site de fondation de Montréal par Dunlop ainsi que les mécanismes de son réseau commercial grâce aux données archéologiques et historiques. Cette analyse nous amènera à réfléchir non seulement sur le rôle du site à l’étude dans les affaires de Dunlop, mais aussi sur la place de Montréal au sein de l’Empire britannique au début du XIXe siècle.
- Marie-Annick Prévost - archéobotaniste consultante
Le XIXe siècle fut marqué par des développements scientifiques et techniques qui ont eu des conséquences importantes sur l’évolution des grandes villes nord-américaines, les habitudes alimentaires de ses habitants et leurs réseaux d’approvisionnement en fruits et légumes. Par exemple, l’urbanisation grandissante complique la gestion des déchets humains, l’expansion du réseau ferroviaire entraîne l’arrivée de fruits et légumes venant compétitionner avec les cultures maraîchères et fruitières locales et les progrès horticoles permettent désormais la culture de baies qui étaient autrefois cueillies à l’état sauvage. Une des caractéristiques de plusieurs sites archéologiques urbains datant de cette époque est la découverte de latrines, un contexte idéal pour la préservation des graines et des fruits. Les résultats de l’analyse archéobotanique de 20 latrines situées sur quatre sites montréalais (BjFj-185, BiFj-56, BiFj-67 et BiFj-75) seront présentés. Différents thèmes tels que l’utilisation des fines herbes et épices, l’adoption de la tomate, la culture du melon, le déclin de la groseille et la crise du blé seront abordés.
- Solène Mallet Gauthier - Université Laval
Archaeobotanical and archaeoentomological analyses were conducted on soil samples taken from an early 19th century privy found at the Intendant’s Palace site in Quebec City. Used together, these methods shed light on the daily lives and practices of the city’s inhabitants, during a period of great political, economic and social changes. In fact, more than 30 years after the arrival of the British in former New France, Quebec City saw an important increase of its population, the arrival of a large number of English-speaking immigrants and an accelerated development of the shipbuilding industry. Using the analysis of seed and insect remains, we argue that despite the implementation of new trade networks and culinary traditions, the French-Canadian foodways remained relatively unchanged. This research helps us understand the impacts of the first decades of the British rules over New France’s old capital and the daily lives of its inhabitants.
- Eric Tourigny - Newcastle University
Private, back-garden pet burials are commonly encountered while excavating urban assemblages dating to the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries in Canada. Often representing someone’s dearly departed pet, these remains are typically reported as present, catalogued, boxed and promptly forgotten. Using case studies from 19th-century Ontario, this paper demonstrates how the in-depth analysis of pet burials can be used to reconstruct the biographies of individual animals. The resulting data is then used to address important research questions investigating changing human-animal relationships in Canadian society such as the impact of the rising animal welfare movement on the treatment of animals and the changing roles of pets in everyday lives and in the afterlife.
- Phil Woodley
Session Abstract
The Middle Woodland is an interesting period in the Northeast, but one that seems to be a bit of a black hole for research. This session will explore how the Middle Woodland groups of the northeast were engaging with and integrating exotic and local materials within locally understood social networks. Towards this end, this session will explore everything from single sites, to exchange systems, materiality, or seasonal round. Also, how does this compare, either similarly or differently, to the Early Woodland and early Late Woodland periods. Essentially, let us know what you are thinking about the Middle Woodland period, or the earlier or later transition from Early Woodland to early Late Woodland and how this relates to the Middle Woodland period.
Presentations
- Phil Woodley
When Ontario Ministry of Transportation archaeologists excavated the Christie Site (AhHa-61), a large, undisturbed Middle Woodland site, on Highway 403 near Hamilton, Ontario in the early 1990’s, it seemed like a dream come true. Up until that time, most southern Ontario Middle Woodland sites that had been excavated were plough disturbed and multi-component. As well, most of the larger sites appeared to have been occupied repeatedly during the Middle Woodland period. These factors combined to make the interpretation of the Middle Woodland component of these sites challenging. Although there is evidence that Christie is multicomponent, it was located in a woodlot with minimal recent disturbance and contained what appeared to be a series of discrete Middle Woodland loci separated by areas of low artifact counts. It was initially thought that the excavation, analysis and interpretation of the discrete loci as separate occupations would help clarify the Middle Woodland period. However, the analysis so far is raising more questions than it is providing answers.
- Rob Pihl
When the compilation volume The Archaeology of Southern Ontario to A.D. 1650 volume was published nearly 30 years ago, three distinct Middle Woodland complexes were discussed in detail, but the authors of that article (myself included) provided a proviso that “…we expect a picture to emerge of a series of localized complexes extending across the southern part of the province, each only marginally different from its neighbours but more easily distinguishable from its more distant contemporaries”. We are apparently still wrestling with the notion of Middle Woodland archaeological cultures today, i.e., what constitutes Point Peninsula vs Saugeen, or Princess Point vs Sandbanks: this paper will examine this issue from the prospective of the Hogsback site (AjGv-3), a newly excavated site on the lower Credit River, and two nearby and related sites, Scott-O’Brien (AjGv-32) and Stavebank Road (AjGv-74). Results from detailed ceramic analyses of these sites document a process for studying and interpreting local and regional Middle Woodland sites across southern Ontario.
- Peter Timmins - Western University/TMHC
- Liam Browne - TMHC
In 2016 Timmins Martelle Heritage Consultants Inc., with assistance from Fisher Archaeological Consulting, carried out excavations on the plough-disturbed Gurney 3 site (AhHc-137) located on the Grand River near Paris, Ontario. Almost 500 square metres were excavated yielding an artifact collection that includes Late Archaic, Early Woodland and Middle Woodland materials. Interestingly, the lithic collection is dominated by Early Woodland Meadowood diagnostics, but the ceramic collection is mainly Middle Woodland, a pattern that may reflect the differential use of ceramics in the two periods. The ceramic analysis revealed a number of vessels with notched lip decoration and some probable examples of mortise and tenon coil breaks. These traits are relatively rare and their documentation contributes to our understanding of regional trends in Middle Woodland ceramics in southwestern Ontario.
- Lawrence Jackson - Northeastern Archaeological Associates Ltd.
- Josh Garrett - Northeastern Archaeological Associates Ltd.
- Daniel Smith - Northeastern Archaeological Associates Ltd.
In 2018, Curve Lake First Nation, in partnership with Northeastern Archaeological Associates, operated an archaeological training program for Michi Saagiig students on a small complex of Middle Woodland camps on the east side of White's Island, Rice Lake, Ontario. Test excavations under a research licence to Dr. Lawrence Jackson produced a robust sample of Middle Woodland vessel rims and associated features. This paper describes ceramics from six partially reconstructed vessels, some associated with features and radiocarbon dates, to begin building a picture of temporal context for Middle Woodland decorative traits. We accept the broad divisions of Point Peninsula culture in this region outlined by Curtis (2002) with earliest Trent phase followed by Rice Lake phase and ending with Sandbanks phase. We suggest some modifications to the time frame with Trent Phase, and pseudo-scallop shell dominant ceramics, beginning after the end of Meadowood. On Rice Lake, a mean calibrated age for four young Meadowood feature dates gives a mean calibrated age of 611 B.C. +- 242 at two sigma. New dates from White's Island confirm a shift to Rice Lake phase after 1 A.D. and Rice Lake Phase duration to perhaps 600 A.D. C14 dates on ceramics include a late Trent Phase PSS vessel at cal. 5 B.C. +- 87 and a Rice Lake Phase complex dentate vessel at cal. 365 A.D. +- 108.
- James Conolly - Trent University
A recent compilation of radiocarbon dates associated with Middle Woodland components in Ontario has revealed a number of challenges with regards to dating estimates. The combination of old wood, a suspected reservoir effect on ceramic residues, plus the challenge of multi-component sites has, I propose, led to an overestimation of the age of Middle Woodland complexes in Ontario. In this paper I present and review the radiocarbon record associated with Middle Woodland sites, illustrate the challenges and suspected sources of error, and provide a revision to age estimates that improve understanding of the timing of Middle Woodland cultural complexes and their temporal relationship to earlier and later periods.
- Jeff Seibert - Ontario Ministry of Transportation / TUARC
Recent advances in the archaeological application of architectural energetics (ie detailed estimates of labour for the construction of architecture) from a number of different temporal periods and cultural contexts have resulted in a number of insights into both the amount and nature of labour required to construct ancient buildings and earthworks and the societies that constructed these pieces of architecture. This paper seeks to examine the feasibility of applying these techniques to Middle Woodland earthen architecture (mounds) from Ontario and nearby areas (particularly New York State and Minnesota) and seeks to draw some initial insights into the amount of labour that was required to construct these mounds and what this tells us about the societies that created them. This method is being applied as a chaine operatoire that seeks to provide both labour estimates but also yield insights into social organization of the societies that built the mounds through a step by step analysis of the labour processes involved in construction and the procurement of materials. In addition, these insights will be contextualized through comparisons to the better understood and roughly contemporary mounds of Ohio, where energetics studies have been conducted.
- Christopher Watts - University of Waterloo
Archaeological investigations at the Cayuga Bridge site (AfGx-1), carried out in 2011 by New Directions Archaeology (now part of Archaeological Research Associates), revealed a substantial collection of more than 35,000 ceramic artifacts which may be assigned to the Early Late Woodland Princess Point Complex, ca. CE 500-1000. Of these artifacts, 322 were identified as vessels and analyzed by the author, revealing a wealth of new information related to Princess Point pottery manufacture and design regimes. As well, by virtue of its size and manner of recovery, this sample provides an exciting opportunity to revisit and assess earlier understandings of Early Late Woodland pottery design trends in southern Ontario.
- Christian Gates St-Pierre - Université de Montréal
The Middle Woodland was long perceived as a bland period of transition between the more sophisticated cultural developments of the Early and Late Woodland periods. However, research conducted during the past 20 years have highlighted the Middle Woodland origins of some of the most salient features of the Woodland cultures in the Northeast. This paper will explain how this lead to a reinterpretation of the Middle Woodland period in the Quebec portion of the St. Lawrence River valley. It will also show how the Middle Woodland populations of this area were as well connected with regional and interregional groups then those who lived there before and after.
- William Fitzgerald
- Linda Sõber - SAAR Environmental
- Doran Ritchie - Saugeen Ojibway Nation Environmental Office
The discovery of Middle Woodland “Saugeen complex” sites in the Greater Bruce Peninsula Area of southwestern Ontario by avocational archaeologists in the mid-1930s led to a frenzy of research-oriented Middle Woodland archaeology that ground to a halt in the early-1970s. In hibernation for nearly a half century, recent inadvertent Middle Woodland encounters have sparked a reawakening. Accepting that the GBPA landscape [eg., shorelines and drainage systems] and ecology [i.e., food resource locations and seasonal availabilities] have remained largely unchanged since Middle Woodland times, an interdisciplinary approach will hopefully focus brighter light on more than a millennium of seasonal movements of “Saugeen complex” groups across the GBPA and their interactions further afield.
- Matthew Betts
Presentations
- Diana Lynne Hansen - Trent University
- Olivia Campsall - Trent University
- Daniel Josef LaPierre - Trent University
The Scott Site (BcGk-1) was excavated in 1966 as a Trent University archaeological field school under the supervision of Dr. Romas Vastokas. It is an important unpublished multi-component site in the Rice Lake area of Ontario, a region with many Archaic and Middle Woodland sites, but very few that have been comprehensively analysed or published. Legacy collections such as this are important sources of information and they offer the opportunity for analysis without further disruption to the archaeological record. The Scott Site collection is a case study illustrating the importance of sustainable archaeology and the ethical dissemination of archaeological data. Despite being stored for 53 years, this assemblage makes a significant contribution to knowledge about the cultural history of the Rice Lake region. This presentation reviews the history of the excavation, and outlines the characteristics of the lithic, ceramic and faunal assemblages.
- Dagmara Zawadzka - Université du Québec à Montréal
Rock art is an extricable element of Indigenous cultural landscapes. The images, the place, the surrounding landscape, as well as the activities and the stories associated with these places all had and continue to have a bearing on how rock art is experienced and understood. Canada is home to over 3000 rock art sites and this heritage faces many challenges when it comes to its conservation, management and promotion in situ and ex situ. While natural (e.g. erosion) and anthropic (e.g. vandalism) factors pose threats to rock art sites, their conservation, management and promotion do not always take into account the complex nature of this phenomenon and rare are places where rock art is not presented to the public as a simple sacred vestige of the past. By drawing on examples from especially Ontario as well as by discussing the new virtual exhibit on Canadian rock art - “Images on Stone” (https://imagesdanslapierre.mcq.org/en/) - this paper will examine how rock art in Canada is safeguarded and promoted and what steps are taken to ensure a better understanding of this heritage at risk.
- Jack Brink - Royal Alberta Museum
Vertical Series (VS) rock art is a rare and puzzling tradition that is characterized by repeated columns and rows of non-representational geometric and abstract symbols. The meaning of the symbols is almost entirely unknown. The tradition is known from only two dozen sites on the entire Great Plains and four sites in Alberta. Two of the Alberta sites were only discovered in the past several years thanks to technological advances that permit enhancement of very faint red colour pigment. This paper reviews the four Alberta VS rock art sites, looking at differences and commonalities. Site condition is discussed and it is noted that red pigment at all VS sites is very faint. In contrast, many red pictographs at other Alberta sites remain much more vibrant in colour. A possible explanation for the faded VS rock art is that it is of considerable age. Although no sites have been absolutely dated, new evidence from Montana suggests that VS sites in Alberta could be several thousand years old. Clearly, VS rock art is being lost to weathering. The purpose and meaning of VS rock art remains enigmatic, but a symbolic system of communication - as this art surely was - remains one of the closest developments in Precontact North America to a written "language".
- William Perry - Parks Canada
Waterton Lakes National Park is part of a rich cultural landscape that stretches back around ten thousand years within the traditional territories of the Blackfoot Nation. The Kenow Wildfire of 2017 has presented a unique opportunity for archaeological research in the Park. The wildfire cleared out the ground cover, allowing exceptional visibility of the land surface.
Parks Canada has put together a team of archaeologists for a 5-year project to record and research the new finds that come to light. Initial site survey results have uncovered an unprecedented degree of archaeological visibility focussed on the last 1000 years. This paper also highlights archaeological research and engagement with the surrounding indigenous nations, communities, local landowners and interested public.
