Palaeo-Indian and Archaic Occupations of the Rideau Lakes
Volume: OA50
Year: 1990
Author: WATSON, G. D.
Page Range: 5 – 26
Abstract: Present knowledge of the Palaeo-Indian and Archaic occupations of the Rideau Lakes area is reported and assessed. Recent adjustments to the dates when the Champlain Sea receded from eastern Ontario permit a reassessment of a side-notched fluted point from an area previously thought to have been flooded throughout Palaeo-Indian times. The identification of a lanceolate point which is also side-notched suggests that these two points may represent the beginning of the side-notching technique in late Palaeo-Indian times. Excavated evidence and radiocarbon dates from the Wyght site (BfGa-11) confirm the presence of an early Archaic component dating to 6000 B.C. on the eastern shoreline of Lower Rideau Lake. Surface-collected Archaic projectile points of the Rideau Lakes have been classified by computer discriminant analysis and the frequency of occurrence of different types is discussed.
The Winter Site (AkHb-2): a Late Archaic Campsite near Guelph, Ontario
Volume: OA50
Year: 1990
Author: RAMSDEN, P. G.
Page Range: 27 – 38
Abstract: The paper presents statistical methods for evaluating the effectiveness of archaeological survey strategies. Two main types of archaeological survey are discussed: continuous and discrete. These are compared to analogous military search situations and the athematical solutions developed for the military problems are presented. Techniques for adapting these solutions to archaeological problems are discussed and examples are given of the methods of each type of search strategy.
Middle and Late Archaic Faunal and Floral Exploitation at the Weber 1 Site (20SA581), Michigan
Volume: OA50
Year: 1990
Author: SMITH, B. A. & K. C. EGAN
Page Range: 39 – 54
Abstract: The Weber I site (20SA581) is important in the Upper Great Lakes region because it has produced stratigraphically discrete occupations dating to the Middle Archaic and Late Archaic periods. Both faunal and floral remains are used for interpretations regarding subsistence, seasonally, and palaeoenvironment. This analysis presents an opportunity to examine the changes in site use and cultural adaptations that took place during the Archaic, a period for which organic preservation on archaeological sites is rare.
The Child Burial from the Melville Site
Volume: OA50
Year: 1990
Author: SAVAGE, H. G., N. C. SULLIVAN & C. GARRAD
Page Range: 55 – 61
Abstract: The skeletal remains of a child discovered in 1978 near the Melville Site (BbHa-7), an early 17th century Petun site, are the first such exhumed in that area to be reported following a detailed examination. A chronological age of about five years is assigned on the basis of the dentition, but the developmental age, as indicated by skeletal age, lags by as much as one and one-half years to two and one-half years behind this estimated chronological age This is due to the individual having experienced repeated biological insults, and these are reflected by the presence of numerous Harris-lines on the long bones.
Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis of Onondaga Chert in the Niagara Frontier
Volume: OA51
Year: 1990
Author: JARVIS, H. W.
Page Range: 3 – 15
Abstract: A systematic and intensive sampling of a series of Onondaga chert outcrops along the Onondaga Escarpment in western New York State provides preliminary data for chemical characterization using instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA). Concentrations of minor and trace elements generally increase eastward through the study area, providing a basis for more extensive analysis. Especially strong are the eastward elevations of bromine, chlorine, and sodium. Samples of artifacts from three western New York sites corroborate the geological data, although sodium leaching is in evidence. Discriminant analysis shows strong separation between outcrops, providing hope for future characterization.
The Canada Century Site: A Lamoka Component Located on the Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Volume: OA51
Year: 1990
Author: LENNOX, P. A.
Page Range: 17 – 29
Abstract: Plough-disturbed archaic lithic scatters, until recently ignored as potential sources of knowledge, or simply stripped away in the search for subsoil features, have received much attention in the past decade, particularly from contract archaeologists. Recently, some researchers have studied the effects of ploughing on cultural deposits and sought to design excavation strategies to recover what the plough has disturbed. Different archaeologists have used various approaches and have contributed to our growing knowledge of the information potential of such sites. This paper reports the results of excavations at the Canada Century site, a plough-disturbed lithic scatter on the Niagara Peninsula. The occupation is attributed to the ca. 2000-3000 B.C. Lamoka phase. Analysis of a sizeable assemblage of debitage and cores yielded conflicting interpretations. Current research on Lake Erie water levels suggests that a large Inland lake influenced accessibility to the nearest source of the raw material. The small assemblage of tools is dominated by pièces esquillées or wedges and a sequence of bifaces and points suggesting that hunting was an important activity here. In addition to providing an example of a small Lamoka Phase occupation, the Canada Century site reproduces an interesting pattern of ploughzone artifact recoveries, which is nearly identical to that found at another late archaic component, Innes, excavated in the same fashion. This pattern is interpreted as evidence for the presence and configuration of a structure and these considerations of artifact density and distribution are also examined here.
