Abstract

British Mountain has been the subject of both optimism for possible great antiquity as a station on the route between continents and derision for its foundation on the basis of MacNeish's enthusiastic reception of some artifacts from a muck layer. It has been redefined by people trying to see it as real, but not real ancient. With the advantage of having the collection at hand at The Canadian Museum of Civilization, along with the provenience catalogues, tried to solve the enigma (controversy) of British Mountain is on the basis of (a) its stratigraphic context at the Engigstciak site, (b) assemblage characterization, (c) artifact and faunal fragment refits, (d) associated fauna and pollen, (e) purity or discreteness of the assemblage, (f) lithology compared with that of other Engigstciak assemblages, and (g) radiocarbon dating. The results are interesting, instructive and revealing and succeed in making British Mountain all the more enigmatic.