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Présentations
A 9,000-Year-Old Landscape Beneath Lake Huron: Plant Macrofossils from Submerged Peat Deposits on the Alpena-Amberley Ridge
Format de présentation : In-Person
Auteur-e(s) :
  • Mengxi Lin - Lakehead University
  • Matthew Boyd - Lakehead University

During early Holocene low-water phases, portions of the Lake Huron basin were exposed as terrestrial landscapes. The Alpena–Amberley Ridge is one such feature, now submerged beneath the modern lake. Plant macrofossils preserved in submerged peat deposits are used here to reconstruct local vegetation and environmental conditions of this ~9,000-year-old drowned landscape.

Peat samples were collected by divers and ROV from multiple sites across the ridge and processed using standard plant macrofossil recovery and identification methods. Identifiable remains were classified by functional group and analyzed at the site level to assess spatial patterns in vegetation and hydrological conditions.

Macrofossil assemblages are dominated by aquatic and wetland herb taxa, indicating the development of peat-forming wetlands before the lake-level rise. Assemblage composition varies among sites, suggesting spatially heterogeneous vegetation patterns likely influenced by local hydrology and microtopography. Woody taxa are rare or absent across the sampled sites.

These results provide direct, in situ paleoenvironmental evidence for the submerged paleolandscape and contribute to the environmental context for ongoing archaeological research on early Holocene Caribou movement corridors in the Lake Huron basin.
A Mansion House Complex on the Avalon: An Historical and Archaeological Analysis of Ferryland’s Principal Residence from the 17th to 21st Century
Format de présentation : In-Person
Auteur-e(s) :
  • Jordan Hollahan - PhD Candidate, Memorial University

This presentation, based on my ongoing doctoral research, will investigate select artifacts, structural remains, and primary source documents related to the Mansion House Complex (hereon MHC) at the Ferryland site (CgAf-02) in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Built in the 1620s and destroyed in 1696, the MHC consists of several outbuildings (i.e., the kitchen, a western house, the parlour, a stable and later a tavern) centred around the primary dwelling (the Mansion House). Despite French destruction, the subsequent reuse of elements of the MHC can be traced throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Although significant contributions have been made to understanding and interpreting the MHC, limited archaeological and historical research has primarily focused on select artifacts, faunal remains, and associated outbuildings, thereby eluding a comprehensive examination in a stand-alone study. This project aims to capture the entire trajectory of the MHC’s significance as both a symbol of British authority in North America and a functional centre of colonial life in Ferryland over four centuries.
Archaeology within a Landscape of Contested Sovereignties: Reflections on an Failed Attempt at Community Collaboration at a Heritage Site in Montreal, Quebec
Format de présentation : In-Person
Auteur-e(s) :
  • Karonhianoron Dallas Canady-Binette - McGill University

In Quebec, collaboration between professional archaeologists and Indigenous peoples is a rare and relatively recent phenomenon. Current legislation governing archaeology in the province does not include parameters for what collaboration should look like and renders almost all decision-making powers to the Minister of Culture and Communications. This disconnect is further exacerbated for English-speaking Indigenous communities due to the fact that most practicing archaeologists in the province are francophone.

This presentation offers a Kanien’keha:ka perspective on a unique attempt at a cooperative archaeological project at the Royal Victoria Hospital site in downtown Montreal, Quebec. Here, a number of diverse stakeholders converged including a university, the provincial government, and a collective of Indigenous women known as the Mohawk Mothers. Although the relationship between archaeologists and Indigenous stakeholders began positively, the work environment quickly became adversarial. While professional archaeologists conceptualized collaboration as accommodating cultural difference, Indigenous stakeholders repeatedly asserted their rights to sovereignty and self-determination and insisted on disrupting historical power dynamics. Drawing on ethnographic notes taken during my time as part of a team of Indigenous cultural monitors, I argue that this attempt ultimately failed due to a profound misunderstanding of what it means to collaborate with Indigenous peoples.
Hands-on Heritage: 3D Artifact Replicas as a Bridge Between Inuinnait Youth, Elders, and Archaeology
Format de présentation : In-Person
Auteur-e(s) :
  • Susannah Clinker - University of Toronto
  • Pitquhirnikkut Ilihautiniq/  Kitikmeot Heritage Society - Pitquhirnikkut Ilihautiniq/ Kitikmeot Heritage Society
  • Max Friesen - University of Toronto