The Early Map `Novvelle France’; A Linguistic Analysis
Volume: OA51
Year: 1990
Author: STECKLEY, J.
Page Range: 31 – 52
Abstract: A map entitled ‘Novvelle France” has recently come to light. It is the oldest surviving map that attempts to depict all five of the Great Lakes and to represent the location of a significant number of the Great Lakes tribes prior to the dispersals of the late 1640s and the 1650s. Most of the words on the map are Huron. In this article the Huron writing is analyzed with several goals in mind. First the date of 1641 for the map proposed by Conrad Heidenreich is supported with respect to the dialect of Huron used. Second, the competence of the mapmaker in the Huron language is assessed as a clue to his identity. Third, statements are made concerning the identity of the tribes referred to and the meaning of the non-tribal names. Finally, an analysis is made of Huron tribal naming practices.
The Lost Seven Leagues: Samuel de Champlain’s Landfall in Huronia
Volume: OA52
Year: 1991
Author: MONTGOMERY, D.
Page Range: 3 – 14
Abstract: Champlain ‘s landfall in Huronia was more likely on the western shoreline of the Penetang Peninsula facing Nottawasaga Bay than on the opposite side of the peninsula near present-day Penetanguishene, where it is currently commemorated. I reassess the accuracy of distances in Champlain’s Works, and note the curious omission of the last seven leagues of his journey in subsequent historical analyses of his route. The area of Champlain’s landfall has considerable potential for archaeological investigation.
The La Salle-Lucier Site: Two Components of the Western Basin Tradition, Essex County, Ontario
Volume: OA52
Year: 1991
Author: LENNOX, P. A. & C. F. DODD
Page Range: 17 – 56
Abstract: The reconstruction of Highway 18, which follows the east bank of the Detroit River south of the city of Windsor, Ontario, required the salvage excavation of threatened portions of the La Salle-Lucier site. The site consisted of horizontally distinct Younge phase and Springwells phase components of the Western Basin Tradition. The excavations yielded settlement pattern data, artifact assemblages, and floral and faunal remains, all of which help to document the subtle changes in the adaptive strategy of these small late prehistoric native communities through a short succession of warm season settlements.
Pre-Contact Settlement Pattern in Southern Ontario: Simulation Model for Maize-Based Village Horticulture
Volume: OA53
Year: 1992
Author: CAMPBELL, C., & I. D. CAMPBELL
Page Range: 3 – 25
Abstract: Three explanations can be advanced for the patchiness of overall prehistoric horticultural settlement distribution in Southern Ontario: (1) the northward diffusion of horticulture was interrupted by European contact, and the patchiness results from the incompleteness of the diffusion process; (2) the distribution of villages was controlled by cultural influences such as tribalisation, warfare, and trade, so that the patchiness is a result of the heterogeneity of the cultural landscape; or (3) the patchiness is due to the heterogeneity of the physical landscape, especially climate and edaphic conditions. This paper develops and uses a simulation model of regional site location to examine the relative importance of frost-free days, drainage, soil texture, and relief for explaining the site distribution. At a regional scale, ten per cent frost-free days and soil texture are found to be the most useful variables in describing the observed settlement pattern. Thus the third hypothesis, that the patchiness was due to the heterogeneity of the physical environment, may be a sufficient explanation.
The Winona Rockshelter Burial
Volume: OA53
Year: 1992
Author: SPENCE, M. W. & W. A. FOX
Page Range: 27 – 44
Abstract: The incomplete skeletons of an adult male, a young adult female, a child and an infant were found in a small rockshelter in the Niagara Escarpment near Winona, Ontario. Although the site had been badly disturbed by unauthorised digging, the available archaeological and osteological evidence suggests that these represent the multiple secondary burial of members of a small, biologically homogeneous community. The only associated cultural material was a single chert flake. The accelerator radiocarbon date on bone of 1190 BP ± 60, calibrated to 830/859 AD, can be reconciled with dental evidence for considerable maize consumption by assigning the site to the Early Ontario Iroquois (Glen Meyer/Pickering) period. The Winona Rockshelter and other Early Ontario Iroquois sites indicate a good deal of variability in the subsistence and settlement systems, and consequently in the mortuary programmes, of these early horticultural societies.
The Stirrup Court Cemetery Coffin Hardware
Volume: OA53
Year: 1992
Author: WOODLEY, P. J.