Excavation and core sampling of select archaeological sites are planned for the coming field season that afford potential to report on the complete regional human history time frame within the park with a focus on environmental/climate change and past fire history research
- Eva Brooke - Simon Fraser University
Thousands of archaeological and historical heritage sites in British Columbia are potentially threatened by climate change. Different approaches to managing impacts to protected heritage sites in reaction to climate changes have been developed and will continue to evolve. This presentation will provide a general outline of the impacts observed at heritage sites in British Columbia and management strategies applied. To illustrate this I examine two case studies. The first is the mountain pine beetle infestation that began in the 1990’s and the second is the 2017/2018 wildfires. Using the case studies I discuss observed challenges faced by archaeologists and heritage managers in British Columbia regarding sites vulnerable to climate change and will provide a list of potential recommendations to assist in the management of future impacts.
- Adolf Fridriksson - Fornleifastofnun Íslands / Institute of Archaeology - Iceland
- Lynda Gullason - Carleton University
Archaeological sites in the eastern High Arctic are being impacted by coastal erosion, high winds and, in some cases, by human interference and neglect. If culturally-significant endangered sites are not identified and prioritized, and either protected or excavated, there is real risk of losing Nunavut's archaeological heritage to these factors. Three sites are discussed. Morin Point is a Thule site in Dundas Harbour (Devon Island) at threat of loss due to active coastal erosion. A rescue archaeology project for the site is in development. Two historic sites, Northumberland House on Beechey Island and the Dundas Harbour RCMP Post, are in very poor condition. Virtually nothing remains of Northumberland House, originally erected in 1852-1853 by the British Navy for members of the missing Franklin Expedition and other search expeditions. Wave or ice action, storm surges, frost-crack formation and human activity are destroying the site. At the RCMP Post, high winds completely overturned one building last year. The buildings were stabilized with permission from the Nunavut Territorial Archaeologist and the assistance of a carpentry crew from an expedition cruise company. However, concerned people will attempt to repair archaeological and historic sites that are degrading when they do not see evidence that government authorities are taking matters in hand. It is likely that they will use inappropriate techniques and materials to do so. Policy development on site visit protocol; the practice of memorializing visits; site stabilization and restoration; and ad hoc site restoration is recommended.
- Christian Koch Madsen - Greenland National Museum & Archives
- Hans Harmsen - Greenland National Museum & Archives
Greenland is famous for its examples of well-preserved archaeology spanning the country’s entire history, for instance the of hair from a man from the Saqqaq culture yielding the first whole human genome from prehistory, the “Farm Beneath the Sand” that preserved the perfectly permafrozen remains of an entire medieval Norse farm, the Qilaqitsoq mummies from the Thule culture etc. However, global climate change is now impacting the Arctic at an unforeseen rate, presenting heritage managers with a new set of challenges in an already challenging setting. In a response to observations and warnings by locals, archaeologists, and heritage managers in Greenland and all over the Arctic, Greenland National Museum & Archives have since 2012 participated in projects aimed at determining the nature, extent, and speed of climate related threats to Greenland’s cultural heritage and, if possible, to identify mitigating action. The initial findings suggest that warming, thawing of permafrost, erosion, increased precipitation, and melting glaciers and snow patches, poses serious threats, but also that the threat level is highly variable across regional environments: in some areas the damage appears done, in others, little has changed. New threats identified include vegetation increase and washing out of soils. Economic constrains, remoteness, extent of the threats, and extreme logistic challenges largely prevent mitigating action. The best course forward now appears building local heritage management capacity and applying a systematic site management, value and risk assessment protocol.
- Véronique Forbes - Memorial University of New Foundland
- Paul Ledger - Memorial University of New Foundland
Presentations
- Deirdre Elliott - Memorial University of Newfoundland
- Nicolai Bronikowski - Memorial University of Newfoundland
- Heather Andres - Memorial University of Newfoundland
Recent research concerning the Inuit past has hinted at the extent of Inuit mobility and of the importance of long-distance travel in creating and maintaining economies along extended social networks. While studies of past mobility are currently a hot topic in archaeology, these concepts have not yet been widely applied to the past lifeways of the Labrador Inuit. The initial Inuit colonisation of the eastern Arctic, from Alaska to Baffin Island, Ellesmere Island, and Greenland has been a subject of debate among archaeologists for a century, but continued travel between these places and Ungava and Labrador has received comparatively little attention. This problem is especially pertinent to a period in time called the Communal House Phase. This was a period between the mid-17th century and into the 19th century during which Inuit in Labrador and parts of Greenland adopted large, communal living arrangements. The drivers of this change have not been identified confidently, despite decades of separate study in Labrador and in Greenland. In this paper we contextualise recent human mobility-related data leading up to and during this period of social change from Labrador, adjacent Ungava, Baffin Island, and Greenland with published past climate reconstructions as well as simulated climate results from the Climate Modelling Intercomparison Project (CMIP) 5. In doing so, we explore the possibilities of travel between land masses after initial colonisation, to better understand the extent and nature of Inuit socio-economic networks in the past.
- Ana Belen Galan Lopez - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS).-Université de Montreal (UdeM)
- Ariane Burke - Université de Montreal
- Sandrine Costamagno - Université de Toulouse Jean Jaurès - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
Reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) was one of the most important prey species for human populations in Western and Central Europe during much of the Palaeolithic period, notably during the Glacial periods(Costamagno et al. 2015) and many studies have focused on the role of reindeer in Upper Palaeolithic, particularly during the Magdalenian(17,000-12,000 years ago). Modern ethological data indicate that reindeer herds adopt different mobility strategies that correlate with habitat type and topography. Mobility patterns of prehistoric reindeer, therefore, should be predictable since palaeoenvironmental reconstructions allow us to identify whether or not they lived in more open or more wooded environments.
An animal´s habitat and pattern of mobility hypothetically affect bone density and limb bone morphology, as has been demonstrated in several large vertebrate species(DeGusta and Vrba, 2003; Bignon et al. 2005).Our project tries to identify the impact of habitat type and mobility on bone density and morphology of reindeer living in different habitats using Computer Tomography(CT), a non-invasive technique, and geometric morphometrics methods(GMM).
Once the relationship between habitat, mobility and bone structure has been quantified, the information collected will be applied to faunal assemblages from Upper Palaeolithic archaeological sites in Southwestern France. Thus, this project proposes an actualistic approach that will allow us to reconstruct migratory patterns of Palaeolithic reindeer and how they affected human hunting strategies and socioeconomic decisions, which will enable us to better understand their behaviour and identify the precise role of reindeer in their economy.First preliminary results will be presented at CAA meeting.
- Véronique Forbes - Memorial University of Newfoundland
- Jean-Bernard Huchet - UMR 5199 PACEA, Université de Bordeaux
- Rick Knecht - University of Aberdeen
This paper presents the results of a pilot study that incorporates archaeoentomology in the investigation of a scene of indigenous conflict. At Nunalleq, a pre-contact Yup’ik site in southwestern Alaska, excavations revealed the remains of a large sod village that was abandoned following an attack. The final occupation layers are overlain by charred roof sods strewn with projectile points and shafts and associated with these deposits are the remains of some of the conflict victims. Although Yup’ik oral history contains numerous tales and legends associated with a period of intense violence, referred to as the ‘Bow-and-Arrow-Wars’, Nunalleq is the only site where evidence of this conflict has been extensively excavated. Archaeoenvironmental samples collected from archaeological layers contemporary with the attack produced hundreds of human and dog lice, fleas, as well as blowfly puparia. In an attempt to reconstruct the timing (seasonality), spatiality and sequence of events that characterised the attack on Nunalleq, we integrate the results of archaeoentomological analyses with other bioarchaeological (e.g. human hair, fur, coprolites) and artefactual (projectile points, pieces of clothing) data. Our results demonstrate how, by incorporating innovative methods in archaeological investigations of past violence, it is possible to reconstruct detailed, engaging and historically accurate narratives of past conflict based on physical evidence.
- Benjamin Albouy - Département d'Anthropologie, Université de Montréal
- Jean-Baptiste Mallye - UMR 5199 - Laboratoire Pacea, Université de Bordeaux
- Stéphane Madelaine - Musée National de Préhistoire, Les Eyzies-de-Tayac
- Bruno Maureille - UMR 5199 - Laboratoire Pacea, Université de Bordeaux
- Priscilla Bayle - UMR 5199 - Laboratoire Pacea, Université de Bordeaux
Sirogne is a small cave located in the Alzou Valley in Rocamadour, Lot, Southwest of France. Attention was focused on the site in 2011 after the discovery of a Neanderthal mandible by a speleologist. Investigations, carried out since 2013, have produced numerous Neanderthal remains (dental, osteo-dental and infra-cranial), associated with a very large amount of faunal remains, and some lithic artefacts, potentially dated to the marine isotopic stage 6 (c. 191 000 - 130 000 years before present), prior to the last Interglacial. However, the initial deposits quickly revealed to be severely disturbed by biotic processes and ancient excavations. The aim of this study was to assess the informative potential of ubiquitous bone material in order to comprehend the formation of the site and more globally to complete our understanding of the early phases of the Middle Palaeolithic of the region, scarcely documented from an archaeological and palaeoanthropological point of view. A threefold analysis, combining methods in paleontology, taphonomy and zooarchaeology, was therefore conducted on a sample of about 3000 faunal remains. Even if the history of the site appears complex, it has been possible to already bring out several key components that contributed to the accumulation of bone material. Indeed, we have evidenced that the site served as a cave den for a few generations of cave bears, in particular for females and their offspring. It was also a settlement for prehistoric people and their subsistence activities, like butchery or bone industry.
- J. Victor Owen - Dept. of Geology, Saint Mary's University, Halifax
- Jacob Hanley - Dept. of Geology, Saint Mary's University, Halifax
- Joseph Petrus - Dept. of Earth Sciences, Laurentian University, Sudbury
Discoloured lead-rich glazes on phosphatic porcelain sherds from the sites of the Bartlam (Cain Hoy, SC),Bonnin & Morris (Philadelphia, PA) and Chelsea (London, UK) factory sites record the effects of alteration after two centuries of burial. The alteration presents as a dark brown to black scale on most samples. Backscattered-electron images of this material show the development of Liesegang rings. Compared with their fresh counterparts, the altered glazes are variably but in some instances massively ( >90%) depleted in SiO2 and alkalis, and enriched in P2O5, CaO, PbO, and various trace elements, notably V. Some of the Bonnin & Morris samples have had bone ash components – especially CaO - leached from the now-porous phosphatic paste, so their CaO/P2O5 (molecular proportions) ratios (~2) are much lower than the relatively fresh Bonnin & Morris samples (3.1-3.5). The ceramic body is not, however the source of phosphate enriched in the altered glazes because phosphate enrichment characterizes glaze alteration even where there is no evidence of bone ash dissolution. Glaze alteration is interpreted in terms of leaching (de-alkalization) and silica-network dissolution in the presence of subsurface alkaline aqueous fluids (pH >9).
- Paul M. Ledger - Memorial University of Newfoundland
- Véronique Forbes - Memorial University of Newfoundland
Arctic archaeology suffers from a series of unfortunate conjunctures that make accurate and reliable dating of the prehistory of circumpolar North America problematic. Through the late-prehistoric Yup’ik site of Nunalleq, this paper explores a novel approach to dating archaeological sites in the circumpolar north. Presenting data from a peat sequence associated with the archaeological site, we examine if a combination of palaeoenvironmental analyses, radiocarbon dating and Bayesian modelling can generate high-resolution chronologies for archaeological sites. The results indicate that archaeological events are resolvable in the palaeoenvironmental record and that the timing of such events illustrate a striking concordance with those derived from archaeological data. This paper highlights and recommends how palaeoenvironmental analyses can be deployed towards improving the chronologies of Inuit and pre-Inuit archaeology.
- Tyler Murchie - McMaster University
Ancient environmental DNA (eDNA) preserved in disseminated materials (e.g. sediments, soils, ice, and palaeofaeces) has been shown to be a viable target for reconstructing a wide taxonomic breadth of ancient ecosystems in diverse depositional contexts. This is most remarkably true even in the total absence of surviving primary tissues from those organisms. Canadian archaeological sites are, on average, well suited to analyses of this kind with low mean annual temperatures facilitating ancient DNA preservation—being contingent, of course, on microclimatic conditions in the burial environment such as water/oxygen content, pH, and microbial communities. Ecologists are increasingly utilizing eDNA to monitor shifting contemporary ecosystems to mitigate the need for logistically burdensome ground surveys. For archaeologists, the systematic collection of environmental samples from sites at risk or from those being excavated has the potential to substantially increase our taxonomic resolution of ancient human ecosystems. However, these ancient biomolecules are not themselves impervious to degradation from shifting environments. Permafrost is particularly vulnerable in the Canadian north not only from thaw slump placing infrastructure and heritage sites at risk, but also for degrading the Quaternary molecular archives of exceptionally well-preserved ancient DNA therein. Here, I discuss how the collection of environmental samples for future analyses with ancient DNA techniques may help mitigate some degree of the information loss expected from ‘heritage at risk’ sites. As well as discussing a forthcoming lake sediment investigation as an example of the increasing analytic power of sedimentary ancient DNA methods.
- Jessica Hider - McMaster University
ancient DNA (aDNA) pathogen research provides a unique line of evidence to study
infectious disease in the past. This method can be used to complement historical and
paleopathological evidence of disease, by supporting the presence of known or suspected
pathogens (e.g. Yersinia pestis, Mycobacterium tuberculosis). aDNA research also allows us to
explore questions concerning disease in the past that were previously considered unfeasible due
to skeletal and historical ambiguities. This includes identifying pathogens when skeletal
indicators are non-specific (e.g. Plasmodium falciparum) and uncovering information about
pathogen evolution and geographic spread (e.g. leprosy in Medieval Europe). While aDNA
methods have significantly contributed to our understanding of disease in the past, the impact
that sample choice (tissue type) has on pathogen isolation is poorly understood. It is possible that
poor sample choice may contribute to false negative results for pathogens, which complicates the corroboration of pathogen identification with skeletal and historical evidence. Inter-tissue DNA
variation has only been minimally explored; we present a novel examination of such variations
using an example of Brucella melitensis DNA isolation. We found substantial differences in B.
melitensis isolation in the tissues sampled and most of the DNA counts were too low for B. melitensis identification. In order to preserve archaeological collections and their associated cultural heritage while also exploring infectious disease in the past, researchers need to better understand the processes impacting successful pathogen isolation. This will aid in minimizing ineffective destructive sampling in the search for elusive pathogen DNA.
