Format: In-Person
Author(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-20^th 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.

Format: In-Person
Author(s):

• Terry

  Beaulieu

  - St. Francis Xavier University

For more than two decades there have been calls to acknowledge and redress colonizing practices in archaeology. While progress has been made, some processes remain largely unchallenged. If archaeology is not willing to earnestly examine - and potentially jettison – fundamental disciplinary concepts and practices for their potentially colonizing impacts, can the discipline legitimately claim to be earnestly addressing charges of colonialism? Consider the foundational concept of the archaeological site. Archaeological sites are modern constructions subjectively defined by Western trained archaeologists, employing Western concepts, for Western audiences. And it is largely those subjective Western creations that legitimize past Indigenous place in the minds of the public, government, and industry. Furthermore, the spaces beyond the boundaries of those Western defined archaeological sites necessarily become characterized as archaeologically inferior to those lying within the bounds of the archaeological sites. The simple practice of creating an archaeological site imposes Western concepts of space onto Indigenous place and necessarily becomes a colonizing practice.  The reluctance to thoroughly interrogate the colonizing effects of the archaeological site concept, then, must also be a colonizing practice. If archaeology is serious about decolonizing the discipline, is it time to eschew the rigid adherence to the archaeological site concept?

Format: In-Person
Author(s):

• Beatrice

  Fletcher

  - McMaster University

What happens when archaeological data fails to present a clear ethnographic snapshot in time? How do we interpret unruly datasets that resist the delineation of clear site boundaries or defy the bounding of neatly defined activity areas? Drawing on soil x‑ray fluorescence (XRF) multi‑element chemical analyses from six locations in Southern Ontario, this paper explores how minimally invasive methods, developed in collaboration with community, can illuminate dynamic histories of landscape creation rather than static moments of occupation.

This study encompasses a wide range of contexts, from hunter‑gatherer camps to spaces at the core of Wendat village life, as well as areas perceived as peripheral to or even beyond village boundaries. By foregrounding variability in phosphorus and other anthropogenically enriched elements, rather than relying on absolute concentrations, this analysis demonstrates how chemical patterning can reveal subtle, cumulative traces of human activity and differentiate between distinct past lifeways. Ultimately, I argue that developing sampling protocols attuned to variability, and adopting a landscape‑oriented approach, allows archaeological narratives to better reflect the complexity, movement, and relational nature of past human–environment interactions.

Format: In-Person
Author(s):

• Sam

  Judson

  - University of Calgary

Alberta is a province rich in many things. The province’s natural resources, Rocky Mountains, expansive prairies and beautiful cities likely come to mind first, but most Albertans would not think to add ‘archaeological sites’ to this list. Very few Albertans are aware of the depth of Alberta’s Indigenous past and how this is preserved in the archaeological record. Through fieldwork and literary research, the goal of this project was to learn more about what the public knows about archaeological sites in Calgary and the surrounding area, how they learnt this information, and how information about archaeology can be efficiently disseminated to the public in engaging ways. In the field, it quickly became clear many community members felt they knew about modern Indigenous culture, but were not as familiar with Precontact Indigenous culture or early settler communities in Alberta, or archaeology’s role in sharing this past. By celebrating Alberta's vibrant and diverse past, and helping educate the broader public about this heritage, the goals of truth and reconciliation can also be furthered as we increase intercultural competency by spreading knowledge about Calgary and Southern Alberta’s incredibly rich cultures of today and of the past.

Format: In-Person
Author(s):

• Louis

  Thomas

  - Elder (Secwepemc)
• Peter

  Poole

  - President, Bowstrings Heritage Foundation

We examine the social history of Canada's first protected archaeological resource: a winter village of Secwepemc peoples, protected in 1913 by Dominion Archaeologist Harlan Smith in Canada's first national park, Banff. This history has three parts: (a) the first couple of decades during which there were mixed understandings of the site; (b) the much deeper history held in Secwepemc family stories; and (c) more recent efforts to honour the site's architectural significance.

These winter homes are the most enduring form of Canadian architecture. Called c7istken' ("k'yeest'kn" in Secwepemctsin) or kekuli (Chinook Jargon), these permanent structures are semi-subterranean homes, built with preserved logs and vegetated roofs. Their presence in Banff indicates relationships which were formed in this valley among many cultures, relationships which families continue to maintain to this day.