Page Range: 45 – 64
Abstract: This report presents the analysis of the coffin hardware from the 19th century Euro-Canadian Stirrup Court Cemetery. The results of this analysis and comparisons with other cemeteries has produced a chronology of coffin shape and coffin hardware for 19th century southern Ontario. Both rectangular coffins and coffin hardware had been introduced by mid-century, and hardware was increasingly used and varied by the late 1800s. The results of this chronology are combined with historical and skeletal data to determine the identity of the individuals buried at Stirrup Court. Relative cost can be estimated for coffins, but there is no simple correlation between social status and the quantity of coffin hardware.
The Conquest Theory of the Ontario Iroquois Tradition: a Reassessment
Volume: OA54
Year: 1992
Author: WRIGHT, J.V.
Page Range: 3 – 16
Abstract: My original formulation of the Ontario Iroquois tradition maintained that the Pickering culture of eastern Southern Ontario invaded the territories of their Glen Meyer neighbours to the west near the end of the 13th century. Glen Meyer sites were replaced by the Uren sites of the Middle stage representing the continuing evolution of Pickering culture. This theory has been rejected by a number of Iroquoianists on the following grounds: a lack of evidence for cultural discontinuity in western Southern Ontario; calibrated radiocarbon dates; a lack of differences between the Pickering and Glen Meyer cultures; evidence for cultural continuity in western Southern Ontario; and a belief that events in Ontario mirrored those in contemporary New York State (Trigger 1985:96). These grounds for rejection are faulty in fact, methodology, and/or theoretical perception. Evidence accumulated over the last twenty-five years supports the conquest theory. Economic and social changes underlying the conquest were critical to the development of historic Ontario Iroquoian society and these changes can be detected by archaeological means.
Faunal Findings from Three Longhouses of the McKeown Site (BeFv-1), A St. Lawrence Iroquoian Village
Volume: OA54
Year: 1992
Author: STEWART, F.L.
Page Range: 17 – 36
Abstract: The 4,536 faunal specimens excavated from three houses of the McKeown Site, a St. Lawrence Iroquoian village near Maynard, Ontario were studied to determine the subsistence pattern of the people living there around 1500 A.D. From the remains from seven classes of animals, the seasonal exploitation pattern of the villagers was reconstructed. Of significance to faunal analyses in general was the variation in the faunal refuse among the three houses. Of specific interest to Iroquoian studies was the scarcity of dog remains and the relatively high number of black bear elements.
Chemical Characterization and Sourcing of Upper Great Lakes Cherts by INAA
Volume: OA54
Year: 1992
Author: JULIG, P.J., L.A. PAVLISH, C. CLARK and R.G.V. HANCOCK
Page Range: 37 – 50
Abstract: Instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) is carried out on a series of ninety-three geological chert samples from three known source regions and six beach locations in the western Great Lakes and upper Midwest region. These chemical data are compared with those obtained from a lithic cache from the McCollum site (DiJa-1) on Lake Nipigon to determine the source(s) of the artifacts. A new method permitting whole artifacts to be analyzed by INAA and returned to their curators unaltered was employed to obtain the chemical data from these specimens. Some long distance imports (Knife River Flint) are present in the McCollum cache; however, several sources including Hudson Bay Lowland chert are represented. INAA is an appropriate non-destructive methodology for provenance studies of lithic artifacts whose sources cannot be readily determined by traditional means.
Prehistoric Huronia: Relative Chronology Through Ceramic Seriation
Volume: OA55
Year: 1993
Author: BURSEY, J. A.
Page Range: 3 – 34
Abstract: This paper is an attempt to achieve two goals: first to partition the known site data base for Huronia into discrete village relocation sequences and, second, to seriate some of the ceramic assemblages from sites dating from Middle Ontario Iroquois to Historic Huron. Some discussion of future directions of research is also presented.
Huron Kinship Terminology
Volume: OA55
Year: 1993
Author: STECKLEY, J. L.
Page Range: 35 – 60
Abstract: This is a study of Huron kinship terminology based on data covering roughly three hundred years. As much of the information comes from unpublished sources previously unavailable to most researchers, much of this work is simple description. Secondly, this study makes comparisons with terms in related Northern Iroquoian languages, as part of a speculation about the nature of change since contact. Kin terms also provide information on such matters as interaction with the French, the politics of social distance, power and solidarity and matrilocal residence patterns among the Huron.
The Kassel and Blue Dart Sites: Two Components of the Early Archaic, Bifurcate Base Projectile Point Tradition, Waterloo County, Ontario
Volume: OA56
Year: 1993
Author: LENNOX, PAUL A.