- Kenneth Holyoke, Doctoral Student, University of Toronto
- Gabriel Hrynick, Assistant Professor, University of New Brunswick
Session Abstract
Northern New England and the Atlantic Provinces of Canada (loosely defined here as the Far Northeast) have seen recent archaeological syntheses of the Palaeoindian and Archaic periods, but not yet such a consideration of the last ca. 3000 years. In the Eastern Woodlands broadly, unified taxonomic notions of “Woodland” have drawn increasing scrutiny as attributes such as horticulture, village formation, mortuary ceremonialism, and various technologies now appear to have developed less synchronously than once thought, and archaeologists have increasingly illuminated sub-regional and diachronic variability. The Far Northeast deserves particular attention because it has long occupied a unique—if at times, marginal—position in Woodland discourse, starkly signaled by taxonomic dissimilarity; but how different is the Ceramic/Maritime Woodland period, Recent Indian period, or Woodland period in the Far Northeast in terms of archaeological history than elsewhere in the Northeast? And how much sub-regional and diachronic variability was there in the most recent period of prehistory in the Far Northeast? This session includes both topical and regional papers that consider questions of culture change in the Far Northeast, especially studies that are situated within these broader concerns.
Presentations
- Corey Hutchings - Independent
- Fred Schwarz
Until recently the Newfoundland and Labrador Precontact period was marked as unique in the Atlantic region with its near absence of pre-contact ceramics. This lack of ceramics has had far reaching implications throughout the province’s cultural history leading to discontinuity in names between similar culture groups inside and outside the province. Despite a number of ceramic fragments recovered from sites including Kamarsuk, Red Bay and a sizable collection of decorated ceramics from the Gould Site from the Island portion of the province a lack of a ceramic period was still generally accepted. Of the many insights gained from excavations associated with the construction of a hydroelectric dam for the Lower Churchill Falls project is a new understanding of the place of pre-contact ceramics in the province’s past. Of 46 excavated sites, nine returned some number of sherds, doubling the total number of sites province-wide with pre-contact ceramics. Among these, Tshiashkunish 2 was the largest pre-contact site recovered in the course of the project. From this site, Locus D produced over 1000 fragments of Aboriginal pottery. Most of these pieces were found in a central pit and hardly seem to have been fired at all. This feature and the underfired fragments suggest that people were making this pottery locally in the Churchill Valley. These discoveries in the Churchill Valley along with other recent finds in Labrador not only invalidate the lack of a ceramic period but hint at a greater continuity between Labrador and the Maritime Provinces than previously thought.
- Marie-Eve Morissette
Le territoire dont dispose actuellement la Première Nation Malécite de Viger, est un petit lot de 0,9 hectares à Cacouna et la réserve de Whitworth, de 169 hectares. Ce territoire représente un très petit pourcentage de la superficie de leur territoire ancestrale et n’a pas permis une installation permanente de la nation. Cette nation vit toujours en diaspora ce qui lui confère tout un lot de défis touchant notamment l’utilisation et l’occupation de son territoire. Ainsi, les Malécites de Viger, qui se nomment eux-mêmes « Wolastoqey », s’intéressent grandement à la documentation du « Wolastokuk», leur territoire ancestral, et travaille présentement sur une vaste étude de potentiel archéologique de celui-ci. Dans le but de réaliser des travaux d’aménagement et de mise en valeur de leur territoire sur leur réserve de Whitworth, un inventaire archéologique y a été réalisé à l’automne 2018, à la demande de la nation. L’inventaire visait à confirmer ou infirmer le potentiel tout en contribuant à combler le vide dans la documentation concernant la présence et les schèmes d’établissements des Wolastoqey avant, pendant et après la colonisation euro-canadienne ainsi que sur l’occupation de la réserve à la période historique. L’intervention à Whitworth a permis d’accéder à de nouvelles informations et trois sondages positifs ont mené à la déclaration d’un nouveau site. De plus, la documentation de cet espace permet d’affirmer une présence sur un territoire significatif pour les Wolastoqey.
- Geneviève Treyvaud - GCNWA et INRS-ETE
L’arrivée des Européens au 16e siècle, les guerres territoriales du 17e et 18e siècles, la colonisation et la privatisation rapide du territoire w8banaki ont créé un impact sur l’acquisition des ressources naturelles comme le frêne, les coquillages et l’esturgeon et la pérennité des savoirs traditionnels. Cette communication présente l’avancée de la recherche archéologique sur le Ndakinna en prenant l’exemple de trois sites archéologiques : Lachapelle, Fort Abénakis (mission d’Odanak) et Durham. Le mobilier archéologique issu des campagnes de fouilles témoigne de l’impact de la colonisation et de l’aménagement du territoire.
- Katherine Patton - University of Toronto
- Susan Blair - University of New Brunswick
In this paper, we present preliminary results of a multi-site study of invertebrate remains collected from archaeological shell midden sites in Passamaquoddy Bay, homeland of the Peskotomuhkati. Using data from published and unpublished sources, we explore diversity in shellfishing practices through space (site location) and time (from the Early Maritime Woodland through the post-European-contact period). Looking at shellfishing practices through a household lens, we consider what variability in shellfish taxa and abundance might reveal about the timing and duration of settlement in particular locations on the landscape.
- Cora Woolsey - University of New Brunswick
Ceramics have changed throughout the Woodland Period as the priorities and allegiances of potters have changed. Region-wide pottery styles—stretching from as far north and east as Labrador and Nova Scotia to as far west and south as the American Bottom—affirm that ideas, and potentially people, travelled vast distances and maintained connections cross-culturally. These styles have been the subject of much research and sequence-building, but the reasons for changes through time have remained relatively unexplored. Because ceramics are closely tied with the domestic sphere and with subsistence activities, they are sensitive to changes in the broader social realm, making them an excellent source of information about group dynamics and women in particular. The aim of this paper is to synthesize ceramic data from several large sites in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia to 1) characterize the changes that occurred through time and 2) explain these changes as part of larger social dynamics. One important source of information about social dynamics comes from the distribution of ceramics through time, with very few ceramics surviving from the Early Woodland, then large numbers from the Middle Woodland, and an apparent decline in numbers during the Late Woodland. Another important source of information comes from changing manufacturing processes, indicating changing priorities through time. Looked at from this perspective, ceramics only became important to subsistence during the Middle Woodland Period, and probably shifted to a sacred role during the Late Woodland.
- Gabriel Hrynick - University of New Brunswick
- Matthew Betts - Canadian Museum of History
In many hunter gatherer societies, gender is an essential way in which the social and spiritual world is structured. Wabanaki language, ethnohistory, oral tradition, and archaeology all attest to gender as a crucial yet malleable way that ancestral Wabanaki made their place within and interacted with the world around them. Close scrutiny of gender in the Woodland period, we argue, helps to illuminate how relationships were made among people, nature, and the cosmos. Changing and reifying these relationships offered ways for people to adapt to social and environmental change. In this paper, we consider Woodland period gender at scales ranging from single artifacts to local landscapes to track the ways that that ancestral Wabanaki made their homes and histories in the Atlantic Northeast.
- Donald Holly - Eastern Illinois University
- Christopher Wolff - SUNY Albany
- Stephen Hull - Provincial Archaeology Office, Government of Newfoundland and Labrador
The transition between the end of the Archaic and the so called Intermediate Indian Period in the Eastern Subarctic of North America was marked by significant changes in just about all dimensions of life—technology, raw material use, exchange networks, social organization, architecture, burial customs, settlement patterns, and subsistence strategies—for First Nations peoples. These changes, coinciding with an apparent reduction of site numbers and contraction in site distribution, suggest that this transition was less a strategic reorganization and more of what might better be understood as a demographic collapse and cultural crisis.
- Stephen Loring - Arctic Studies Center, Smithsonian Institution
- Anthony Jenkinson - Tshikapisk Foundation, Sheshatshiu, Labrador
Caribou have always figured significantly (and intimately) in the lives of Innu. For almost twenty years now the Smithsonian’s Arctic Studies Center has partnered with Tshikapisk (an Innu experiential education initiative) to explore Innu history and culture in and about Kamestastin (Lake Mistastin, a meteorite-impact lake in the interior of northern Labrador). The Tshikapisk collaborative has documented over 260 Innu sites spanning the full range of occupations from the time of the disappearance of glacial ice, about 7000 years ago, to the present day. This presentation discusses the archaeological evidence for the last thousand years of Innu tenure in Nitassinan and it’s implications for models of caribou subsistence strategies, group mobility and reverence for the Animal Masters.
Presentations
- Laurence Ferland - Université Laval - CEN
- James Woollett - Unviersité Laval - CEN
- Najat Bhiry - Université Laval - CEN
The eye is captured by pretty, shiny, or unusual things. For archaeologists, what is expected, what fits a well-established narrative or possesses the characteristics of a well-known type normally has an uncanny way to be more obvious and pleasing to the mind. And then there is the rest: that bulk of sherds, flakes and slags constituting a large percentage of collections. Boxes of typeless artefacts are usually stored without further thought because ‘typeless’ is the annoying, undefined category. There is a story to the bulk finds, though, a story that often has more to do with matter than form, and with space more than time. It is a story that often emerges on larger scales and tells of the people’s relationship with matter and with the landscape in ways that rarely command archaeologists’ eyes, because the bulk can hardly be treated like things. In the context of the Bulgarian chalcolithic tell of Petko Karavelovo, the bulk enjoins archaeologists to move beyond typology and the typelessness of objects while bringing up the question about how can we begin to fix our gaze on matter that is not only typeless, but approaching a thing-less state as well?
- Eric Guiry - Trent University
- Trevor Orchard - University of Toronto Mississauga
At the time of European settlement one in four birds in North America was a passenger pigeon (Ectopistes migratorius) and a passing flock of them could block out the sun for hours. By 1914 the species was extinct. The rapid and early decline of the species meant that relatively little about their ecology was scientifically documented. It is likely, however, that passenger pigeons played an important role in transporting and regulating nutrient flows on a continental scale. For this reason, there is considerable ecological interest in understanding their dietary behaviour. In this study, we use stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analyses of archaeological passenger pigeon bone collagen to assess the extent to which the species: 1) exhibited dietary flexibility, and 2) relied on subsidies from pre-contact agriculture. Results show that the foraging ecology of passenger pigeons was highly conservative but that some individuals were effectively exploiting Iroquoian maize gardens. These data have implications for anticipating possible ecological impacts of ongoing “de-extinction” efforts aimed at reviving the species.
- Ivan Carlson - Memorial University of Newfoundland
In the last few decades, environmental archaeologists have begun to challenge traditional views of hunter-gatherers as living in harmony with the natural world. Humans exist as dynamic agents within environmental systems, whose lifeways have influenced landscape change throughout time in ways that are observable in the paleoecological record. This is particularly true in Arctic and sub-Arctic regions where ecosystems have been shown to recover slowly, if at all, from anthropogenic disturbance. My thesis proposes to illustrate the effectiveness of archaeoentomological methods in observing the impacts Inuit had in these environments through examining settlements as sites of significant ecological disturbance. Through the examination of beetle remains from peat profiles in the vicinity of archaeological sites, I will test whether an ecological “footprint” for Inuit activities can be recognized in the archaeoentomological record, while also documenting ecological changes associated with specific resources and activities. Additionally, I plan to integrate insect subfossil data with other high-resolution archaeo-environmental analyses and radiocarbon dating, with the overall goal of contributing towards the establishment of a chronology for the Inuit occupation of specific sites in the area of Okak in Northern Labrador.
- Chelsea Colwell-Pasch - Colbr Consulting, Inc
- Brent Suttie - Archaeological Services Branch, Government of New Brunswick
- Vanessa Sullivan - Colbr Consulting, Inc
Standardized, or systematic, sub-surface testing for Archaeological Impact Assessments (AIAs) has been common practice in CRM methodology since the 1970s, when an increase in land development projects occurred throughout North America. Traditionally, test pits are hand dug with shovels and processed with bipedal screens; however, innovations out of an industry partnership between Colbr Consulting Inc. and the Government of New Brunswick have seen this methodological standard take massive leaps forward in utility, efficiency, accuracy and preference by developers.
Enhanced testing, or mechanical sub-surface testing, methods for AIAs increases many aspects of archaeological survey, including: the number of areas suitable for testing, the depth to which systematic testing can occur, and testing efficacy in wet sites. Furthermore, it replaces monitoring in many cases, reduces the time required to test large scale projects, and reduces technician attrition and fatigue. In addition, it increases the amount of site being sampled as well as the confidence interval, and increases artifact recovery rates per test pit. Lastly, it ensures replicability in every test pit excavated. Mechanical testing for AIAs should be considered an ‘Enhanced Testing’ method as it is more efficient, more evolved, more economical and just as ethical as traditional shovel testing.
- James Woollett - Université Laval, Centré d'études nordiques
- Najat Bhiry - Université Laval, Centré d'études nordiques
- Matthieu Thivet - Université Franche-Comté, Besançon. France
Diverse factors such as isostatic rebound, cold and damp climatic conditions and permafrost have fostered exceptional preservation conditions for whole sites and for organic remains in the Nain region of Nunatsiavut. Current climate change processes impinge on these conditions however and the lack of diachronic studies of contemporary site taphonomy hinders assessment of the nature, scale and speed of their impacts. Long-term research projects focused on specific sites can provide a means to grapple with the problem. This presentation reviews site taphonomy data compiled since 2000 by archaeological field projects in the Dog Island region of Nunatsiavut. Survey, excavation and soil coring records, paleoenvironmental surveys and photographic documentation are used to identify current threats to archaeological sites and landscapes. Sea level rise and coastal erosion comprise a major risk factor. This study suggests that even more dangerous factors may include the loss of permafrost patches associated with peat and anthropogenic soils, the subsequent erosion of the soil column and the shrubbification of peat and tundra environments where well-preserved sites are found. A proposed programme of remote sensing, site assessment and instrumentation and mapping provides a set of tools for monitoring and measuring the scale of these threats in the region, in the immediate future.
- Emma Lewis-Sing - Memorial University of Newfoundland
- Julia Brenan - Memorial University of Newfoundland
- Oscar Moro Abadía - Memorial University of Newfoundland
Contemporary global climate and environmental crises have victimized the archaeological record. Archaeologists and heritage specialists have mobilized with strategies to intervene and salvage where coastal erosion, thawing ice, and devastating flooding, among other phenomena, are wreaking havoc on cultural resources. Heritage is indeed at risk. Ironically, much of contemporary material heritage has negative and dynamic effects for the health of ecologies. The material heritage of the recent past and present is a risk in itself for the future. This poster presents the particular case of plastics and interprets them through the theoretical lens of ‘difficult’ heritage and places of shame. A section of the plastic-littered landscape of the Sugarloaf Path in Newfoundland was mapped in 2018 using RTK and GIS methodology. It serves as a case study for a discussion of how the emotive and affective dimensions of heritage might serve as a psychosocial mechanism for stimulating reduced consumption and discard of plastics. This interpretation explores how archaeologists can be activists not for the salvaging or conservation of plastic wastescapes, but rather for their termination.
