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Ontario Archaeology – OA048, 1988

The Search for St. Ignace II
Volume:  OA48
Year:  1988
Author:  LATTA, M. A.
Page Range:  3 – 16
Abstract:  The Jesuit mission of St-Ignace II was the site of one of the climactic events of early Ontario history: the murder of Jean de Brebeuf and Gabriel Lalemant by marauding New York Iroquois. Although these events have inspired eloquent descriptions from 19th and 20th century authors, as well as several movies, their location remains in doubt. A new assessment of the 17th century maps of Huronia, use of archival resources from the University of Western Ontario, and interviews with participants permit a detailed re-examination of the problem. In many ways, the search for St-Ignace II is the early history of Ontario archaeology.

Ontario Iroquoian Sweat Lodges
Volume:  OA48
Year:  1988
Author:  MACDONALD, R.
Page Range:  17 – 26
Abstract:  The sweat lodge is an element of prehistoric and historic Iroquoian culture which has not yet been adequately studied. Historical literature provides information which, in combination with archaeological data and ethnological studies of sweat-bathing, can contribute to a more thorough understanding of this important aspect of culture. While the archaeological identification of both above-ground and semisubterranean sweat lodges is improving, much remains to be learned about them.

Fossil Cervids and Fluted Point Hunters: A Review for Southern Ontario
Volume:  OA48
Year:  1988
Author:  JACKSON, L. J.
Page Range:  27 – 41
Abstract:  The availability of cervid species is investigated in relation to Early Palaeo-Indian site distribution in southern Ontario, Canada. Review of the literature from the 1860s on reveals that the frequency of cervids in the Ontario fossil record is surpassed only by that of the large proboscideans: mammoth and mastodon. Caribou, cervine deer, elk, stag-moose, white-tailed deer, and other species were present during interstadials after the Port Huron ice retreat about 12300 B.P. Geochronological and radiocarbon evidence shows that the ages of these fossils significantly overlap those of the Early Palaeo-Indian occupation at the time of main Lake Algonquin (11500 to 10400 B.P.). Elsewhere in the glaciated Northeast, cervids are the only large herbivores found on either Early or Late Palaeo-Indian sites. Sixty percent of Ontario cervid fossils are from physiographic regions with significant numbers of fluted point localities. Contemporaneity and co-distribution of cervid finds and Early Palaeo-Indian sites suggests a critical focus for regional investigation.

Paleodemography and Late Iroquoian Ossuary Samples
Volume:  OA48
Year:  1988
Author:  SUTTON, R. E.
Page Range:  42 – 50
Abstract:  While Late Iroquoian ossuaries are considered to be reliable samples for palaeodemographic analysis, the ethnohistoric and archaeological records indicate that ossuaries were subject to many of the same biases as other types of burial. Our present limited knowledge of Late Iroquoian burial practices in general, and those of the Huron in particular, suggests that these varied through time and space and were not limited to interment in ossuaries.