Page Range: 1 – 31
Abstract: Archaeological mitigation, undertaken by the Ministry of Transportation in advance of highway construction, resulted in the excavation of two Early Archaic sites. Both are components of the Bifurcate Base Tradition which is recognized over much of eastern North America because of the highly distinctive point style after which it is named. This article describes our investigations and our findings at the Kassel site, a base camp, and the nearby Blue Dart site, a short term, special purpose activity area, likely a kill site or butchering station. These single component sites furnish the first excavated assemblages of this Archaic manifestation from Ontario and, along with an acceptable radiocarbon date of 8320 ± 60 B.P., help to establish both the presence and form of the Bifurcate Base Tradition north of the Great Lakes. These sites may also be considered good examples of site types that have much broader implications. Kill sites and base camps represent universal settlement-subsistence adaptations among hunter-gatherers. Both sites, being small and yielding low artifact densities, furnish a new perspective on the elusiveness of such Archaic, and more specifically Early Archaic, components in the Great Lakes region. These examples raise questions about some basic assumptions concerning our evaluation of sites for further investigation based on their artifact densities alone.
The Norton Site (AfHh-86): The Rediscovery of a Late Iroquoian Village in London, Ontario
Volume: OA56
Year: 1993
Author: COOPER, MARTIN S. and DAVID A. ROBERTSON
Page Range: 33 – 62
Abstract: The Norton site (AfHh-86) is a large Late Ontario Iroquoian village site located in a public park, overlooking the Thames River in London, Ontario. Portions of nine closely spaced and regularly aligned longhouses were recorded in 1988, during excavations conducted by Archaeological Services Inc. within a 100m long utilities right-of-way that crossed the site. While artifactual finds were relatively few, they suggest that the site was occupied between A.D. 1400 and 1450. As the village had been unknown to researchers for half-a-century, the Norton site is of considerable importance for the reconstruction of the late prehistoric settlement sequence of southwestern Ontario.
Archaeology As Discourse: An Editorial Essay
Volume: OA57
Year: 1994
Author: ALEXANDER VON GERNET
Page Range: 3 – 22
Abstract: No Abstract
The Shaman of Long Point
Volume: OA57
Year: 1994
Author: WILLIAM A. FOX AND J. ELDON MOLTO
Page Range: 23 – 44
Abstract: Archaeological and osteological evidence is presented from a thousand-year-old burial of an adult male exposed by Lake Erie storm action on Long Point. The archaeological literature concerning similar faunal, osteal, and lithic items to those interred with this individual is explored, while a range of Iroquoian and Algonkian ethnographic and ethnohistoric observations relating to those objects is presented in an attempt to create meaning for the assemblage. It is proposed that this man functioned as a bear shaman in a transitional, Middle/Late Woodland hunting and gathering band whose summer range included the rich Long Point Bay environment.
Chaingate (AhGw-11): A Late Archaic Perkiomen Site in Burlington, Ontario
Volume: OA57
Year: 1994
Author: JEFFREY A. BURSEY
Page Range: 45 – 63
Abstract: The Chaingate site is a Late Archaic component in the Burlington area. Although only a small portion of the site was excavated, the information derived offers significant new insights into the later periods of the Archaic. An intrasite spatial analysis indicates discontinuities in the distribution of artifacts, and comparison with other assemblages suggests the projectile points to be transitional between Perkiomen and Innes types.
The Middle Archaic Occupation of the Niagara Peninsula: Evidence from the Bell Site (AgGt-33)
Volume: OA57
Year: 1994
Author: RONALD F. WILLIAMSON, STEPHEN C. THOMAS, AND DEBORAH A. STEISS
Page Range: 64 – 87
Abstract: Excavation and analysis of the Bell site (AgGt-33). located near Fonthill, Ontario, has provided new insights into the settlement and subsistence patterns of the poorly documented Middle Archaic occupants of the Niagara Peninsula.
Editorial: Four Studies in Ontario Iroquoian Prehistory
Volume: OA58
Year: 1994
Author: ALEXANDER VON GERNET
Page Range: 3 – 5
Abstract: No Abstract
Mortuary Programmes of the Early Ontario Iroquoians
Volume: OA58
Year: 1994
Author: SPENCE, MICHAEL W.
Page Range: 6 – 20
Abstract: Over the past few years, excavations and analyses of a number of sites and collections have increased our understanding of Early Ontario Iroquoian burial practices. Although this data base is still distressingly small and uneven, it has become apparent that neither of the generally recognized cultural constructs of the period (Glen Meyer and Pickering) can be characterized by a single, coherent mortuary programme. Rather, each small group of interacting communities apparently developed its own distinctive set of burial practices, responsive to the particular social, environmental and ideological factors affecting it. The absence of any overarching mortuary programme brings into question the integrity of the Glen Meyer and Pickering constructs, and the ability of either to mount the sort of concerted and sustained endeavour that is implied by J.V. Wright’s conquest hypothesis.