- Rachelle Brydon - Memorial University of Newfoundland
- Vaughan Grimes - Memorial University of Newfoundland
- Domingo Carlos Salazar García - University of the Basque Country
Here we present the results of an isotopic study of movement on the Iberian Peninsula during the Imperial Roman period. This study focuses two specific populations from sites in eastern Spain; one coastal, and one in-land (Valentia and Segóbriga). Since Valentia was a thriving agricultural centre and port town, and Segóbriga was home to a notable mine, and both sites are located along Roman roads, it is plausible that individuals in the past migrated into these areas. Human (n=101) and horse (n=1) enamel and dentine were sampled for strontium isotope analysis (87Sr/86Sr). The locally bioavailable strontium range was calculated for each site using the mean and two standard deviations of dentine values. Results from enamel values show 24% (4/17) of individuals from Segóbriga who originated from outside the local range. For Valentia, 19% (16/84) were identified as non-local. Males and females migrated into Valentia in similar proportions. All infants and children were identified as local, while 25% of adolescents and young adults respectively were classified as migrants. 20% of adults were non-local, and 50% of mature adults had enamel values outside the local range. Results from horse enamel show that the animal was brought into Valentia as well, potentially originating from an isotopically similar geographic area to a number of human migrants. This study confirms the presence of migrants in both Valentia and Segóbriga, but on a broader scale, builds on the current isotopic understanding of movement and migration in eastern Spain during the Imperial Roman period.
- Elsa Cencig - Avataq Cultural Institute
- Tommy Weetaluktuk - Avataq Cultural Institute
- Vincent Gautier-Doucet - Avataq Cultural Institute
- Susan Lofthouse - Avataq Cultural Institute
Climate warming poses a substantial threat to Canada’s heritage, most particularly in the Arctic where the impact of climate change is more pronounced. For Inuit, much of their heritage is preserved in oral histories and the archaeological record. As the permafrost becomes increasingly unstable through warming, the archaeological matrix is subject to more freeze/thaw cycles and vulnerable to erosion. In Nunavik, as in much of the Canadian Arctic, most of the archaeological heritage is found along the coast, and sites located along gravel beach ridges and sandy bluffs are particularly vulnerable. A recent research project conducted by Avataq Cultural Institute, in collaboration with the northern village of Akulivik, investigated the occupation history of Pujjunaq – a large uninhabited island in northeastern Hudson Bay. The initial survey conducted in 2014 found a number of sites threatened by erosion, and in 2017 a salvage excavation was undertaken at the endangered Qulliapik (JlGu-3) site. The site is composed of both Dorset and Thule Inuit structures, with the Dorset record particularly under threat. A total of 110 sites were documented along the eastern coastline of the island, successively occupied for over 3800 years. Quick action is needed in order to preserve the rich occupation history of Pujjunaq before it is too late.
- Nicolai von Oppeln Bronikowski - Memorial University
- Heather Andres - Memorial University
- Deirdre Elliott - Memorial University
Between the mid-17 to 19 centuries, Inuit in Labrador and parts of Greenland both adopted large, communal living arrangements. It is unclear to what extent this transition in these two locations arose separately, or whether there was communication between these two regions that might have influenced their coincident development. To better understand the extent and nature of Inuit socio-economic networks, it may help to know what climate conditions were like at the time. How extensive was winter sea ice in the Labrador Sea and Baffin Bay? How stormy was it? We here attempt to answer these questions using simulated climate results from the Climate Modelling Intercomparison Project (CMIP) 5 and an ice reconstruction from Kinnard et al. (2011). Using global climate model simulations to reconstruct past regional climate conditions has some notable challenges: there is no guarantee that the climate state in the model matches historical conditions, and the resolution of the climate data is too low to resolve the small-scale features that would have been important to Inuit. To assess the effectiveness with which these climate model simulations describe climate conditions during the period of interest, we perform a model-data comparison over a later period when local data records exist, namely, the late 18 century Labrador coast Moravian mission weather dataset published in Demarée (2008). On the basis of this comparison, we present both our best estimates of climate conditions during the 16-17 centuries in Labrador and Baffin Bay, as well as our confidence in those results.
- Allan Wolfrum - MA candidate, Memorial University
A multi-instrument archaeo-geophysical survey was conducted on the Ushpitun landform (central Labrador) to demonstrate the efficacy of alternative prospection methods to traditional shovel testing and pedestrian survey done previously in the area. Initial archaeological explorations in the late 1990s located one Intermediate period (3500-1800 BP) site FhCb-04, but additional features have since emerged due to erosion activity and accidental discovery and necessitating a more comprehensive survey technique. This novel approach used a magnetometer cart system, as well as a susceptibility/conductivity meter and ground penetrating radar to extensively cover an area of approximately 23,000 m2. Archaeo-geophysical techniques proved capable of elucidating combustion or burned (hearth, etc.) features at a greater density than previous inquiries but were susceptible to unique limitations in terms of cost, complexity, and topography. The utility of geophysical prospection in locating precontact features in this context is subject to more consideration than initially hypothesized, despite its success.
- Ty Heffner - Government of Yukon, Whitehorse
- Christian Thomas - Government of Yukon, Whitehorse
- Valerie Monahan - Government of Yukon, Whitehorse
- Claire Alix - Université Paris 1, Panthéon Sorbonne / CNRS UMR8096, France
- Jen Herkes - Carcross/Tagish First Nation, Carcross, Yukon, Canada
- Carcross/Tagish First Nation
- Kwanlin Dun First Nation
In the mountains of the Yukon, northern Canada, mountain ice patches have been melting and revealing a 9,000-year record of First Nations’ hunting weapons. Included in these assemblages are dozens of lost hunting arrows and the fragmentary remains of more ancient hunting spears referred to as a throwing darts or atlatl darts. For 20 years the fragmentary remains of this locally extinct technology have been recovered from a variety of sites across southern Yukon. For the first time in the summer of 2018 a complete, and entirely intact throwing dart was recovered from the overlapping territories of the Carcross/Tagish and Kwanlin Dün First Nation’s. This specimen is crafted from three separate pieces of wood and features an intact stone point, sinew bindings and carefully applied fletching. In this poster we will describe the construction and design of this weapon and how new insights from our analysis lend insight to previously made discoveries.
- Mallory Champagne - Memorial University
On-going archaeological research in Saint-Pierre and Miquelon has revealed traces of several complex historic occupations, each associated with the French transatlantic cod fishery dating from the 17th to late 20th century. These islands present archaeologists a particularly unique research opportunity, as they are the last French-governed territory in North America and have been since the end of the Seven Year’s War in 1763. My Master’s research will investigate the French trade networks in the North-Atlantic following 1763 through to 1815, when the French presence in the New World was arguably the most challenged. Using ceramics as a testament to trade activity in Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, I will compare these artifacts to those from a temporally similar French colonial occupation. In conjunction with this ceramic analysis, I will use corresponding archival documents to retrace supply routes that provisioned this colony. Through these analyses, I ultimately seek to ascertain the ties that bind Saint-Pierre and Miquelon with the greater Atlantic trade networks during this distinct period and shed light on what impact that these ties have had on the cultural identity of these islands’ inhabitants. This poster will specifically demonstrate the connection that Saint-Pierre and Miquelon has to the greater Atlantic world.
- Samantha Walker, McGill University.
Session Abstract
The Foxe Basin region, Nunavut, has served as an important place of intensive walrus hunting and human settlement for Paleo-Inuit (Tuniit, Paleoeskimo), Early Inuit (Thule Inuit), and modern Inuit, alike. Since the earliest archaeological surveys and excavations by Graham Rowley in 1939 at Avvaja (Abverdjar), archaeologists working in Foxe Basin have been confronted with a growing number of challenges affecting Arctic research. What have we learned about the cultural history of the Foxe Basin region in this time? How are exciting new developments in archaeology helping researchers mediate environmental and cultural change in Nunavut? What is the role of archaeology in a transforming North? The session welcomes papers that reflect on the past and present of Foxe Basin archaeology, while considering future research directions in this diverse region of the Canadian Arctic.
Presentations
- Pierre M. Desrosiers - Canadian Museum of History
- James Savelle - McGill University
- Arthur Dyke - McGill University
- Katie Kotar - McGill University
- Samantha Walker - MCGill University
- Kyle Forsythe - McGill University
This research is part of Foxe Basin recent investigations initiated by Savelle and Dyke that are greatly enlightening our knowledge of the Polar region. Meldgaard once stated that Kapuivik (Jens Munk) comprise the most “complete sequence of cultures” elucidating the Eastern Arctic history. Forty years later Hood will include the site as one of the “black boxes” of cultural history. New research at the Kapuivik site is leading us to a clearer understanding of the Dorset culture. As the black box reveals its secrets, we are presenting the archaeological context, the technology, and the new radiocarbon dates resulting from the 2016 excavation. From a comparison with Meldgaard’s work and a review of other Eastern Arctic key sites, a better time line is emerging for the beginning of Dorset period (Foxe Basin region and elsewhere). We underline that this better time line is likely to affect our understanding of their changing environment, behaviour and origin.
- Kyle Forsythe - McGill University
- James Savelle - McGill University
- Arthur Dyke - McGill University
Using data from recent surveys and excavations at the Kapuivik site in Foxe Basin, Nunavut, this talk seeks to identify and contrast patterns of lithic raw material procurement and explores their relationship with key demographic changes that took place throughout Pre-Dorset and Dorset occupations of the region. This paper reviews and updates our understanding of stone tool use in the Eastern Arctic Foxe Basin region throughout the Paleo-Inuit period (2,500 BCE-1,600CE). The Foxe Basin was previously thought to have been a core area of ecological stability/predictability that supported an uninterrupted occupation throughout the Paleo-Inuit timespan. Given recognition of the untenability of the core area model and that populations fluctuated over time and space, a reevaluation of lithic technologies and their change through time can help distinguish how the transfer of cultural information took place, and in turn how social life responded to drastic demographic change. Paleo-Inuit use of stone tools was a varied and highly skilled discipline involving intimate knowledge of the land, the properties of stone, and the appropriate ways of interacting with dynamic resources.
- Kathryn Kotar - McGill University
The 2018 excavations of the Kapuivik Archaeology Project on Jens Munk Island, Nunavut, built upon previous excavations at the same site from Summer 2016. In this paper, I analyze and compare zooarchaeological remains from both field seasons, including Pre-Dorset, Dorset, and so-called “transitional” assemblages, to document diversity both within and between chronological periods. I emphasize a suite of excavated Pre-Dorset deposits, dating from approximately 3500 to 2500 years ago, that contained diet-related walrus remains alongside crania and ivory debitage. I examine how these findings may alter our understanding of Pre-Dorset subsistence strategies and possible walrus exploitation. A study of new Dorset contexts (ca. 1890 - 1790 BP) also elucidates Tuniit foodways on Jens Munk Island, while our excavations around Jorgen Meldgaard’s “transitional” beach ridges at Kapuivik (23 and 22 m terraces) can help illuminate potential differences between Pre-Dorset and Dorset subsistence economies. I focus on gradual and incremental change in subsistence and butchery practices, over long periods of time, to circumvent the existing – and perhaps constraining – culture histories of Foxe Basin.
- Jasmine Liesch - University of Manitoba
- Brooke Milne - University of Manitoba
Archaeological investigations of the Native Point sites on Southampton Island, NU, began more than 60 years ago; however, comparatively little is known about subsistence practices and how they may have varied over time. Early investigators aimed to first define the culture-history of the region through the analysis of diagnostic artifacts and distinct architectural features, leaving the large recovered faunal assemblages from these respective sites largely ignored. This research presents the first detailed quantitative analysis of faunal material recovered from Dorset (KkHh-3, -4, and -5), Thule (KkHh-2), and Sadlermiut (KkHh-1) sites located at and around Native Point. Our interpretation of taxonomic data that will inform our understanding of culture-specific subsistence patterns will be augmented through archival analysis and interviews with local knowledge holders in the community of Coral Harbour. These interviews and local stories will serve to enhance our understanding of human subsistence and mobility patterns on the island, and how they may have been impacted by major climatic events in the region both in the past and today. This paper presents the objectives of this study, descriptions of the study sites and their faunal assemblages, and some preliminary results from the zooarchaeological analysis that is in progress.
- Samantha Walker - McGill University
In Arctic archaeology, foot surveys are often performed to evaluate the location and extent of archaeological features, which has limitations set by high spatial heterogeneity and time-constraints. At the other extreme, satellite-remote sensing can be used to track coarser changes over large regions. This paper explores the potential of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) in mapping archaeological landscapes at an intermediate scale in High Arctic conditions. UAS photographic survey experiments were undertaken in 2018 on Kapuivik Island in the Foxe Basin region, Nunavut. The high resolution offered by these innovative systems allows for improved spatial precision of archaeological feature maps and derivative elevation models that provide insight into subsurface archaeological features and their formation processes. UAS thermography, while burdened with environmental and logistic constraints in the Arctic, offers unique and efficient advancements to archaeological prospection and feature documentation. The Kapuivik Island UAS surveys demonstrate novel remote sensing solutions to some of the persistent challenges of archaeological fieldwork in the Foxe Basin region, and elsewhere, in the High Arctic.
- Francois P. Levasseur - Memorial University of Newfoundland
Since Jenness first identified harpoon heads distinct from those manufactured by Inuit, archaeologists have attempted to fit Dorset harpoon heads into rigid typologies. From Collins to Meldgaard, Taylor to Maxwell, the absence or presence of particular attributes and their combinations have restricted the definition of harpoon head types. My research uses 3D scanning technologies to investigate Dorset harpoon head morphometric variability in collections from Kapuivik, Saatut, and Tayara in Nunavut and Philip’s Garden in Newfoundland. Through exploratory data analysis and the application of complex network theory to morphometric data, it is possible to determine the extent of intrasite variability and whether intrasite conformity is consistent between sites. The data also highlight the relationship between different regional groups and offer insight into the cultural transmission of technology. Most importantly, the analysis of harpoon head morphometric data reveals how individuals and groups create variability whilst working within the parameters of culturally-defined technological blueprints. While this investigation is not an attempt to create a new typology, it explores the possible range of variability which has been included in previously established ‘types’ and makes us reevaluate, as archaeologists, how typologies cannot faithfully capture the realm of variability.
- Christopher Wolff, University at Albany
- Frank J. Feeley, CUNY Graduate Center
Session Abstract
Human-environment interactions in northern waters, particularly those governed by significant sea ice formation and duration, has long been a necessary focus of archaeologists who study Subarctic and Arctic cultures. Historically considered marginal, both geographically and culturally, a growing body of research has been changing that view with the integration of high-resolution environmental proxy datasets and increasing knowledge of the archaeological record. This session brings together a diverse group of interdisciplinary researchers from Subarctic and Arctic regions around the world and examines human-environment and social dynamics that reflect and influence northern interactions with marine systems. It will present new data and Maritime Historical Ecology perspectives on fisheries and marine mammal exploitation as part of the Oceans Past Initiative (www.oceanspast.org). Much of the session’s focus will be on methods of integration of complex environmental proxy data with the archaeological record, but particular attention will also be on the socio-cultural contexts that provide a historical framework to our understanding of northern coastal and island peoples.
