Abstract

1975 saw the completion of a highly successful three-year archaeological survey, conducted by the Ontario Ministry of Culture and Recreation at Manitou Mounds Park Reserve, on the Rainy River in northwestern Ontario. A total of 30 habitation and special activity sites and six of the prehistoric burial mounds now known in the area have been located and intensive test excavations conducted in seven site areas. Preliminary results indicate that the sites were occupied seasonally over a period of perhaps 3000 years by a number of northern peoples, to take advantage of the varied natural resources peculiar to the Rainy River district, and the strategic location of the area with respect to major cross-continental trade routes, through prehistory and during the Fur Trade era.