Comment on Spence’s “Mortuary Programmes of the Early Ontario Iroquoians”
Volume: OA58
Year: 1994
Author: SAUNDERS, S. R.
Page Range: 21-26
Abstract: no abstract
Peer Polities Beyond the Periphery: Early and Middle iroquoian Regional Interaction
Volume: OA58
Year: 1994
Author: RONALD F. WILLIAMSON AND DAVID A. ROBERTSON
Page Range: 27 – 43
Abstract: Much attention has recently been paid to the nature and extent of interaction between Iroquoian groups of the Great Lakes region and populations situated in the Mississippi River valley. Many of the suppositions generated by this research have been influenced by models of ‘core and periphery’. This paper seeks to address the difficulties encountered in applying these models to the late prehistoric Great Lakes region. Of major concern is the comparative scarcity of clearly identified trade material on sites in southern Ontario. In the absence of clearly identified, consistent interregional contact, the basic applicability of the construct must be questioned. An alternative model is proposed emphasizing the likelihood that prolonged and consistent exchange and communication between peer polities, groups at a similar level of complexity, within the Great Lakes region is of greater significance than sporadic contacts with more highly structured, but distant, societies to the south. It is suggested that the changes that Iroquoian society experienced in southern Ontario are more likely to be understood in terms of regular interaction between groups beyond the ‘peripheral’ region, rather than as influences emanating from a Mississippian ‘core’. It is also suggested that in order to understand the relationships between these politically autonomous groups, we must abandon the current theoretical paradigm, together with its preconceived notions concerning the socio-political affiliation of those polities.
Comment on Williamson and Robertson’s
Volume: OA58
Year: 1994
Author: JAMIESON, S. M.
Page Range: 45-46
Abstract: includes rebuttal by William and Robertson
The Wilcox Lake Site (AlGu-17): Middle Iroquoian Exploitation of the Oak Ridges Moraine
Volume: OA58
Year: 1994
Author: SHAUN J. AUSTIN
Page Range: 49 – 84
Abstract: The multi-component Wilcox Lake site (AlGu-17) is situated beside a large kettle lake in the Oak Ridges Moraine physiographic region, approximately 35 km north of Toronto. The principal occupation is identified as a 1.2 ha Iroquoian village dating to the early fourteenth century. Late Archaic and Middle Woodland components have also been documented. The available evidence related to the Iroquoian component indicates year-round occupation of the village between circa A.D. 1300 and 1320, and the site is beginning to provide data on a previously unknown regional expression of the Early to Middle Iroquoian transition.
Historical Inconsistencies: Huron Longhouse Length, hearth Number and Time
Volume: OA58
Year: 1994
Author: COLIN VARLEY AND AUBREY CANNON
Page Range: 85 – 96
Abstract: Data from three Middle Ontario Iroquoian period villages in Simcoe County reveal an anomalous pattern of hearth spacing. They show greater variability and longer average spacing than is normally assumed for Ontario Iroquoian longhouses. We interpret this as an exaggerated expression of the symbolism of power and prestige normally associated with large lineages and longer houses.
Comment on Varley and Cannon’s
Volume: OA58
Year: 1994
Author: KAPCHES, M. & G. WARRICK
Page Range: 97-98
Abstract: includes a rebuttal by Varley and Cannon
Editorial: Compilations and Explanations
Volume: OA59
Year: 1995
Author: ALEXANDER VON GERNET
Page Range: 1 – 3
Abstract: No Abstract
The Hind Site and the Glacial Kame Burial Complex in Ontario
Volume: OA59
Year: 1995
Author: WILLIAM S. DONALDSON AND STANLEY WORTNER
Page Range: 5 – 95
Abstract: The excavation of a comparatively large and well-preserved group of Late/Transitional Archaic burials from the Big Bend Conservation Park, in southwestern Ontario during the 1960s and 1970s produced a wealth of new data on ‘Glacial Kame’. The Hind site, as well as a number of other similar burial sites in Ontario, are described in detail for the first time and are compared with known Late Archaic and Early Woodland sites in the lower Great Lakes area.
