Sensational Sandy Sites—in the North and Beyond

Session Hosting Format: 
in-person session
Date/Time: 
Thursday, April 28, 2022 - 10:40am to 12:00pm
(CST)
Room: 
Turner Valley Room
Organizer(s): 
  • Krista Gilliland, Western Heritage
Contact Email: 
kgilliland@westernheritage.ca
Session Description (300 word max): 

Sandy landforms, such as hills, dunes, sheets, and even small-scale localized sandy deposits, tend to be associated with archaeological sites in numbers that are disproportionate to those on other types of landforms. The reasons for this are numerous, and include the fact that sandy landforms are commonly elevated and well-drained, provide structural foundations for animal traps or pounds, are groundwater recharge or discharge areas, and can support an increased diversity of flora and fauna relative to the surrounding regions. However, sandy sites are also typically more susceptible to disturbance, destabilization, and erosion. Human activity, past or present, can be a contributing factor in this disturbance.

Experience working in sandy landscapes in the prairies, parkland, and boreal forest indicates that, although people appear to have preferentially selected these landforms, there are typically differences in the density, extent, and type of artifacts recovered, depending on the ecoregion. What explanations are there for these differences? Possibilities include: depositional environment and taphonomy, post-depositional disturbances, patterns of occupation and activity, cultural preferences, and resource availability, among others.

We invite researchers at all levels of experience and from all related fields (archaeology, traditional land use studies, geomorphology, etc.) to participate in this session, which will focus on discussions of the rich diversity, habitability, fragility, and formation of sandy landscapes. From landforms in the boreal forest, to the prairies, to dunes on the coast and along the Great Lakes, this session will focus on addressing commonalities and key differences in sandy sites in the north.. and beyond!

Presentations
10:40 AM: All the Same? Case Studies in Formation Processes and Sandy Sites in the Boreal Forest
Presentation format: In-Person
Author(s):
  • Krista Gilliland - Western Heritage
  • Rob Kadis - Western Heritage

Assessing the interpretive value of an archaeological site is one of the primary goals of the consulting archaeologist, as it informs recommendations for site management. It is a challenge if the site yields few artifacts, no diagnostic tools, and has no known land use history. At aeolian-dominated sites in the boreal forest, this challenge is compounded by minimal to absent visual or textural differentiation of the stratigraphy. Further, as the entirety of large-scale aeolian landforms tend to be of high archaeological potential, recommending conventional avoidance strategies to developers may not be feasible. Establishing appropriate, effective assessment methods for these landforms is an evolving but essential process in CRM.

 

We present several case studies illustrating detailed stratigraphic description and portable luminescence methods as a means of ‘reading’ landforms to better understand the dynamics of aeolian activity in the boreal forest on the local level. We address questions such as: Are there tangible indicators of depositional history and disturbance that go beyond the visible?  and How are the site and associated landform related to others in the region? Our work demonstrates the value of an innovative approach in evaluating site significance and formulating meaningful recommendations for historic resources management.
11:00 AM: Recreational impacts and archaeology in the Redwater Sand Hills
Presentation format: In-Person
Author(s):
  • Kurtis Blaikie-Birkigt - Tree Time Services Inc.

In 2005 I participated in a mitigative excavation of several sites on the North Saskatchewan River valley on the south edge of the Redwater Sand Hills. I had wondered to what extent these occupations were focused on the river, or would extend north into the sand hill area. Ten years later, I indulged my curiosity by organizing a public survey of part of the Redwater Provincial Recreation Area.

In one afternoon, 30 volunteers identified 12 newly recorded archaeological sites. All of the sites were identified in surface exposure resulting from recreational ATV use. Volunteers recovered a wide range of artifacts, including a diagnostic Besant point. These artifacts represented a variety of precontact and historic activities.

This survey demonstrated that the sand hills had significantly higher archaeological potential than previously assumed. It also demonstrated the threat that recreational ATV use poses to archaeological sites in sensitive sand hills environments. It is likely that both of these conclusions apply to other sand hill environments surrounding Edmonton. Further research and ongoing management of historic resource concerns in these areas is warranted.
11:20 AM: The Bigstick Site: A Unique McKean-age Bone Bed in the Bigstick Sand Hills of southwestern Saskatchewan
Presentation format: Online - pre-recorded
Author(s):
  • Tobi Krahulic - Jacobs Engineering Group
  • Alison Landals - Stantec Consulting Ltd.
  • Gwyn Langemann - Stantec Consulting Ltd.

In 2020, Stantec Consulting Ltd. excavated a rare McKean-age bison killsite in the Bigstick Sand Hills of southwestern Saskatchewan. The site is unusual, not only because of the age, but because our research indicated that the location of landforms in the past environment were not reflected in the present day landscape, complicating predictive modeling in this area.  The data from the bone bed suggest that site EaOh-23 represents a single kill event utilizing a parabolic dune formation as a natural trap. Despite its great age and the sandy matrix, the bone bed was remarkably well-preserved, yielding an assemblage of 19 McKean Complex projectile points in association with the butchered remains of over 30 bison. The Bigstick Sand Hills represent a unique environment within the prairies and the identification of this site offers important insight into the use of this area by McKean-age people. It is likely that similar sites may be present within the Sand Hills region but the constantly shifting sand dune environment requires specialized methodology to find sites of similar antiquity. 
11:40 AM: FlPg-143: a large, stratified site northeast of Edmonton
Presentation format: In-Person
Author(s):
  • Kurtis Blaikie-Birkigt - Tree Time Services Inc.

While sand hill environments are known to have the potential for deep sedimentation, the majority of sites recorded in sand hill environments in the Edmonton region are small, with poor preservation, and often deflated stratigraphy. 

FlPg-143 was recorded northeast of Edmonton in 2020, in the context of a major pipeline impact assessment. FlPg-143 is an extensive, multi-component historic and pre-contact site with complex, intact stratigraphy. The artifact sample recovered from shovel testing includes diverse lithic materials, calcined bone and ungulate tooth enamel. The planned development was rerouted to avoid the site, so no excavation has been conducted, but the site has significant scientific and interpretative potential.

This site was identified by shovel testing within the basin of a complex dune-like feature, after testing of elevated portions of the landform were negative. This area was tested as a result of discussion with other consulting archaeologists about sites in other dune fields, and emphasizes the importance of sharing our learnings and testing our assumptions. This significant site could easily have been overlooked in my survey, and destroyed by the planned development.