Within the island of Newfoundland and the adjacent French-operated territory of Saint-Pierre et Miquelon, extensive historical and archaeological research has uncovered details on the fisheries prosecuted by various European nations and the subsequent colonization of the region. However, despite thorough evidence of trade connections across the Atlantic, parallel to the Atlantic Slave Trade and the colonial trajectory of the Caribbean, the narrative of enslavement through the 17th-19th centuries has been, until recently, unconsidered and perpetuated as nonexistent. With recent awareness and research into the accounts of enslaved persons within Newfoundland and Saint-Pierre et Miquelon, this research attempts to provide a more realistic and complex analysis of the enslaved labor forces associated with the North Atlantic fisheries and trade. Previously alienated through historical oversight and a deficit of documentation, a reexamination of African diaspora in fishery spaces can reinsert the reality of enslavement and restore dignity from silencing dominant narratives. Examined through a postcolonial lens, methods to be employed include archival research, a review of secondary source literature, a targeted assessment/re-assessment of archaeological collections, and public education outreach.

This literature review will explore the Meadowood burial tradition (2800-2500 B.P.), focusing on the research concerning cache bifaces at these sites. The review will synthesize findings from the Maritime provinces, studies published over the past four decades to highlight major trends, sites, and methodology. 

Key themes to be presented include using biface caches to demonstrate social status in mortuary ceremonies and trade within the macroregional Meadowood Interaction Sphere. The review examines topics such as the sudden absence of the Meadowood Tradition, which persisted for at least 4 decades (some authors cite 500 years) before being succeeded by the Middlesex Tradition (2500-2200 B.P.), characterized by distinct forms of pottery and heavy woodworking tools. The temporal gap, issues of chronology and site classification of Meadowood Tradition will be discussed as avenues for future study.

This poster will present an overview of the literature, using visual aids to illustrate the development of ideas and approaches within the analysis of Meadowood cache bifaces. The aim will be to provide a comprehensive understanding of the existing literature concerning Meadowood burial traditions in the Maritimes and to encourage discussion about potential topics for future research. 

Keywords: [Indigenous sites, lithics, burial goods]

This research examines post-medieval coarse earthenware (Bretonware) produced in Brittany, France, between the 17th and 19th centuries, brought by Breton fishers participating in the migratory fisheries to the North Atlantic, including Saint-Pierre et Miquelon, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, and Quebec. The Bretons were among the first European groups to exploit the Northwestern Atlantic’s marine resources alongside the Basques and Normans. Yet, Breton ceramics remain largely understudied in North America, and research in France is exceedingly limited. Produced on an artisanal scale primarily for local use, Bretonware found on North Atlantic archaeological sites reflects the regional identities of Breton fisherfolk and their role in transatlantic fisheries. Through a comparative analysis of the Anse à Bertrand site in Saint-Pierre and four contemporary sites in Atlantic Canada (c. 17th–20th centuries) with collections from production centers in Brittany, complemented by documentary and historical sources from both production (Brittany) and consumption contexts (North Atlantic), this research seeks to enhance our understanding of Bretonware productions, the identity of fisherfolks, and its connection to the development of the salt-cod fishery.

This poster highlights the outcomes of a community-driven research project that focused on locating new Mi'kmaw archaeology sites in the central region of the island of Newfoundland using Etuaptmumk (Two-Eyed Seeing). Etuaptmumk is a guiding principle developed by Mi’kmaw Elder Albert Marshall that emphasizes the importance of bringing together Indigenous and Western ways of knowing. In collaboration with Mi'kmaw communities in central, this community-driven project aimed to identify and document sites significant to the Mi’kmaq in this region. The research and fieldwork methodologies combined Indigenous knowledge with contemporary archaeological methods, emphasizing the importance of local knowledge, Mi’kmaw oral history, and cultural practices to guide the research and fieldwork. This presentation will outline the methods used to identify areas of archaeological potential, the process of locating and documenting Mi’kmaw sites, the challenges encountered in balancing research objectives and community work, and the rewarding outcomes of community engagement. By centering Mi'kmaw knowledge and priorities, this project not only expanded our understanding of the region’s archaeological record but also strengthened connections between community members, their ancestors, and their cultural heritage while also empowering community members to become involved in archaeology and reclaim and protect their heritage for future generations.

In line with new emerging holistic studies about human-animal interactions as well as increased attention to climate change’s impact on biogeography, this study will consider the questions: how did Inuvialuit relationships with birds change over time, and is it possible to identify whether climate change may have impacted these relationships within the archaeological record? To answer these questions, this study looks at avian assemblages from two houses at Cache Point and Kuukpak, archaeological sites along the western bank of the East Channel of the Mackenzie Delta, which span from the 1300s to 1800s C.E. These records are supplemented with four previously identified contexts to understand how patterns of birds’ presence on sites change throughout time. Between three periods of occupation, occurrence patterns of bird categories are linked to subsistence, raw material, symbolism, and identity using ethnographic analogy from ethnohistoric sources and traditional stories. Changes between Cache Point and Kuukpak are noted as greater than changes between different periods of occupation at Kuukpak. Attempts are also made to link these patterns to climate change to understand how events such as the Little Ice Age may impact the trends in the zooarchaeological record.