This presentation is by Elder Louis Thomas who assisted his mother Mary Thomas to build a pit-house on the Mall in Washington, D.C. in 1978 for the Smithsonian; and by Peter Poole who has worked with Elders and explored the sites in the mountains for three decades. By presenting archival documents, contrasting narratives, and enduring research questions, they reveal the opportunities for cultural resource managers and First Nations knowledge-sharers to collaborate.

Format: In-Person
Author(s):

• Jill

  Taylor-Hollings

  - Dept. of Anthropology, Lakehead University/Ontario Archaeological Society

The main goal of this SSHRC Partnership project is to support ongoing work of reclaiming language, histories, and knowledges amongst the Asiniskaw Īthiniwak (Rocky Cree). Knowledge Keepers, academics and other research partners are developing historical picture books and related outputs that depict life during the early 1600s in Northern Manitoba, to accurately reconstruct ancient cultural landscapes before hydro-electric damming forever altered the area. Authored by Elder William Dumas, each traditional story is set during one of six seasons and centres on children finding their miskanaw (life purpose). These detailed books form part of classroom educational packages also including Teacher’s Guides and digital apps with Rocky Cree language/games.

The University of Winnipeg is the academic project home but the unique archaeological research is being completed at Lakehead University, contributing to educational outputs but also 3D modelling and printing of ancient belongings from the area on loan from the Manitoba Museum. With a new book and related items forthcoming this fall, the archaeological contributions will be discussed such as supporting the book narrative with sidebar texts, working with illustrators to create scenes of actual boreal forest locations, studying the ancient belongings, and replicating lost fibre weaving technologies.

Format: In-Person
Author(s):

• Natascha

  Beisswenger-Mooney

  - Department of Anthropology, Western University

In this paper, I present early findings from my master's research regarding how the heritage landscape of German-Texan settlers in Quihi, Texas, has been remembered and engaged with by the descendant community. Quihi was settled by German migrants as part of a settler-colonial project in the 19th century. In the decades following German settlers' arrival in Quihi, they began constructing rock houses and creating a new built landscape with churches and shops. Some of these 19th-century buildings still stand, while others have fallen into ruin. My research focuses on two of the 19th-century rock houses that have fallen into ruin, as well as the landscape surrounding them. During my fieldwork, I created 3D models of the ruins using photogrammetry and conducted semi-structured oral history interviews with seven individuals from the descendant community, focusing on personal and family experiences with these houses. During the interview participants shared recollections of (re)discovery of their ancestors' homes, how those who lived there remember them, and information about the houses' lives. I conclude by discussing how the 3D models are being layered with archives and the oral histories to create public-facing outputs.

Format: Online - pre-recorded
Author(s):

• Adam

  MacFarlane

  - Western University
• Natascha

  Beisswenger-Mooney

  - Western University

The ability to create digital 3D models of heritage sites and landscapes has been a great benefit to the field of archaeology.  Processes like LiDAR and photogrammetry can be used to bring these places into the digital world. 3D printing offers another way to preserve and recreate these heritage landscapes. By taking the digital 3D models and printing them, the digitized landscape is transformed back into a physical object — a tangible scale model that can be easily interacted with. 3D prints are cost-effective, make hard-to-access locations accessible, serve as a tool for hands on education, and a way to provide a tangible output to a community. However, printing a 3D model is not as simple as uploading a digital model and hitting the print button. In this paper we discuss the printing process of taking the digital models of two heritage homes — currently standing in ruins in Quihi, Texas — and transforming them into 3D print-quality models. Finally, we reflect on the decisions we made regarding printing time and printed versus hand-painted colouring to balance accuracy and technological limitations. 

Format: In-Person
Author(s):

• Rory

  Succee

  - Western University

This paper presents findings from my master’s research, which explores how the community of D’Hanis, Texas used headstones as a form of identity negotiation. Part of this research included June 2025 fieldwork where headstones were photographed and 3D modeled through photogrammetry, virtually preserving the cultural heritage landscape for future generations. Further, this project was supported by the community who provided cemetery records and maps. This paper discusses the ways that community involvement, combined with archives, in a cemetery study allows for deeper analysis of communal histories that are depicted on the heritage landscape. Further, this paper explores the possibility for digital headstone models to allow the community to engage with their ancestors and create new or recall old memories as well as advantages or disadvantages of using digitization. To close, I will discuss the ways in which descendants have continued to revisit the cemetery by replacing, updating, and relocating headstones and the heritage landscape. Overall, this project highlights how past and present community members continued to engage with D’Hanis’ heritage landscape and how 3D models potentially offer new forms of engagement with memories.