This presentation reports on the Hands-on Heritage project, a community-led initiative in Iqaluktuuttiaq (Cambridge Bay), Nunavut, that explores how archaeological research can be mobilized to better share scientific and local knowledges. Developed in partnership with the Pitquhirnikkut Ilihautiniq/Kitikmeot Heritage Society (PI/KHS) and archaeologists at the University of Toronto, this project creates archaeology-based educational kits for local schools that integrate 3D-printed replicas of Inuit and Paleo-Inuit (Dorset) artifacts with Elder-recorded Oral Histories and pedagogical materials grounded in Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit (IQ, Inuit Traditional Knowledge). The kits aim to bring archaeology into classrooms, foster intergenerational learning, and strengthen youth engagement with cultural heritage. This presentation documents the collaborative development process, including artifact selection, 3D scanning and printing, and consultations with Elders, Knowledge Holders, and educators. Ultimately, this project demonstrates how community-centred, service-oriented archaeological practice can support local priorities, enhance heritage education, and increase the tangible benefits of research occurring in and around communities.

Inconcrete: The archaeological seeps, drips and flows of calthemite
Format de présentation : In-Person
Auteur-e(s) :
  • Peter Whitridge - Memorial University of Newfoundland

Concrete is by far the most common modern building material, giving heft, form and texture to our surroundings and spawning a distinct regime of formation processes related to its breakdown and (re)deposition. Besides mechanical wear and stresses, concrete formulations are liable to degrade chemically on a relatively short time scale, to substantial archaeological effect.  Moisture leaching through the matrix brings calcium hydroxide into contact with the atmosphere, precipitating calthemite (calcium carbonate) as a scaly white efflorescence.  Calthemite superficially resembles speleothems, though the underlying chemistry is different, and while speleothems accrete by at most a few mm per year, calthemite straws can grow at up to 2 mm per day.  It develops over a substructure of fungal mycelia, so like the algal and bacterial biofilms that coat many built surfaces can be considered the hybrid exudate of chemical processes and biological communities consuming humanly constructed materials.  Calthemite gives rise to intricate pseudokarst landscapes that are thoroughly entangled with archaeological residues; at mid-20th century ruins in the St. John’s region it both overlies and underlies contemporary graffiti.  The present paper reveals the contemporary archaeological record to be substantively shaped by calthemitic deterioration and deposition, and concrete to be anything but.
Just Representation? Indigenous Representation in Newfoundland & Labrador Museums
Format de présentation : In-Person
Auteur-e(s) :
  • Jared T. Hogan - Memorial University (Archaeology)

The idea that there are no Indigenous Peoples in Newfoundland and Labrador is a widely held belief for some non-Indigenous residents in the province and beyond. Museums, provincial politics, and education curricula are central to the spread and maintenance of this myth. Museums in the province are slowly beginning to face their contentious relationships with Indigenous Peoples and their representation of Indigenous cultures in their exhibits. This presentation presents results from Newfoundland and Labrador’s first qualitative analysis of Indigenous representation in non-Indigenous-led museums. Digital media analysis, exhibit analysis, and semi-structured interviews with museum professionals reveal that museum exhibits in the province require updating, and museum professionals express a desire to decolonize their exhibits. However, limited funding, lack of accessible education in Indigenous Studies, and unclear paths for working with, for, and by Indigenous communities hinder decolonizing work and the bettering of Indigenous representation in Newfoundland and Labrador museums. Recommendations for bettering Indigenous representation are provided.
The Toolkit Project: An Applied Research Initiative in Digital Archaeological Workflows
Format de présentation : In-Person
Auteur-e(s) :
  • FRANÇOIS GUINDON - Archéoconsultant inc.

Toolkit is the result of a three-year applied research and development initiative led by the Archéoconsultant team, in collaboration with professional software developers. Following two years of iterative prototyping and field testing, Toolkit has evolved into a bespoke, production-ready digital environment, designed specifically for professional archaeological practice.

The platform was developed to address persistent limitations in archaeological data management by supporting the entire archaeological workflow within a single system. Toolkit enables standardized field data recording through structured forms, as well as graphical recording, including stratigraphic drawings. It operates across diverse field contexts, including shovel test pit surveys, excavations in Indigenous contexts, and fieldwork based on the Tikal methodology.

Observed results include measurable productivity gains, improved data consistency through error detection (e.g., duplicates), partial automation of recurrent tasks, and remote monitoring of team progress. More broadly, Toolkit contributes to increased efficiency, improved data quality, and enhanced collective intelligence through integrated information sharing.