Little St. Lawrence  (LSL), located on the Newfoundland’s Burin Peninsula, was home to small but significant whaling station from 1903-1907. Its significance was due to the efforts of Dr. Ludwig Rissmüller, a German-American chemist, who patented a process for manufacturing previously unused parts from whale carcasses into fertilizer. Prior to Dr. Rissmüller’s processes, the majority of the harvested whale carcasses were drifted back out to sea, creating pollution and boat traffic problems. His factory in LSL acted as the prototype facility for his patents that would become standards in the industry. Today, there is little physical evidence remaining of the station in LSL. The goal of this project is to create a visual reconstruction of the site through mapping with real-time kinematics (RTK) and drone photogrammetry and comparison with historical data. The whaling station represents a significant chapter in the history of Little St. Lawrence and the development of the modern shore-station whaling industry. Mapping the site offers valuable insights into the organization of the factory’s buildings and docks, while contributing to the preservation of archaeological features and enrichment of local historical knowledge.

The Nunatsiavut community of Hopedale holds a multi-faceted role in Labrador Inuit history. Inhabited by Inuit as early as the 16^th century, the location was the site of Avertok, a settlement whose name meant the place of whales, and which served as a meeting point for whaling and trade. In 1782, it also became a key location for Inuit-Moravian relations when the Hopedale Mission was built. Within academia, Avertok was the focal point for one of Arctic archaeology’s foundational documents. Given the connections between foodways and lifeways among mobile hunters, and Avertok’s reputation as the place of whales, one would expect diet to be central to any archaeological research undertaken here. However, for nearly a century, the only true intensive study of Avertok – done by Junius Bird in 1934 on behalf of the American Museum of Natural History – excluded the collection of faunal remains and focused almost entirely on architecture. The original Avertok settlement has now been builtover, making the possibility of any future excavation of undisturbed features unlikely. Thus, the question becomes not only what was the diet at Avertok, but also, how do we reconstruct something so important when data has potentially been lost?

Pitaumkek, an archaeological shell-midden site situated on Hog Island in the province of Prince Edward Island, Canada, lies within the territory of the Epekwitnewaq Mi’kmaq. This is the first study from the Canadian Atlantic coast to use oysters to reconstruct past sea surface temperatures, seasonality and shellfish harvesting of the Mi’kmaq from 643-184 cal. BP. High-resolution stable oxygen isotope analysis was applied to 10 archaeological and two live collected Eastern Oyster shells (Crassostrea virginica) from the surrounding Malpeque Bay to reconstruct past sea-surface temperatures and identify the season(s) of past oyster harvesting and, by proxy, site occupation. To contextualize local shellfish harvest, archaeological oyster shell hinges underwent sclerochronological analysis to determine the ontogenetic age of oysters at the time of collection. Reconstructed temperatures range from ∼0℃ to 10.8℃ for archaeological samples and ~ -1.7℃ to 17.5℃ for live-collected samples. The δ¹⁸O results further show a pattern of the year-round collection with an emphasis on warm-weather collection (spring/summer).  Sclerochronological analysis suggests that oysters were collected at a mature growth stage, at an average age of ~4 years, consistent with the standards of modern aquaculture, suggesting that the Mi’kmaq at this site practiced strategic harvesting.

Archaeological shell middens are used to understand past environments, diets, and subsistence strategies, including shellfish harvesting. By classifying mollusk shells into different age stages, the relative harvest intensity of shellfish can be interpreted - where proportions of older-aged shells compared to younger-aged shells indicate a lower harvesting intensity. In collaboration with Tsleil-Waututh Nation, whose territories surround Burrard Inlet (British Columbia), we conducted growth stage assessments of archaeological mollusk shells from three village sites: Say-mah-mit (Noon’s Creek, DhRq-1; 2310 - 1832 cal. BP), Say-umiton (Strathcona Park, DhRr-18; 958 +/- 39 cal. BP), and Saltuth (Barnet Marine Park, DhRr-374; 906 - 560 cal. BP) We assessed 3007 mollusk shells of two species: butter and littleneck clams (Saxidomus gigantea and Leukoma staminea). All three village sites show a lower relative harvest intensity, aligning with Tsleil-Waututh Nation’s long-standing values of protection, preservation, and sustainable subsistence practices, as well as suggesting a diverse diet and wide range of food sources available in the region. Next steps include the use of oxygen isotope analysis to determine seasonal patterns of shellfish harvesting and, by proxy, site occupation. These data also provide paleo-temperature information that will be used to establish environmental baselines useful for Tsleil-Waututh's ongoing environmental management.