Presentations
- Wendi Coleman - Hunter College of the City University of New York
The traditional model of Icelandic Landnám in the mid-9th century CE was based largely on written accounts and a limited archaeological record. This model presents a narrative of land-hungry Nordic chieftains and their followers gradually filling a new agrarian island landscape who worked their way inward from a few coastal enclaves. Recent archaeological, environmental history, and environmental science investigations have provided a new understanding of Icelandic Landnám leading to the need to re-examine and revise the traditional models of settlement. Furthermore, these investigations show that walrus hunting may have provided an important impetus to initial exploration and settlement and that wild resources were key to the subsistence of early settlers. This paper provides an overview of current evidence for early strategies for using “natural capital” to provision the early settlers of Iceland.
- Grace Cesario - The Graduate Center, CUNY
Four extensively explored sites on Hegranes, located in Skagafjörður, northern Iceland, show evidence of intensive use of marine fish and birds beginning at settlement in the late 9th century. These sites also appear to have functioned as year-round farms; however, they are not directly coastal, like the fishing-farms in the Westfjords, nor are they fishing stations. They represent a different kind of production site than the ones currently known.
Along with farming activities, these sites produced a flat-dried fish product that was moved further inland. Their exploitation of seabirds also follows an interesting pattern with wing elements being the most commonly recovered. This paper will explore the specialized marine adaptations at these Viking Age sites and their unique place in Icelandic archaeology.
- Frank Feeley - CUNY
Currently, Iceland relies heavily on the commercial fishing industry. A 2013 study suggests that 25-30% of Iceland’s GDP is derived from commercial fishing and it employs 15-20% of the population. Despite how integral fishing is to Icelandic society we’re just starting to understand the 15th century development of the industry. While historians have been writing on the topic since the early 20th century, if not earlier, this critical 15th century juncture is poorly understood as it coincides with Iceland’s first brush with Bubonic plague and domestic documentary sources are thin as a result. Zooarchaeological analyses of a series of 15th century sites from the Northwest and West coasts of Iceland is broadening the narrative of late medieval commercial fish production sites. This paper will compare three of sites: Gufuskálar, Gjögur, and Akurvík.
- James Woollett - Université Laval, Centré d'études nordiques
- Najat Bhiry - Université Laval, Centré d'études nordiques
- Martin Fields - Arkeos
- Yann Foury - Université Laval, Centré d'études nordiques
In this study, local-scale patterns of sea ice distribution in the Okak and Nain Bay regions of Labrador circa. 1500 to 1900 AD, are reconstructed through marine sediment cores and other proxies, in reference to contemporary ice maps and through zooarchaeological data. These fjord systems comprise two of Labrador’s most extensive zones of land-fast ice and are key ringed seal pupping territories. Sea ice distribution has varied significantly in these subarctic waters; past maximal ice extent phases correspond to documented severe winters and appear to have impacted key seal habitats (polynyas). Nevertheless, local ice conditions also vary significantly from year to year and within years and it is these variations that impact Inuit coastal hunting communities most directly. This study contrasts seal hunting activities from the 16th to the 19th century at several Inuit winter settlements as characterized by zooarchaeological research. Inuit winter settlement and seal hunting strategies targeted the ringed seal fast ice habitat or, alternatively, the more diverse ice edge environment. Areas with more predictable access to the ice edge foster stable Inuit settlement while areas dominated by fast ice favour a more mobile settlement pattern.
- Christopher Wolff - University at Albany
The distribution of sea ice in the waters surrounding Newfoundland is a formative influence in the development of economic traditions in that subarctic region. The timing and nature of sea ice shapes the seasonal distribution of coastal and marine species, including those that facilitated the colonization of the region by various Amerindian, Sivullirmiut, and European cultures, and formed the basis of their economies. Environmental proxy data suggest that at various times throughout the Holocene, western Atlantic sea ice was severely diminished and perhaps even absent for extended periods, and widespread and predictable in others. These data suggest that significant changes in sea ice conditions in the western Atlantic ecosystem roughly correspond with archaeological evidence for cultural abandonment of the island by Archaic and Sivullirmiut populations. This paper examines the possible links between variation in the nature and distribution of sea ice in that region and its effects on marine species and people who depended on them. It will also discuss problems with relying heavily on historical documentary evidence of the biogeography and ecology of the eastern subarctic of North America as baselines for interpreting prehistoric and modern human-environmental interaction, which has broader implications for those who study these interactions elsewhere.
- Moira McCaffrey - Independent Researcher
Storms that sweep across the Gulf of St. Lawrence stir up tangible memories of a time when walrus were found across the region. On the Îles de la Madeleine, tusks and bones still emerge from the shallows – a testament to how prevalent walrus once were on the archipelago. Recent biological research suggests that Maritimes walrus was a morphologically and genetically distinct group, though similar to contemporary Atlantic populations. Herds of Maritimes walrus inhabited the Gulf for millenia, until their extirpation by European hunters in the late 1700s.
Archaeological evidence attests to the long time depth of human-walrus interactions in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, supporting the view that Indigenous peoples valued and hunted walrus from their arrival in the far Northeast. Ethnohistoric accounts document sustainable walrus hunting practices in the Gulf, with ivory and oil serving as trade items at a time when Indigenous populations were being forced from their territories. An increased European presence ushered in an intense period of walrus exploitation. On the Îles de la Madeleine, Maritimes walrus were subjected to unprecedented levels of human predation in the 1700s, leaving them with neither time nor habitat to adapt and recover.
Climate-related factors and concomitant ecological impacts such as relative sea level rise may also have played a role in the extirpation of Maritimes walrus. Today, these same factors and their attendants – erosion and amateur collecting – are destroying archaeological sites essential to documenting past ecosystems and understanding different levels of human impacts within them.
Saturday May 18, 2019
- Lisa Hodgetts
Presentations
- Christopher Ball - University of Toronto
This paper discusses both the importance and challenges of conducting archaeological research with collections obtained from museums, cultural resource management firms, and academic excavations. Given the rate at which cultural resource management firms, in particular, have been able to excavate a wealth of new material, it is now more important than ever for researchers at all levels to ensure that collections of significant cultural importance are not allowed to sit idle until they are ultimately forgotten. Undertaking this kind of work, however, presents a number of challenges best overcome by a broad standardization of archaeological practices and collaborative effort on the part of researchers, excavators, and the institutions of which they are a part. With specific reference to the circumstances of my own research in southern Ontario, this paper will address the various idiosyncrasies of working with collections and records obtained from multiple sources and the possible avenues through which researchers at academic institutions, museums, and CRM firms alike may work together to make collections-based research a much more accessible endeavor.
- Eldon Yellowhorn - Department of First Nations Studies, Simon Fraser University
- Katherine Nichols - Department of First Nations Studies, Simon Fraser University
- Hugo Cardoso - Department of Archaeology, Simon Fraser University
- Dongya Yang - Department of Archaeology, Simon Fraser University
- Elton Taylor - Sioux Valley Dakota Nation
Calls to Action 71–76 in the final report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission address the subjects of missing children, abandoned cemeteries and burial information associated with Indian residential schools. In collaboration with Sioux Valley Dakota Nation, researchers from Simon Fraser University and partner universities in Manitoba and Ontario will conduct a forensic investigation with the goal of identifying the children who died while attending the Brandon Residential School. This SSHRC-funded research project is the first of its kind in Canada. Its significant will be to add meaning to the Calls to Action and demonstrate the contributions that archaeology can make to achieving restorative justice for Indigenous people in Canada. Its objective is founded on aspirations to respectfully reclaim the identities of Indigenous children buried and to return their remains to their families and natal communities. Since the residential schools emanated from federal policies there are many such cemeteries across Canada. We urge our archaeological colleagues to respond to these Calls to Action and lend their expertise to the long term goal of investigating these places of conscience and provide lasting solutions.
- Kisha Supernant - University of Alberta
Much previous research on the archaeology and history of the Métis in Canada has focused on mixedness, hybridity, and creolization as key defining feature of Métis culture and identity. When I embarked on developing the Exploring Métis Identity Through Archaeology (EMITA) project in 2012, I too framed the research questions around ethnogenesis and hybrid material culture. However, over the past few years, engaging with the material culture and landscapes of my ancestor alongside my deepening connections to living relatives, has shifted my thinking about my relationship to my Métis identity and to the artifacts used by my ancestors. In this paper, I outline the tenants of a Métis theoretical approach to understanding the archaeological record, grounded in two Cree concepts: wahkohtowin (interrelatedness) and kîhokewin (visiting). Drawing on examples from excavations of Métis wintering sites over the past 5 years, I discuss the implications of these concepts for how I excavate, analyse, interpret, and curate the belongings of my ancestors.
- Lisa Hodgetts - The University of Western Ontario
- Kisha Supernant - University of Alberta
- Natasha Lyons - Ursus Heritage Consulting
- John Welch - Simon Fraser University
In this presentation we provide an update on the workings of the CAA Working Group on Equity and Diversity. A year ago, in Winnipeg, our group asked what the #MeToo movement means for Canadian archaeology. We are all well aware, based on anecdotal evidence and our own experiences in the discipline of archaeology, that a number of historical and ongoing inequities exist based on intersections of gender, age, ethnicity and other identity categories, which shape and are shaped by dynamics in field, institutional, and other professional contexts. Unequal power structures influence our hiring practices, pay, and training and working relationships. We are also aware of both subtle and egregious harassment and abuse behaviors, both sexual and otherwise, that have impacted the lives, experiences, and careers of both prospective and experienced Canadian archaeologists. Our working group spent the past year researching and crafting a survey instrument to capture data on the demographics, social dynamics, and experiences of Canadian archaeologists, the first survey of its kind at a national level in Canada. The survey, which was live from mid-February to the end of March 2019, had 569 respondents. We present the preliminary findings of the survey and map our actions moving forward in terms of developing and fostering policies and practices that create safer spaces for us to work, live, and thrive as a community of practice that embraces and celebrates our diversity as individuals.
- Le comité-organisateur :
- Pierre Desrosiers, Université Laval
- Mélanie Gervais, CNTAQ
- Manek Kolhatkar, CNTAQ
- Antoine Loyer Rousselle, CNTAQ
- Luis Trudel Lopez. CNTAQ
Session Abstract
Round-table abstract, Canadian Archaeological Association symposium, Quebec City, 2019
Heritage at risk:
CRM archaeology in Canada, its regulations and its effects on archaeologists and archaeology
Co-organizers: Pierre Desrosiers, Mélanie Gervais, Manek Kolhatkar, Antoine Loyer Rousselle, Luis Trudel Lopez.
CRM archaeology in Quebec is practised in a poorly regulated environment that leaves it open to and even encourages competition for contracts to the lowest bidders. This has been going on for decades now, and its effects are felt by archaeologists whose working conditions are precarious, and whose say in the very archaeology they practise too often comes second to economic imperatives. In response to this situation, steps have been undertaken to write down regulations for Quebecois archaeologists and afford for a better practice. A new organization has been created for this purpose, le Centre de normalisation du travail en archéologie québécois.
The main goal of this round-table is to gain a nationwide overview of CRM archaeology, by allowing archaeological organizations from Canada's various provinces and territories to engage with some of the following issues, and to share efforts that are made to cope with these issues: do regulations protect archaeology and professional archaeologists ? If they are, what are they, could they be extended to other provinces and to Canada as a whole? If they are not, how are its practitioners affected? How is archaeology as a scientific practice impacted?
This round-table workshop will allow participants to address these concerns and others.
Proposition de table-ronde, colloque de l’Association canadienne d’archéologie
Ville de Québec, mai 2019
Le patrimoine à risque : l’archéologie contractuelle au Canada, son fonctionnement et ses effets sur les archéologues et l’archéologie
Le comité-organisateur : Pierre Desrosiers, Mélanie Gervais, Manek Kolhatkar, Antoine Loyer Rousselle, Luis Trudel Lopez.
L’archéologie contractuelle est pratiquée actuellement dans un contexte peu régulé et très ouvert, qui favorise la compétition pour l’obtention de contrats aux plus bas soumissionnaires. Cette façon de faire se poursuit depuis maintenant plusieurs décennies et ses effets se font sentir par les archéologues autant par la précarité de leurs conditions de travail que dans une pratique professionnelle trop souvent soumise à des impératifs économiques. En réponse à cette situation, une démarche a été entamée pour réguler la situation des archéologues au Québec et favoriser une meilleure pratique professionnelle. Un nouvel organisme a donc été créé à cet effet : le Centre de normalisation du travail en archéologie québécoise.
Le principal objectif de cette table-ronde est d’obtenir une vision d’ensemble sur les conditions de travail en archéologie contractuelle au Canada, en permettant aux organismes en archéologie des provinces et territoires de présenter leurs réalités et les enjeux qui les entourent, de même que leurs efforts pour faire face à de tels défis : Est-ce que les règlements protègent l’archéologie et les archéologues professionnels ? Si c’est le cas, lesquels et seraient-ils applicables aux autres provinces et territoires plus globalement ? Si ce n’est pas le cas, comment les archéologues sont-ils affectés par la situation ? Comment l’archéologie en tant que pratique scientifique est-elle affectée ?
Un atelier en forme de table ronde permettra aux participant•e•s de s’exprimer et d’échanger sur ces questions.