Format: Online - pre-recorded
Author(s):

• El

  Gillies

  - Western University

In archaeology, we often turn to material culture and ruins to investigate, engage with, and recreate heritage landscapes. My project adds to a growing number of archaeological investigations that draw on non-material culture - namely archival material and oral histories- to study how a community’s identity emerges through place-based narratives over time. I study the Scottish descendant community of Glengarry County, Ontario, and investigate how they narrate their identity nearly 250 years after a migration event. When asked to introduce themselves and their family history, oral history participants almost all chose to situate themselves at hyper- localized scales such as concessions and local roads, rather than broader places like “Glengarry County” or “Canada”. I discuss the prominence of concessions and roads in identity narratives, to illustrate the construction of unique place-based identities in this Scottish-Canadian diaspora community. I will conclude by discussing the use ArcGIS mapping software to map the migration related narratives of community members, and through this method discover patterns among the places, roads, concessions, and journeys that descendants narrate in relation to their cultural identity situated in the Scottish Glengarrian heritage landscape.

Format: In-Person
Author(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.

Format: In-Person
Author(s):

• Rebecca

  Dunham

  - Terrestrial Archaeology, ISCH, Parks Canada

Archaeological fieldwork often reveals ‘the unexpected’ which can be inconvenient or illuminating, all depending on the lens through which it is viewed. The beauty of unknowing is that it is humbling and encourages us to see our work through a multifocal lens – seeking clarity in the near (the site), the far (the landscape), and in-between (the interface between them). At Fort Anne National Historic Site in Nova Scotia, a small sinkhole popped open last December revealing a long-forgotten aspect of the cultural landscape that challenges prevailing assumptions about the place and how it has changed over time. At Sable Island National Park Reserve, a remote island best known for its wild horses, recent archaeological recording of cultural sites detoured slightly to examine eroding paleosols. The paleosols proved fascinating when viewed through a cultural lens, revealing evidence of European arrival and irreversible transformation of the island’s landscape. These thin black lines in the sand dunes have encouraged us to step back and consider human history on Sable Island from the land’s point of view, in a way we hadn’t before.

Format: In-Person
Author(s):

• Samantha (Presenter)

  Breau

  - University of Toronto
• Ellen

  Pacheco

  - University of Toronto
• Stephen

  Berquist

Mortuary practices are well documented throughout the Jequetepeque Valley in the North Coast of Peru (Alaica, 2022; Donnan et al., 1997; Huffman, 1997; Tomasto-Cagigao et al., 2016; Zobler and Sutter, 2016; Zori and Johnson, 2011). Issues in relation to archaeological disturbances and looting activity in the region have significantly impacted how we are able to both collect and examine osteological material. As such, the need for salvage-based excavations has become necessary to provide future direction in navigating these issues. The presence of extensive looted funerary material, both osteological and other artifacts such as ceramics, within the boundaries of the Cañoncillo Archaeological Project (2004-present) in the Jequetepeque Valley presents the opportunity to explore novel approaches in such salvage-based methods. This paper presents the preliminary results from the 2025 field season and offers insight into novel approaches in the region in identifying looted versus non-looted material/structures, and how we aim to continue future exploration of the region in collaboration with the local community of Jatanca. Overall, we aim to provide alternate perspectives on the importance of the materials from looted contexts and emphasize how such material can benefit both academic and local understanding of the past.

Format: In-Person
Author(s):

• Tristan

  Paron

The Norse arrival in Orkney began as a base for raiding Britain. Yet by the 9th century, a shift began, and the Norse started to settle the islands, connecting themselves to the landscape through the continuation of Norse traditions and lifeways from Norway, but now in Orkney. These methods related to the adaptation of Pictish, Neolithic, and Iron Age sites to Norse perspectives and lifeways—not only to claim the islands, but also for the Norse diaspora in Orkney to maintain their traditions in this new homeland.

This paper will explore the Norse settlement of the Orkney Islands and its adaptation to Norse lifeways from the 9th to the 11th century. It will examine how the Norse settled a preoccupied landscape and used it to better claim and legitimize their connection to Orkney. Much of this research focuses on Buckquoy and Deerness, as these sites provide clear insight into the adaptation of the Pictish landscape in the wake of Norse settlement from the 9th to the 11th centuries. This research primarily uses archaeological data, with some reference to the Icelandic sagas, to gain insight into Norse cultural perspectives.