The People of the Hind Site
Volume: OA59
Year: 1995
Author: TAMARA L. VARNET AND SUSAN PFEIFFER
Page Range: 96 – 108
Abstract: Non-cremated skeletal remains from the Hind Site (AdHk-1), a Late/Transitional Archaic burial site located in southwestern Ontario, were studied with an emphasis on health status. Twenty-two individuals are present, including sixteen adults and six subadults. This study complements previous research by Pfeiffer (1977), and includes nine individuals documented for the first time. The age-at-death ranges from three months to over 50 years, and the mean life expectancy of this sample is low. The general health of these people is characterized by pervasive osteoarthritis and poor dental health, although there is little evidence of infectious disease or nutritional deficiency. Two unusual cases of pathology are presented: a tumour-like lesion in a middle-aged adult female, and a young adolescent with a chronic metabolic disorder. The condition of the latter may have obliged the group to invest much time to caregiving.
Editorial: Revisiting Sites and Meals
Volume: OA60
Year: 1995
Author: ALEXANDER VON GERNET
Page Range: 1 – 3
Abstract: No Abstract
The Archaeology and Physical Anthropology of the E.C. Row Site: A Springwells Phase Settlement, Essex County, Ontario
Volume: OA60
Year: 1995
Author: PAUL A. LENNOX AND J.ELDON MOLTO
Page Range: 5 – 39
Abstract: The proposed construction of the E.C. Row Expressway – Highway 3 interchange in Windsor by the Ontario Ministry of Transportation involves the disturbance of lands adjacent to the Lucier Site (AbHs-1). Lucier, excavated by Wintemberg in 1935, produced cultural materials and burials pertaining to the Late Woodland Western Basin Tradition. Although the extent of the site had not been determined at that time, later archaeological survey of the area to be impacted by construction identified a second, spatially discrete occupation and burial area designated the E.C. Row Site (AbHs-7). This report describes the survey and the results of salvage excavations undertaken at the E.C. Row Site. The site appears to be a warm season settlement attributed to the Springwells Phase of the Western Basin Tradition. We consider Wintemberg’s investigations and the relationship between E.C. Row and the Lucier Site. The number of burials recovered at the two sites help to illustrate a pattern which is unique to the Western Basin Tradition. Comparisons with contemporary Iroquoian sites to the east help in determining the biocultural affinities of the E.C. Row Site occupants. While our results are not definitive, they strongly suggest that there are distinct biocultural differences between the Springwells Phase of the Western Basin Tradition and the southern Ontario Iroquoians.
The Wiacek Site Revisited: The Results of the 1990 Excavations
Volume: OA60
Year: 1995
Author: DAVID A. ROBERTSON, STEPHEN G. MONKTON, AND RONALD F. WILLIAMSON
Page Range: 40 – 91
Abstract: The Wiacek site (BcGw-26), a Middle Iroquoian village located in the southern outskirts of the City of Barrie, was partially excavated by the Ministry of Transportation in 1983. Additional salvage excavations were undertaken at the site in 1990 by Archaeological Services Inc., in advance of the proposed construction of a subdivision. The findings of the 1983 investigations (Lennox et al. 1986) were widely disseminated, since this work represented the most detailed examination undertaken of an Iroquoian site in the region. With a few exceptions, the results of the 1990 excavations are consistent with the earlier findings; however, this study has also raised many new questions. The following article reviews the 1990 excavations, highlights those findings that complement or refine some of the earlier conclusions regarding the site, and outlines several additional issues concerning the Iroquoian settlement of southern Simcoe County that have yet to be resolved.
Quantifying Animal Food Diet: A Comparison of Four Approaches Using Bones From A Prehistoric Iroquoian Village
Volume: OA60
Year: 1995
Author: SUZANNE NEEDS-HOWARTH
Page Range: 92 – 101
Abstract: During an analysis and quantification of faunal material from a Late Prehistoric Iroquoian village. I obtained differing faunal abundance estimates using four distinct quantification methods. In this paper I outline briefly the methods and the results. I discuss how and why the results differ, and what implications this has for the interpretation of relative dietary contribution.