Liste des participant•e•s // List of participants:
Les associations ou syndicats d’archéologie suivants ont déjà manifesté leur intérêt à participer à cette table // The following archaeological associations or unions have already expressed their interest in attending to the workshop:
• Saskatchewan Archaeological Society (Tomasin Playford)
• British Columbia Association of Professional Archaeologists (Heather Kendall)
• Association of Professional Archaeologists of New Brunswick (Darcy Dignam)
• LiUNA Central and Eastern Canada Organizing Fund (Samantha Easy and Joseph Cull)
• Archaeological Society of Alberta (Shawn Bubel)
• Centre de normalisation du travail en archéologie québécoise (Mélanie Gervais, Manek Kolhatkar, Antoine Loyer Rousselle, Luis Trudel-Lopez)
• Association des archéologues du Québec : Josée Villeneuve et Martin Perron
• Association of Consulting Archaeologists of Alberta : Margarita de Guzman
• Association canadienne d’archéologie / Canadian Association of Archaeology : Dave Norris
• Association of Professional Archaeologists of Ontario : Dave Norris
Modérateur/Moderator : Pierre Desrosiers
Discussant : Ian MacDonald (professeur associé, École de relations industrielles, Université de Montréal // Associate professor, school of Industrial Relations, Université de Montréal)
- Matthew Betts
- James Woollett
Session Abstract
Rising sea levels and global warming are actively destroying untold numbers of archaeological sites worldwide. With the longest coastline on the planet, Canada sits at the apex of this global archaeological crisis. Due to limited data, heritage professionals do not have a complete grasp of the actual scope of the crisis in this country, but the data we do have indicates that the task facing us is immense. Unfortunately, no coordinated national program exists to address the issue, and provincial and territorial agencies currently do not have the resources they need to tackle the problem. How do we build, from the ground up, a comprehensive approach to locate, assess, prioritize, salvage, and monitor threatened archaeological sites in Canada? How do we integrate the needs of communities and peoples whose history is being washed out to sea? Dr. Thomas McGovern, of the international North Atlantic Biocultural Organization (NABO), and Dr. Thomas Dawson, from the Scottish Coastal Archaeology and the Problem of Erosion (SCAPE) program in Scotland, will present papers on their experiences developing national and international rescue archaeology programs. Following the presentations, they will be joined by Canadian and American heritage experts for an open panel discussion which will respond to comments and questions from the audience.
Presentations
- Tom Dawson - University of St Andrews / SCAPE
Efforts to combat the effects of erosion on heritage go back over 150 years in Scotland, with some of the earliest coastal defences built to protect St Andrews Cathedral and Castle. St Andrews is now home to a group of researchers who are continuing this tradition. Based at the University and working with SCAPE, they manage rapid coastal surveys that record heritage sites and erosion threats, using this data to recommend priority sites deserving of action. The team also run several national projects, and the most recent (the Scottish Coastal Heritage at Risk Project, or SCHARP), adopted a citizen science approach to heritage monitoring. Information on coastal sites was made available on a website (viewable on a phone or tablet); and the public were asked to navigate to local sites, check their condition and report back with images and comments. This publically-sourced data was then used to refine and reprioritise sites at risk. The project also acted as a springboard for taking action at sites. Recognising that collecting data does not save heritage, communities were asked to nominate locally-valued, yet threatened, sites and the team worked with local groups to develop innovative community projects. To date, projects have included excavations, video recording, section drawing, digital model building and even the re-location of two sites away from the coast edge to local heritage centres. The work has also inspired new working practices in several other countries and has raised awareness of the increasing threats faced by costal heritage.
- Thomas McGovern - Hunter College and Graduate Center CUNY
The first decades of this century have seen a dramatic expansion in the capacity of archaeology and paleoecology to contribute to global change research, driven by both new techniques (aDNA, stable isotopes, trace element analysis and more) and by the steady accumulation of what are now “big data” resources and many successful interdisciplinary collaborations. We are increasingly being recognized as a key player in the disciplines collaborating to attempt to find pathways to a genuinely sustainable future for our species and the planet through IHOPE (Integrated History and Future of People on Earth, http://ihopenet.org.preview.binero.se/ ) and Future Earth (http://www.futureearth.org/ ). International collaborations like the Oceans Past Initiative (OPI http://oceanspast.org/ ) are successfully bringing the perspectives of long term maritime historical ecology to modern marine resource management.
At the same moment, our basic data and the cultural heritage of thousands of communities are also under unprecedented threat from the impacts of global climate change. Wildfires, floods, erosion, rising seas and soil temperatures in the north and disappearing snow pack in higher elevations are threatening thousands of sites around the world. We are now facing catastrophic loss, and we will be the last generation to be able take any meaningful action in response. We need to workshop, conference, share best practices and (critically) involve the public and indigenous scholars- but we also urgently need to dig, record, curate, and rescue. Our libraries are burning!
- Paulina Scheck - University of Toronto
Presentations
- Paulina Scheck - University of Toronto
- T. Max Friesen - University of Toronto
- Jeffrey G. Speller - University of Toronto
This paper discusses the results of a micromorphological investigation of thin-sections of oriented soil samples from an eroding profile from McKinley Bay, an Inuvialuit site on the Tuktoyaktuk Peninsula, in the Western Arctic, occupied during the 16th and 17th centuries. In recent years, the area has been subject to more frequent storms, which have amplified the rate of coastal erosion and led to the exposure of cultural features. The soil profile sampled is located on a sand bluff and contains outcropping sections of a winter house. Samples were collected from three locations, including the areas that transect the entrance tunnel and the middle of the house floor, and an off-site location that provided a background sample. The profile was sampled vertically to include all stratigraphic units identified in the field. Layers have been classified according to the Soils of Canada glossary and described based on the nature of soil constituents, their size, abundance, distribution and orientation. Natural processes impacting the site include cryoturbation through mechanical sorting, translocation of fine soil mass and coarse fraction down the profile, and reduction-oxidation of iron and manganese associated with the freeze-thaw cycle. The impact of human occupation consists of an increase in the amount of soil organic matter, with related surface vegetation bloom, and additions of softwood and hardwood that boosted both soil fauna and fungal activity. Some break-up of the soil profile was noted, with erosion being a potential contributing factor. Despite this, the cultural layer analyzed remains largely intact.
- Andrew Lythe - Laboratoire d’archéologie de l’Anthropocène, Département d’anthropologie, Université de Montréal
- Julien Riel-Salvatore - Laboratoire d’archéologie de l’Anthropocène, Département d’anthropologie, Université de Montréal
Ganj Dareh is a Pre-Pottery Neolithic site situated in the Zagros Mountains of Southwestern Iran and has the potential to enhance our understanding of the onset of the Neolithic. At present, all publications concerning Ganj Dareh have identified five major occupational horizons, referred to as levels A to E, from top to bottom. Although the absence of structural features clearly distinguishes level E from levels D to A, levels D to A remain largely archaeologically indistinguishable. Furthermore, the stratigraphic horizons that exist within each of these levels have not been clearly defined. This has led to chronological uncertainty, as is evident in the significant overlap between the radiocarbon dates taken from levels D to A documented in recent publications. In this report, we present the results of a meticulous reanalysis of the original excavation documentation compiled during the 1971 field season in four adjacent trenches and identify as many as fourteen distinct stratigraphic horizons were identified. This presentation presents the first clear definition of the vertical and horizontal coordinates of each occupational horizon at Ganj Dareh, as well as describes the archaeological features such as hearths or walls they include. This first step provides a better understanding of Ganj Dareh’s stratigraphy and provides us with the necessary context from which a more robust chronological framework can be constructed, while developing a more nuanced picture of the full complexity of Ganj Dareh’s archaeological record.
- Vanessa Sullivan - Colbr Consulting, Inc
Proper archaeological investigation, using traditional archaeological methods, can take time. However, time is a limited and elusive resource in the fast-paced North America development industry. When it comes to the EIA or ESA processes in Canada and the United States, respectively, developers often are leery of their project triggering the cultural resource management and archaeology reviews. The is because archaeology struggles to keep up with the fast timeline development projects are often expected to be completed within. The issue of time has caused some professionals to cut corners and rush their work, resulting in poor data collection and insufficient data analysis. Other professionals, however, have sought out solutions which has led to some impressive technology being utilized in the field of archaeology.
Mechanical archaeological testing, being one example of the aforementioned newer technology, has provided an alternative to traditional archaeology that enables extensive sub-surface sampling within a fraction of the time that standard survey requires. The technological advances in archaeology have certainly aided in minimizing the time in which archaeology can be completed in, but are traditional archaeological methods compatible or appropriate when such technology is used? Does archaeological method need to be modified or redefined for newer technologies? How can traditional archeological methods be modernized to fit a modern world? Using mechanical archaeological testing as an example, sampling, excavation, screening, and other archaeological methods are looked at and examined to see if their original purpose holds up with newer technology designed with the development industry in mind.
- Chelsea Colwell-Pasch - Colbr Consulting, Inc
Traditionally, the systematic sampling of deep sites for archaeological impact assessments has posed both methodological and logistical barriers to comprehensive sub-surface testing strategies in New Brunswick’s many riverine alluvial valleys. Those barriers, within areas deemed high potential by the New Brunswick Archaeological Services Branch predictive model, contribute to a lack of data and loss of material culture. Recent innovations in mechanical testing strategies within the province has produced the first successful commercial systematic sub-surface testing projects along the alluvial floodplains of New Brunswick’s major river systems. Traditionally these deep areas, slated for infrastructure development, would be monitored during construction, resulting in a significant loss to the archaeological record. This paper will discuss the traditional issues of systematic sampling of deep sites, the methodological benefits and limitations of mechanical testing for deep sites, and the potential impact of introducing routine deep site testing into the scope of archaeological work for the province.
- Jenneth Curtis - Parks Canada
- Jennifer Birch - University of Georgia
In collaboration with the First Nations Advisory Circle of Rouge National Urban Park we conducted magnetic gradiometry survey of selected areas at the Spang site to identify potential cultural features associated with this village settlement. Using small scale excavations and core samples we investigated the source of several potential anomalies identified in gradiometry data suspected to be archaeological features such as hearths, potential longhouses, palisade lines, and middens. This paper presents the results of our investigations along with an assessment of the effectiveness of this remote sensing technique in investigating settlement patterns on village sites.
- Amy N. Fox, University of Toronto.
- Ingrid-Morgane G. Gauvin, University at Albany, SUNY.
Session Abstract
Cette session désire partager de nouvelles et excitantes recherches à propos de la large démarcation de 8000 ans connu sous le nom de l’Archaïque en Amérique du Nord. Alors que plusieurs chercheur-e-s établi-e-s et en début de carrière théorisent l’Archaïque de façons novatrices, la dissémination de cette recherche se voit difficile due à la régionalisation et à la spécificité de cette période. Cette session servira de lieu d’accueil pour les chercheur-e-s examinant l’Archaïque, afin d’identifier des parallèles, des associations, et des comparaisons autrement inexaminés par notre discipline. Nous encourageons particulièrement les approches introspectives sur notre discipline, ses outils analytiques, ses concepts, qui questionnent ses a priori, et qui étendent ses horizons à des régions considérés comme périphériques ou qui emploient de nouvelles méthodes ou cadres théoriques. Nous encourageons la soumission de communiqués qui partagent des résultats préliminaires, ainsi que des communiqués de chercheur-e-s en début de carrière en recherche d’un réseau d’appuis. Les organisatrices de la session tiennent à entretenir un espace ouvert à la diversité d’opinion, de recherches, et d’expériences envers la période Archaïque. Nous reconnaissons que l’exam de la diversité culturelle de cette période nécessite une diversité de perspectives et de voix de la part de ses chercheur-e-s. Notre session représentera cet idéal. // This session opens the floor to share new and exciting research about the 8000-year demarcation of time known as the Archaic Period in North America. While many established and early career researchers are theorizing the Archaic in novel ways, disseminating research to a wide audience is difficult because this time period is known for its localness and specificity. This session will serve as a meeting place for Archaic Period researchers such that we may discern parallels, associations, and otherwise-overlooked connections present in our community. Particularly encouraged are perspectives on the Archaic that look inward at our field and its traditional analytic tools and constructs, that question its assumptions, and that expand its purview such as studies on traditionally-peripheral regions or ones that employ a novel methodology or theoretical framework. In particular, we welcome submission of papers sharing preliminary results and papers from early career researchers looking for a supportive networking community.
The session organizers value and will be holding space for diverse opinions, research, and experiences relating to the Archaic Period. We know that the social diversity present during this time demands a diversity of perspectives and voices from its researchers; our session will embody this ideal.
Presentations
- Ingrid-Morgane Gauvin - University at Albany, SUNY
This paper presents an examination of the spatiality and temporality of knapping skill acquisition in the non-complex societies present within the Hudson valley during the latter half of the Holocene. The distinctness of the bifacial technologies of the Late Archaic (5500 to 4500 BP) and Terminal Archaic (4500 to 3200 BP), and the elaboration of a ceremonial aspect of production and consumption of bifaces during the latter half of the Terminal Archaic, provide a bountiful framework to examine the variation and development of technical proficiency. An analysis of typical indicators of knapping proficiency will be presented and placed within the greater context of technological change within the study region, with a particular interest in the prioritization of final form characteristics (size, shape, volume, etc) and its impact on the retention or non-correction of commonly produced mistakes. Raw material use will be briefly discussed in terms of the trade-offs created by material properties and package size and form.
- Gabby Belyea - University of Western Ontario
Two sites that lie within two kilometers of each in the Grand Bend area, date to the Middle Archaic, and contain nonlocal chert despite their proximity to the Kettle Point chert outcrop should contain similar lithic assemblages. However, South Bend and Ridge Pine 2 differ dramatically, from the percentage of nonlocal chert to the style of their projectile points. These differences raise questions surrounding what procurement strategies these two groups employed. A detailed analysis of the lithic assemblages from these two sites illustrate just how different these two groups were. These two sites, discovered during the process of an archaeological survey, represent a unique opportunity to study raw material procurement during the Middle Archaic, which is a under researched time period.
- Marie-Annick Prevost - University of Toronto
Foodways include the types of plants and animals consumed but also how the food was prepared and cooked. This paper analyses the structure, components, fuel, and food remains of 31 hearths dating of the Late and Terminal Archaic from the côte Rouge site (CeEt-481) in Lévis, Québec, to determine their potential function(s) and how cooking techniques changed over time. Wood charcoal from the hearths was identified and dendrologic criteria were recorded to explore a potential correlation between the types of hearth identified and the firewood selected. A selection of stone tools was also observed to determine if they were used to prepare starchy food. The methodological implications of a hearths’ use on the preservation of charred seeds and fruits and the reliability of vegetation and diet reconstructions based on archaeobotanical assemblages will be assessed. Ideas to better document food processing and cooking practices of pre-ceramic groups will be proposed.
- Amy Fox - University of Toronto
Using an outline-based geometric morphometric (GM) method, the present study explores the shape space of New York State broadspears. Sites include Piffard, Frontenac Island, Fortin 1, Kuhr, Camelot II, Snook Kill, O’Neill and Kingston Armory. Because GM methods preserve object geometry through all levels of analysis, archaeologists can use these methods to comment on both the qualitative and quantitative properties of shape simultaneously. The shape descriptors that the GM analysis creates for this collection of broadspears take the fore of a discussion on typological constructs and ideas about what it means to label an artifact a broadspear.
