People, Plants, and Animals

Date/Heure: 
Samedi, mai 8, 2021 - 1:50pm - 2:30pm
(CST)
Room: 
1
Présentations
01:50 PM: Using Phytoliths to Examine Environment and Human Occupation in the Jezreel Valley, Israel
Format de présentation :
Auteur-e(s) :
  • Kali  Wade - Atlatl Archaeology Ltd.

Phytolith analysis is routinely utilized in archaeological contexts to answer a number of research questions ranging from agricultural strategies, to a community’s activity areas, to household plant use. While results can be informative and valuable, our understanding of plant use within occupation areas is heightened when they are paired with internal and external control samples from the surrounding areas. This study examines phytoliths from twenty one sediment samples extracted from four stratigraphic columns from the Jezreel Valley of modern-day Israel. Following standard techniques, we reconstruct the paleoenvironment of this large valley area to assess preservation conditions and summarize the past’s dominant plant communities. These results set a baseline understanding of phytolith densities and types to then examine with and in comparison, to three archaeological sites that have undergone previous phytolith analysis. Sites include Tel Shimron, Tel Megiddo, and Legio and will be completed at a later date. Together, this work provides a large scale understanding of the ancient Jezreel Valley and highlights the importance of collecting and analyzing external and internal control samples for meaningful microbotanical interpretations. This work is being completed by Atlatl Archaeology Ltd for the Jezreel Valley Regional Project, Tel Megiddo Expeditions, and Tel Shimron Excavations.
01:55 PM: The Olson site (DgMg-167): Initial Investigations of a Pre-contact Indigenous Farming Site near Melita, Manitoba
Format de présentation :
Auteur-e(s) :
  • Mary Malainey - Brandon University

In September 2018, Eric Olson found bison scapula hoes and lithic artifacts on the banks of a creek in the southwest corner of Manitoba. Investigations of the Olson site (DgMg-167) in 2019 and 2020 were a joint project of Brandon University and the Manitoba Archaeological Society. Indigenous engagement and public archaeology are important components of the project.

Excavations in 2020 near where an in situ modified deer scapula was found in 2019 provided further evidence of a bone toolmaking workshop. We anticipate that the analysis of soil cores collected from a grassy expanse in the valley will provide evidence of the crops grown and pre-contact Indigenous field system employed. A ground-penetrating radar survey of the prairie level west of the valley resulted in the identification of 29 subsurface anomalies, which we hope to begin evaluating this summer. AMS radiocarbon dates on bone and charcoal indicate the horticultural occupation began in the late AD 1400s/early AD 1500s and ended close to the time of European contact. Possible cultural connections between Olson site farmers and those at the Lockport site (EaLf-1), Middle Missouri villages and elsewhere are considered.
02:00 PM: Spatial analysis from the ostrich eggshell assemblage recovered from Grassridge Rockshelter, South Africa
Format de présentation :
Auteur-e(s) :
  • Danica Engen - University of Manitoba
  • Alex Monin - University of Manitoba
  • Thomas Doran - University of Manitoba

Beads are ubiquitous past and present for culturing the body and providing symbolic context to social interactions. In this regard, beads and ornaments are frequently the focus of archaeological inquiry, with the acquisition, manufacture, and manipulation of the raw material from which beads are created being overlooked. This is especially true of ostrich eggshell beads in southern Africa. Here we present preliminary results from a detailed approach to studying unworked ostrich eggshell from Grassridge Rockshelter, South Africa, a site that contains large ostrich eggshell bead assemblages that date to the terminal Pleistocene and mid-Holocene. Specifically, this study focuses on the distribution of ostrich shell with regard to burning features and recovered ostrich eggshell beads. Our results inform the relationship between ostrich shells, ostrich eggshell beads, and site taphonomy. These data provide novel spatial insights into the use and discard of ostrich eggshell at the site, such as the frequency (or lack thereof) of worked or unworked fragments in certain areas.
02:05 PM: The effects of Colonization on Indigenous Agriculture: An Overview from Manitoba.
Format de présentation :
Auteur-e(s) :
  • Garth Sutton - Manitoba Archaeological Society

Indigenous peoples were successful pre-contact agriculturalists with microbotanical evidence suggesting that maize, beans, squash and other produce were consumed in Manitoba ca. 1500 years ago. The recovery and documentation of scapula hoes, bell shaped storage pits and other agricultural implements point to local production of plant foods that were possibly introduced from the eastern woodlands as well as the Plains Villagers to the south. Europeans, beginning with early fur traders, began to migrate into the area and establish semi-permanent to permanent settlements that would have a direct effect upon Indigenous agricultural practices. With Confederation and the Deed of Surrender, an influx of settlers descended upon Manitoba, which required the First Peoples to enter into treaty with the Canadian government displacing them onto small parcels of unproductive land. This along with the implementation of the Indian Act in 1876, fundamentally changed Indigenous agricultural practices that created barriers resulting in food insecurity. This paper aims to highlight the highly successful agricultural practices that were in use prior to European settlement and the detrimental effects that early policy makers and government legislation had on these practices that created great difficulty producing agricultural goods for commercial and subsistance needs.