Editorial: Research on Intrasite and Regional Spatial Distributions
Volume: OA61
Year: 1996
Author: ALEXANDER VON GERNET
Page Range: 1 – 4
Abstract: No Abstract
The Bolton Site (AfHj-89): A Crowfield Phase Early Paleo-Indian Site in Southwestern Ontario
Volume: OA61
Year: 1996
Author: D. BRIAN DELLER AND CHRISTOPHER ELLIS
Page Range: 5 -40
Abstract: This paper provides a description and analysis of the information recovered during the 1990 excavations at the Early Paleo-Indian (fluted point-related) Bolton site (AfHj-89) in southwestern Ontario. Bolton was excavated as part of a larger project designed to explore the nature and theoretical significance of small sites to our understanding of Paleo-Indian cultural systems. The site has yielded the distinctive Crowfield style fluted points and preforms and, hence, is assignable to the Crowfield Phase. This phase is the presumed terminal, Early Paleo-Indian manifestation in the eastern Great Lakes area and is one of the poorest known of all suggested Great Lakes area Paleo-Indian developments. Although several other components were represented at the site, detailed analyses of the spatial distribution of ploughzone piece-plotted artifact types and of different lithic raw materials allowed the isolation of the Paleo-Indian tool and waste flake assemblage. The recovered site sample is dominated by fluted bifaces and denticulated/retouched flakes and is interpreted as a small hunting camp or a task group activity area. Despite the fact that Crowfield bifaces are best known from a ceremonial feature at the Crowfield site. the clearly non-ceremonial nature of the Bolton site lends credence to the view that Crowfield points are utilitarian tools and not some special ceremonial artifact. The site also demonstrates some of the interpretative advantages of small sites, particularly with respect to spatial patterning and delineating tool kits. (this article includes comments by Timmins and a reply by Deller and Ellis)
The Little Shaver Site: Exploring Site Structure and Excavation Methodology on an Unploughed Site in the Region of Hamilton-Wentworth, Ontario
Volume: OA61
Year: 1996
Author: PETER A. TIMMINS
Page Range: 45 – 81
Abstract: The Little Shaver site is a small, unploughed prehistoric camp located in a woodlot near Ancaster, Ontario. Excavations conducted in 1991 yielded substantive data on a small multi-component (Middle Archaic/Early Woodland) site and insights into excavation methodology. The tool assemblage is characterized by a dominance of bifaces and biface production debris, and absence of formal scrapers, suggesting a short-term hunting camp function. Highly controlled excavations were conducted to compare piece plotting with shovel excavation. It was determined that piece plotting, while considerably more expensive than shovel excavation, yields higher quality spatial information. Current models of hunter-gatherer site formation were applied to the Little Shaver spatial data. In the northern area of the site, a five by six metre structure is inferred based on artifact distributions. These data can also be interpreted, albeit less convincingly, as the remains of an exterior hearth. In the southern area of the site one or two exterior hearths are inferred. The analysis highlights the need to maximize the information potential of small undisturbed sites and refine models of hunter-gatherer site formation.
The Modelling of Ontario Iroquoian Archaeological Site Patterns: Distance to Nearest Source of Water and Size of Site
Volume: OA61
Year: 1996
Author: D.R. BELLHOUSE, R.J. PEARCE, J.H. PETERS AND L.W. STITT
Page Range: 82 – 99
Abstract: Statistical models are developed to describe the distance of an Iroquoian archaeological site to its nearest source of water and to describe the size of an Iroquoian archaeological site. Models of this type provide the opportunity to factor in any number of locational, environmental and cultural variables, such as type of water, soil drainage, and cultural time period. These models are taken from the literature of actuarial science, medicine and reliability theory in engineering. It is shown that the distribution of the distances of Iroquoian sites in southern Ontario to the nearest source of water follows an exponentially decreasing pattern away from the water. The factors which influence average distance to water in this distribution are water type and soil drainage. All other environmental and cultural variables are non-significant in this model for the data under study. The distribution of the size of Iroquoian sites is also exponential in shape, although it follows a slightly different statistical distribution and is affected by other variables.
Editorial: Access to the Past
Volume: OA62
Year: 1997
Author: ALEXANDER VON GERNET
Page Range: 1 – 3
Abstract: No Abstract
A History of the Native People of Canada: Genesis of a Synthesis
Volume: OA62
Year: 1997
Author: J.V. WRIGHT
Page Range: 4 – 9
Abstract: No Abstract
Murphy: An Early Palaeo-Indian Gainey Phase Site in Southwestern Ontario
Volume: OA62
Year: 1997
Author: LAWRENCE J. JACKSON
Page Range: 10 – 38
Abstract: The Murphy site (AeHk-1) is a small Gainey phase Early Palaeo-Indian camp near Alvinston in southwestern Ontario. Excavated in 1990, the site provides important new evidence of activity area separation and functional differences in Gainey phase settlement systems. Located more than 200 km southwest of a Collingwood (Fossil Hill Formation) chert source, Murphy strongly supports Gainey phase mobility patterns proposed for other sites in southern Ontario. The Murphy site lithics significantly strengthen Deller and Ellis’ (1988) case for a suite of Gainey phase Early Paleo-Indian diagnostics.