- Martin Perron - Direction de l'archéologie et de l'histoire, Parcs Canada
- André Miller - Direction de l'archéologie et de l'histoire, Parcs Canada
Dans la foulée des projets visant la restauration des niveaux originels des lacs et le réaménagement des terrains de camping du Parc national de la Mauricie, le Service d’archéologie de Parcs Canada a entreprit l’exploration archéologique des berges et l’inventaire archéologique de quelques secteurs de l’arrière-pays qui ont mené à la découverte d’éléments permettant de mieux documenter l’occupation humaine ancienne à l’intérieur des limites du parc. Éclats de taille, bifaces, outils à usages multiples et ébauches ont notamment été exhumés des sols, ou tout simplement récoltés en surface, sur neuf nouveaux sites archéologiques répartis à proximité de quatre lacs n’ayant jamais livré d’indice archéologique, ainsi que sur deux lacs autour desquels des vestiges avaient été relevés dans les années 1970. Ces artefacts, dont les éléments diagnostiques datent principalement de la période archaïque, ont été recueillis en dehors de l’axe formé par les lacs Anticagamac, Caribou et Wapizagonke. Leur présence permet donc d’amorcer de nouvelles réflexions sur l’occupation du territoire au sud de la rivière Matawin et à l’ouest de la rivière Saint-Maurice et d’alimenter nos connaissances sur les réseaux d’approvisionnement des matières premières utilisées dans leur fabrication.
- Lisa Rankin, Memorial University of Newfoundland
Session Abstract
The term isolation conjures images of remote populations, separated from neighbours and the outside world by great distances, challenging environments and even physical barriers, unable to interact with others. Contemporary archaeology acknowledges that there is really no such thing as an isolated society and that all human communities depend on interaction –however infrequent - with others for their biological and cultural variability . Yet isolation remains a valuable, if ambiguous, concept to investigate the socio-cultural ramifications resulting from different levels of connections and separation that existed between and within populations. This session invites papers which use the concept of isolation to discuss the archaeology of people who live parts of their lives in relative isolation from other groups, or, perhaps more commonly, phenomena of isolation within communities - both of which can be powerful catalysts for social change and differentiation. Participants may also want to address issues arising from undertaking archaeology in isolated places, or from doing archaeology alone.
Presentations
- Lisa Rankin - Memorial University
Inuit arrived on the northern coast of Labrador by the middle of the 15th century, exploring, and settling the coastline as far south as the Strait of Belle Isle over the next 150 years. Archaeological evidence suggests that certain parts of the coast became substantial settlement areas, used as part of a seasonal round that eventually included trade with European fishers and whalers, and ultimately settlers. Inuit who settled in southern Labrador were separated from their northern kin by vast distances, and their closest neighbours were likely Europeans. Maintaining connections with Inuit in northern Labrador, however irregular, would have been significant for Inuit in the south to sustain their cultural traditions and identity. At the same time, isolation also offered potential for southern Inuit to develop new relationships, and establish new traditions. This paper will examine two important events during the 17th and 18th centuries when geographical isolation provided southern Inuit a new context and impetus for cultural development that would ultimately transform Inuit cultural practise throughout Labrador.
- Meghann Livingston - Memorial University of Newfoundland
- Mallory Champagne - Memorial University of Newfoundland
- Catherine Losier - Memorial University of Newfoundland
At first glance, the French archipelago of Saint-Pierre et Miquelon may seem like a very isolated place. Situated almost 4,000 kilometres away from the most westerly tip of France, and about 3,000 kilometres away from the next nearest French overseas territory in the Caribbean, these small islands are the only piece of Colonial New France that remain under French governance today. France maintained possession of these islands to help guarantee their “ancient right” to a fishery in and around the waters off Newfoundland. The great distances separating Saint-Pierre et Miquelon from France and the other Outre-mer are juxtaposed by the archipelago’s proximity to Newfoundland and mainland North America, including other former French territories like Acadie and Québec. As a result of the historic salt cod fishery, the archipelago could actually be considered a very well-connected place. Saint-Pierre et Miquelon has always been connected with its immediately surrounding region, and with extensive, complex networks, the rest of the Colonial Atlantic World as well. Nevertheless, notions of “isolation” and “islandness” remain valuable terms which help us understand the variety and extent of connections that existed throughout the islands’ history. This ongoing research and paper explores Saint-Pierre et Miquelon’s colonial ties within the encompassing North Atlantic in order to help us understand it’s role within the historic salt cod fisheries and its contributions to the greater Atlantic World.
- Kirstine Møller - Memorial University of Newfoundland
An Arctic landscape encompasses a sense of monumentality, vastness and perhaps even loneliness. Scattered in the landscape are sites of memory and human practice, sites we document during archaeological surveys and sometimes excavate on a later date. Many of these sites have long been forgotten but the human practices associated with living there are vibrantly present in the cultural memory of many Indigenous peoples.
With the melting snow a yearning for the mountains and the sea awakes in many Indigenous communities. As archaeologists, the promise of fieldwork in remote places of Greenland makes the almost biological urge liveable. However, come summer the experiences of fieldwork might vastly differ from those coming from outside of Greenland.
In this paper I will highlight how perceptions and expectations can shape the experience for motley crews conducting archaeological fieldwork in Greenland. Through my personal narrative, I will outline some of the issues, challenges and opportunities that present themselves during the months of isolation.
- Jennifer Campbell - City of Kingston
Throughout my career I have worked in varying states of isolation. In each case my seeming isolation has been imposed by the constraints of method, geography, or social practice. Paradoxically, each seeming act of academic, methodological, or professional isolation was sought out as an act of increased integration. This paper will reflect on the value of isolation – in method, in field location, and in academic and professional settings as an integrating mechanism that has been essential in my practice as an archaeologist and I believe provides lessons to those pursuing non-traditional career paths and perhaps even to the sustainability of our discipline/field. In order to develop this idea, I will work through aspects of Durkheim’s concepts of organic and mechanical solidarity – proposing that when archaeologists work in seeming isolation it can lead to highly integrated and sustainable social systems, whereas it is equally possible that when archaeologists work in spaces of technological, ideological or methodological homogeneity it can create redundant or self-replicating knowledge systems that are at risk from variances and collaborative innovation in the broader social/economic worlds. Contemporary archaeology acknowledges that there is really no such thing as an isolated society – extending this contemporary archaeologists can realize that strategic isolation can actually lead to deeper integration and a more nuanced and productive field of practice.
- Jodie MacMillan
- Holly Smith
Session Abstract
Focusing on archaeological investigations in the Western Subarctic regions of Canada, with new data from field surveys, excavations, reanalysis of past collections, and multi-disciplinary studies. This session enables communication of new discoveries, field and lab results, preliminary findings of emerging research topics, and theoretical contributions to understanding human adaptation in the region.
Presentations
- Holly Smith - University of Alaska Fairbanks and Government of Yukon
Final results from this thesis project will investigate the effects that the White River Ash northern lobe (WRN) volcanic eruption had on the environment and local hunter-gatherer populations. This eruption deposited a blanket of tephra along the Yukon - Alaska border ~1600-1900 cal BP. Fine grain pollen analysis of a lake core from 6-Mile Lake (Eagle, AK) was conducted to provide data to evaluate flora responses. Artifacts from excavations at the Forty Mile Territorial Historic Site (LcVn-2), were analyzed to explore the cultural response to this eruptive event.
- Jodie MacMillan - Government of Yukon, Simon Fraser University
This paper presents the preliminary results of my Master’s thesis which explores past human use of subalpine and alpine environments in the southeast Yukon. A model of land and resource use for subalpine and alpine environments was developed using available ethnographic, archaeological and environmental data for the area. The model is intended to assist in determining activities, seasonal patterns, resources, and archaeological site types that characterize subalpine and alpine environments in southeast Yukon. The results of the land use model were then compared to the findings of a heritage resource management project for a proposed mine development located in southeast Yukon, along the Northwest Territories border. Forty-seven new archaeological sites were identified in subalpine and alpine environments during the project; these sites were used to test the findings of the land use model.
- Jennifer Herkes - Carcross Tagish First Nation
- David Katzeek - Tlingit Elder
- Derek Grose - Carcross Tagish First Nation
The modern Carcross/Tagish First Nation people are the descendants of Tagish and Inland Tlingit people who have lived in the southern Yukon for thousands of years. Oral history narrates the connections these inland people had with their neighbouring relations through trade, travel, and kinship. These stories are supported by a material culture that substantiates these histories. This presentation explores how a Coastal Tlingit story, Raven finds the Wolf People, about finding their inland relations and sharing lithic technologies is illuminated by the recovery of a ground stone point in the Yukon Ice Patches, the first recovered in interior Yukon. This artifact, along with others, are tangible confirmations of the oral histories of the people. A review of the story indicates the importance of trade, kinship, and travel in the dissemination of lithic technologies and an analysis of the artifact illustrates the uniqueness and importance of this particular item. By combining the study of story with the study of artifacts, we are able to better understand the vast connections the people had to the land and their neighbours. As researchers we are at risk of losing the opportunities to study these connections: climate change is actively melting the ice patches and many of the oral histories are being lost as elders pass away, taking their stories and knowledge with them.
- Ty Heffner - Government of Yukon
- Christian Thomas - Government of Yukon
- Valery Monahan - Government of Yukon
- Gregory Hare - Government of Yukon
- Kate Helwig - Canadian Conservation Institute
- Jason Rogers - National Park Service
- Joshua Reuther - Alaska Museum of the North
- Carly Crann - A. E. Lalonde Radiocarbon Laboratory
- Sara Murseli - A. E. Lalonde Radiocarbon Laboratory
- Sheila Greer - Champagne and Aishihik First Nation
- Jennifer Herkes - Carcross/Tagish First Nation
Archaeological survey in the traditional territories of the Carcross/Tagish First Nation, Kwanlin Dün First Nation and the Champagne and Aishihik First Nations has resulted in the recent discovery of four ancient hunting artifacts where minute traces of residue were observable. This paper documents the discovery of a stone spear point, two bladed antler arrowheads and a broken ground slate arrowhead that were collected after they had melted from alpine ice patches in the southern Yukon. Analyses of these objects using XRF, UV light, multi-spectrum light photography, and gas chromatography have enabled the successful C14 dating of residues on stone points as well as the detection of absorbed copper residues in datable osseous artifacts. The use of these techniques may have broader applications for the study and dating inorganic technologies.
- Louise Pothier, Pointe-à-Callière, cité d'archéologie et d'histoire de Montréal
Session Abstract
Au coeur du site patrimonial de Montréal, le site du Marché-Sainte-Anne-et-du-Parlement-du-Canada-Uni (1832-1901) a fait l'objet d'un ambitieux programme de recherches archéologiques et historiques initié par le musée Pointe-à-Callière dans le but de mettre en valeur ce site d'importance nationale. Cette session aborde plusieurs aspects de ce projet qui a fait l'objet de plusieurs campagnes de fouilles entre 2010 et 2017. Nous aborderons les thèmes suivants : construction d'un édifice monumental au-dessus du lit d'une rivière urbaine canalisée, richesse des fonctions liées au marché et à la présence du Parlement du Canada-Uni, grand niveau d'intégrité des fondations permettant d'analyser l'architecture du premier marché couvert à avoir été construit au Canada, richesse de la culture matérielle en lien notamment avec la présence du Parlement incendié en 1849, traitement innovateur des données avec la création d'une interface d'analyse numérique et géoréférencée et, enfin, réflexions sur l'avenir de ce site archéologique, porteur d'une charge symbolique dans la cité et la société actuelle.
Presentations
- Laurence Johnson - Ethnoscop
En guise d’introduction à la session, cette présentation aborde le positionnement dans l’espace du marché sous deux angles. D’abord sa localisation dans l’espace Montréalais, soit en lien avec l’approvisionnement du sud-ouest de la ville. Ensuite sa localisation précise dans la place d’Youville, soit sa construction au-dessus d’une rivière, son imbrication à une canalisation monumentale et ce que l’archéologie a pu nous montrer à ce sujet.
- Hélène Côté - Ethnoscop
Les fouilles successives menées sur le site du Marché-Sainte-Anne-et-du-Parlement-du-Canada-Uni ont permis de mettre au jour un site archéologique des plus riche dont le processus de formation s’est avéré plus complexe qu’il n’y paraissait à l’origine. L’étude de ce processus a mené à l’identification de comportements insoupçonnés et d’événements imprévus, repérés à partir des vestiges architecturaux, de la stratigraphie et de la collection d’artefacts et d’écofacts. Ces nouvelles connaissances seront évoquées et discutées.
- Hendrik Van Gijseghem - Pointe-à-Callière, Cité d'archéologie et d'histoire de Montréal
Résultat d’un partenariat entre Pointe-à-Callière, l’UQAM et l’Université de Sherbrooke, la plateforme Schéma/Archéovue permet d’explorer la répartition spatiale et stratigraphique des quelque 280 000 artéfacts et écofacts récupérés du site du Marché Sainte-Anne/Parlement du Canada-Uni entre 1980 et 2017. Cet outil d’analyse permet d’aborder de manière autant qualitative que quantitative l’impressionnante abondance de la collection, et la diversité des objets provenant de contextes très distincts (marché vs parlement). L’interface intègre la nature des objets, leur localisation, fiche d’inventaire/catalogue, photos et, dans certains cas, un modèle 3D présenté dans un visualiseur conçu pour le projet. Le tout est soutenu par un moteur de recherche flexible et puissant. La plateforme a le potentiel d’être adaptée à d’autres projets de fouille de grandes surfaces ou à stratigraphie complexe, et qui génèrent d’importantes collections.
- François Gignac - Pointe-à-Callière
Les images d’artistes du Parlement du Canada-Uni en flamme au milieu du 19esiècle sont certes marquantes, mais représentent-elles le bâtiment tel qu’il était en réalité ? Depuis 1980, les fouilles archéologiques menées sur le site du Marché Sainte-Anne et du Parlement de Montréal ont permis de mettre au jour un complexe architectural unique. Une analyse poussée des documents produits lors de la construction du marché, en relation avec l’iconographie ancienne et les vestiges archéologiques, nous permet dorénavant d’émettre des hypothèses sur l’aspect réel du bâtiment, de ses fondations monumentales aux détails ornementaux de sa façade. Nous tenterons, lors de cette présentation, d’utiliser l’iconographie ancienne et les relevés archéologiques afin de nous transposer in situ sur le site de la place D’Youville Ouest, et d’en vérifier le degré de véracité.
- Christian Roy
Les fouilles réalisées sur le site du Marché-Sainte-Anne-et-du-Parlement-du-Canada-Uni ont livré une imposante quantité d’éléments de culture matérielle dont près de la moitié est associée à l’occupation du 1er marché et au parlement. Utilisés et rejetés entre les années 1834 et 1849, ces artéfacts et écofacts proviennent principalement de deux niveaux distincts que le sort a pourtant réuni. Si le premier rappelle la présence des marchands et leurs clients, le second n’évoque qu’en partie la fin tragique des activités parlementaires à Montréal. Un survol des défis posés par ces assemblages de culture matérielle parfois hétéroclites et des pistes de solution pour y voir plus clair seront discutés.
- Louise Pothier - Pointe-à-Callière, cité d'archéologie et d'histoire de Montréal
Au moment d’amorcer le grand projet de recherches archéologiques par Pointe-à-Callière sur le site du Parlement du Canada-Uni à Montréal à l’aube des années 2010, plusieurs voix se sont fait entendre pour questionner l’absence remarquée d’identification ou de commémoration du site dans l’espace public, comme on aurait pu s’y attendre vu son intérêt et son rôle dans l’histoire politique et sociale du pays, du Québec et de Montréal. Désormais, en raison de la richesse des données archéologiques et historiques mises au jour et du haut degré d’intégrité des vestiges in situ, comme l’ont démontré les recherches des dernières années, c’est l’avenir même du site qui demande réflexion.
Presentations
- Matthew Betts - Canadian Museum of History
At the 51st Annual Meeting of the Canadian Archaeological Association, the Canadian Museum of History hosted a “coast-to-coast-to-coast” symposium about the destruction of archaeological sites due to erosion and global warming. The thirteen participants outlined a crisis of alarming scope. The papers revealed that in regions with comprehensive data, the extent of the problem is so large that the organizations responsible for the sites do not have the capacity to tackle it. In many other regions, the true enormity of the catastrophe can only be partially grasped because known sites have not been audited in decades, and whole coastlines remain unsurveyed. In short, it is a crisis of enormous proportions and the data, resources, and infrastructure necessary to address it simply do not exist. Furthermore, the procedures for assessing and salvaging sites that are critical to Indigenous history and rights need careful consideration. Clearly, a comprehensive solution to this crisis is urgently needed. In a workshop following the symposium, the Museum brought together academics, governmental archaeologists, and Indigenous representatives to brainstorm an answer to the question: “How can we come together to address this heritage crisis?” This poster presents the results of that workshop and outlines the components of a potential program to support the survey, assessment, and salvage of threatened archaeological sites in Canada.
- Rebecca Rainville
Research on the impact of the Neolithic transition from a nomadic (hunter-gatherer) to a sedentary (agriculture) lifestyle on postcranial morphology is popular in paleoanthropology. The assumption is that hunter-gatherers are generally more mobile than agriculturalists given the high physical demands of acquiring seasonally dependent wild resources. Consequently, having a more active lifestyle, hunter-gatherers would have more robust morphology compared to agriculturalists. Many studies have focused on biomechanical analyses of cross-sectional properties in long bones (femur, tibia and humerus) in order to measure diaphyseal robusticity and shape according to the level of mobility of past populations. However, results from these studies show a large variation in expected morphology among populations depending on the type of agricultural or foraging practices, but also in relation to climatic and environmental factors. In order to better understand the effect of mobility as well as that of climatic and environmental factors on bone structure, the objective of this study is to create a comparative dataset of cross-sectional properties from hunter-gatherer populations living in different environments across Asia, the Americas and Europe. A few samples of horticultural, pastoral and agricultural groups are included for comparison. The aim is to examine variation within hunter-gatherer groups, to test whether they are consistently more robust than populations cultivating their own resources, and to test whether climate is also an important factor affecting bone structure. This meta-analysis of the relevant research to date provides a comprehensive summary of biomechanical evidence on the relationship between mobility, climate and bone structure.
- Jon LeDrew - Memorial University
- Adam Van De Spiegle - Memorial University
Saint Pierre and Miquelon offers a unique setting for a field school, where students gain hands-on experience and skills in international learning experience. The French archipelago has a rich history of Basque, Breton, and Norman fishermans occupying its shores. Due to geographical features and proximity to rich fishing grounds, Europeans started settling on the islands during the late 17th century. After 1763, the archipelago became the only French region in North America. Given this history, Dr. Catherine Losier has the site of Anse at Bertrand in Saint Pierre and Miquelon to be the location of Memorial University's 2017 and 2018 field schools. Anse à Bertrand runs along the southeastern shore of the St. Pierre harbor and as a result, has been subject to coastal erosion over the years. The 2017 field season proved that many historic artifacts and features remain. During the 2018 field season, the team decided that they would expand the borders of the initial trench. This excavation was divided into four sectors with three students assigned to work. This poster will present a brief overview of the 2018 field school and the second season of archaeological investigations at Anse à Bertrand.
- Nicholas Williams - McMaster University
- Daniel Ionico - McMaster University
Among one Neutral Iroquoian site cluster, potters produced a significant change in
tempering choices. Local sites exhibit almost no shell-tempered vessels up to A.D. 1600, but
communities from 1600-1650 show a marked increase in shell-tempering, representing up to
64% of one site’s assemblage. The appearance of shell-temper at Neutral sites makes firing
temperatures an important attribute to consider for local ceramic technological systems, as the
risk of ‘limespalling’ at temperatures above 650ºC presents a unique structural risk to vessels
made with this paste. We employed step-based oxidation analysis (sherd re-firing) and ceramic
petrography on body sherds from the 17 th century Christianson (AiHa-2) and Hamilton (AiHa-5) villages, located in Flamborough, Ontario. These analyses allowed us to examine how, and if,
firing regimes changed with the adoption of this new paste. Our findings also provide a broader
insight into the firing technologies of Late Woodland ceramics, an underexplored feature of
Iroquoian archaeology.
- Anna Sparrow - Memorial University of Newfoundland
- Alison Harris - Stockholm University / University of York
- Meghan Burchell - Memorial University of Newfoundland
Using a multi-scalar approach we interpret the agency of dogs and their unique entanglement with the Coast Salish of British Columbia. Isotope data are used to explore the dietary relationships between dogs, people, and their landscapes between ~3500-1000 cal. BP. Over 100 dog bones and teeth, excavated in the 1970s from six archaeological sites on southern Vancouver Island were acquired from the Royal British Columbia Museum archaeological collections. After initial zooarchaeological assessment, we conducted carbon and nitrogen isotope ratio analysis on collagen extracted from 60 dog specimens and radiocarbon dated 12 of those samples. When these results are contextualized along with other temporal and dietary data from the Pacific Northwest Coast, long-term, diachronic dietary continuity between dogs and their people are observed. These results, in conjunction with traditional narratives, indicate that dogs could be considered to have a kind of personhood, being provisioned with similar foods eaten by people. By going beyond the simple categorization of dogs as faunal material, and thinking beyond ‘dogs as proxies for human diets’ we are able to investigate the relationships and interactions between individuals of different species.
- Johanna Cole - Memorial University of Newfoundland
Evidence for historic sex work is often hidden within archival sources, surrounded by the menial occurrences of past lives. For this reason, historic sex workers often remain invisible until deliberately searched for. In St. John’s, Newfoundland, the Great Fire of 1892 destroyed most of the city, leaving no material culture for the study of sex work. My research seeks to reconstruct and understand historic sex work in St. John’s from first settlement until the Great Fire through an in-depth search for evidence in archival records and intersite analysis. This will help determine the nature of material culture produced at brothel sites and explore the living conditions of historic sex workers. Additionally, I will examine how marginalized peoples are depicted in these records and how sexualized spaces are produced and regulated within a community. As the retrieval and consolidation of archival fragments has never been attempted in the region, this research project is the first to illustrate the historic sex trade by producing a temporal and spatial description of the existence and origins of sex work in St. John’s.
- Kali Sielsky - University of Saskatchewan
The site of Oalthkyim (DjRw-2), is located in Coast Salish lands on the Northwest Coast of North America, and is thought to be defensive in nature. Excavated as part of the shíshálh Archaeological Research Project (sARP) over the past three years, I took on the column samples as a part of my independent research project to try to gain an overview of the site in terms of ecological and household factors. Defensive sites are known to be in use from approximately 500-800 B.P. in the Salish Sea region, which coincides with a period of increased warfare and raiding. Used as a means of refuge and protection, these naturally defensible landscapes housed individuals for periods of time until it was safe to return home. My presentation will examine the use of defensive sites on the Northwest Coast, specifically those within the Coast Salish region while looking into the potential differential living conditions that would have occurred while Oalthkyim was occupied in comparison to other shíshálh village sites.
- Francis Lamothe - Consultant
- Karine Taché - CUNY Queens College
- Roland Tremblay - Consultant
- Evan Mann - CUNY Graduate Center
- Aida Romera - CUNY Graduate Center
Depuis 2015, des recherches archéologiques ont été entreprises dans les Hautes-Laurentides, une région jusqu’à maintenant très peu documentée. En 2018, les travaux se sont concentrés sur une portion de la rivière du Lièvre, les rapides du Wabassee, où un résident a rassemblé au fil des ans une très importante collection d’artefacts préhistoriques. Un inventaire archéologique a permis de confirmer la présence de sites préhistoriques intacts en retrait des zones érodées d’où proviennent les découvertes de surface. De plus, des vestiges associés à la première ferme du Wabassee, érigée dans les années 1830 sous la supervision du célèbre Jos Monferrand, ont pu être localisés. Cette affiche présente la localisation particulière du secteur des rapides du Wabassee à l’intérieur du paysage plus vaste des Hautes-Laurentides et des régions limitrophes, la collection Coursol en cours d’analyse ainsi que les résultats obtenus lors de l’inventaire archéologique de 2018.
- Jacinda Sinclair - Memorial University
What can be learned from an archaeological site that has been built-over? Or from one that has been problematically excavated? Both of these questions were central to The Avertok Archaeology Project’s (AAP; Memorial University) reassessment of Avertok. The original Inuit settlement of Hopedale, Labrador, this site is significant for many reasons: in the 17th-18th centuries it was an important part of whaling and coastal trade networks, in 1782 a Moravian mission was established nearby, and in 1934 it was the primary focus of Junius Bird’s Hopedale Area Survey. Yet despite its importance, many questions about lifeways at Avertok persist. These questions are complicated further by: (1) the limits of early archaeology and the possibility that 1930s thinking may have led Bird to poor methodological choices and inaccurate conclusions, and (2) the continued habitation of Hopedale. Prompted by requests from community partners in the Nunatsiavut and Hopedale Inuit Community governments, the AAP sought to achieve the dual goals of reassessing the accuracy of Bird’s conclusions and gaining new insight about lifeways at Avertok. To accomplish these tasks, it was necessary to conduct fieldwork at not only Avertok, but also two additional sites -- Karmakulluk and Old Hopedale. Over two years (2017-2018), multiple sources of field and museum-based data were combined to create a picture of Inuit lifeways. The results reveal both practices of change and persistence, such as the progressive adoption of European-derived material culture and the continued hunting of marine mammals.
- Jean-François Guay - Université Laval
À la fin du XVIIe et au début du XVIIIe siècle, les jésuites construisent en terrasse leur complexe résidentiel, religieux et industriel sur le versant de la montagne. Ce complexe, qui est abandonné vers 1768, comprend une maison de maître entourée d’une chapelle, d’un cimetière, un aqueduc, d’une cuisine, d’un hôpital, d’un magasin, d’une forge et d’une purgerie (bâtiment qui sert à l’affinage du sucre).
La campagne archéologique menée par l’Université Laval et l’Association pour la Protection du Patrimoine Archéologique et Architectural de la Guyane (APPAAG) au cours du mois d’août 2018 constituait la deuxième étape du projet triennal de fouilles programmées à l’Habitation Loyola en Guyane française. Les objectifs de cette campagne consistaient à documenter les aires de circulation et les liens entre la cour de la chapelle, la purgerie et le cimetière ainsi que l’accès principal à l’habitation. La fouille en aire ouverte a permis de mettre en évidence divers vestiges et aménagements : un passage dallé entre la cour et le cimetière ; deux états de construction du mur de clôture de la cour ; un système d’évacuation des eaux ; une aire de circulation ancienne en contrebas de l’habitation. De plus, une quantité importante de mobilier archéologique a été trouvée, dont des fragments de pipes à fumer le tabac en terre cuite locale (objets personnels associés aux esclaves), des céramiques sucrières (forme à sucre et pot de raffineur), des céramiques importées (faïence, grès et porcelaine) et un petit vase sur pied en alliage cuivreux.
- Tekla Cunningham
- Yadira Chinique de Armas - University of Winnipeg
- Mirjana Roksandic - University of Winnipeg
The use of cultigens and wild plants by Archaic Age inhabitants in Cuba is just beginning to be understood. Traditionally, people were viewed as hunter gatherers, but recent starch evidence from dental calculus of individuals at the estuarine site of Canímar Abajo (1380BCE-950CE) has indicated that cultigens like sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas), maize (Zea mays), and common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) were consumed along with wild plants. At the riverside site of Las Carolinas (1-600CE), starch grain analysis of dental calculus from two individuals showed the presence of arrowhead (Sagittaria latifolia) and probable marunguey (Zamia sp.), indicating the consumption of wild plants instead of cultigens like at Canímar Abajo. Isotopic studies undertaken on four Las Carolinas skeletons demonstrated differences in the carbon and nitrogen values when compared with those of Canímar Abajo. These differences can be considered to be due to differential plant consumption. The two sites were occupied at the same time and only located 15 km away from each other, which leads us to question what kinds of cultural factors might account for the isotopic and dietary dissimilarities. We suggest that different diets point to different cultures, which supports Chinique de Armas’ hypothesis of the existence of multiple cultural groups in pre-contact Cuba. The different diets between sites suggests a far more complex cultural panorama in early Cuba than previously assumed.
- Maryssa Barras - University of Toronto
As of 2018 the black market for cultural and archaeological materials - including human remains - is estimated to be the third largest in the world. Seeing this commercial interest for human remains, few people have addressed how the widespread use of 3D technology risks creating a new virtual, downloadable, market for human bone. This is particularly alarming when considering that there are currently no legal, institutional, or professional regulations governing 3D data collection, ownership, or dissemination by archaeologists in Canada. As such, my research seeks to understand what it means for human autonomy to intersect with virtual reproduction in order to argue that unregulated 3D modelling by archaeologists and anthropologists participates in the commercialization and objectification of human remains.
In order to do so, I examine (1) the extensive legal debates between archaeologists, museums, and Indigenous communities in Canada on the repatriation of human remains to their appropriates descendant communities, (2) the ways in which current practice in 3D data ownership and dissemination ethically mirrors the issues faced with the ownership of physical remains, and (3) how 3D models relate to the commodification of human remains, especially when considering how they relate to the demands of the black market.
In balancing the particular legal and ethical intersections between human autonomy, repatriation, research inquiries, and capitalist ventures, my research ultimately proposes a functional framework aimed at guiding professional organisations and institutions through the process of creating regulations that can help address this overlooked ethical conundrum.