The Early Archaic Occupation of the Laphroaig Site, Brant County, Ontario
Volume: OA62
Year: 1997
Author: PHILLIP J. WOODLEY
Page Range: 39 – 62
Abstract: Laphroaig is primarily a late Early Archaic bifurcate base point site located along the Grand River, in southwestern Ontario. The excavation recovered a light scatter of material, including parts of four bifurcate base projectile points in a nine by seven metre area. A comparison of select attributes for bifurcate base projectile points from a number of sites in Ontario and New York State suggests that it is difficult to assign these points to specific types, although their range in size suggests subtle morphological change through time. The site size, structure and artifact assemblage suggest a small, long term winter or early spring occupation, presumably by an extended family or band. It is proposed that some late Early Archaic bands occupied regional territories,never traveling far from known resources.
Boreal Forest Fire Ecology and Archaeological Site Formation: An Example from Northern Ontario
Volume: OA62
Year: 1997
Author: ANDREW HINSHELWOOD
Page Range: 63 – 92
Abstract: Forest fire is a major factor contributing to the collapsed stratigraphy observed on many boreal forest archaeological sites. Intense forest fire occurs in many boreal forest stand types on a sixty to eighty year cycle, with maximum stand age being approximately 250 years. During intense fire events most of the available fuel, including organics from the forest floor, is consumed. This results in the exposure of the mineral soil in large portions of the burned area and a clear discontinuity between the mineral and organic soil as the latter unit reforms. This periodic burning of sites means that any artifacts which are deposited on the surface, or are buried within the humus, will fall to the surface of the mineral soil. Excavations at Wunnumin Lake suggest that repeated fire episodes will result in the accumulation of artifacts at the surface of the mineral soil, and that some heat fracturing of lithics will occur. Artifact patterning at Ffjh-1 suggests that, despite the collapsed stratigraphy, the basic spatial arrangement of the artifacts is preserved, although some heat spalled artifacts may become scattered over wider areas.
Editorial: Four New Reports on Four Old Sites
Volume: OA63
Year: 1997
Author: ALEXANDER VON GERNET
Page Range: 1 – 3
Abstract: No Abstract
Recent Investigations of Late Woodland Occupations at Cootes Paradise, Ontario
Volume: OA63
Year: 1997
Author: DAVID G. SMITH
Page Range: 4 – 16
Abstract: Excavation and survey activities at Cootes Paradise during 1995 and 1996 offer new insights into the early Late Woodland occupations of this important wetland area. Survey on the north shore of Cootes Paradise relocated the Bull’s Point site (AhGx-9), a Princess Point component originally found by David Stothers in 1969, and discovered five additional sites. Two of the new sites, Bull’s Cove (AhGx-365) and Cootes 1 (AhGx-366), produced small amounts of Late Woodland pottery. The three other new sites yielded only non diagnostic chert flakes. Bull’s Point produced Princess Point and later, possibly Early Iroquoian, pottery, a full suite of chipped lithic artifacts, and maize kernel fragments; almost no bone was recovered. Post moulds and features uncovered at this site are evidence for a small structure. The Bull’s Cove site, initially thought to be Princess Point but now classed as Early Iroquoian, underwent limited test excavation. Both Bull’s Point and Bull’s Cove are small sites situated in the bottoms of ravines at the present water’s edge, a type of site location unique to Cootes Paradise. They are interpreted as warm-weather, single family camp sites occupied on a short-term basis for the exploitation of seasonal resources.
Organizing Chipped Lithic Technology at the Lone Pine Site
Volume: OA63
Year: 1997
Author: TREVOR ORMEROD
Page Range: 17 – 36
Abstract: Excavations conducted by the University of Toronto’s Princess Point Project recovered a large sample of informal flake-based tools from the Lone Pine site (AfGx-113) during the 1993 season. Of interest is the choice of technology represented by these tools and its emphasis on expedient, utilized flakes. This analysis suggests that the potential function of these implements, the exceptional availability of raw material in the vicinity, and the mobility strategy of the site’s occupants were guiding factors in the overall technological strategy chosen and the resulting design of tools.
The Finch Site: A Late Iroquoian Special Purpose Site on West Catfish Creek
Volume: OA63
Year: 1997
Author: ROBERT H. PIHL AND STEPHEN COX THOMAS
Page Range: 37 – 84
Abstract: The Finch site is a small Iroquoian special purpose site situated on the West Catfish Creek that dates to the first half of the fifteenth century. It was discovered during the course of survey in advance of the construction of an Ontario Hydro transmission line. The threatened portions of the site were subsequently excavated and have provided new data concerning the Late Woodland settlement and subsistence practices along the north shore of Lake Erie.
Stone Artifacts from the McQueen-McConnel Site, A Protohistoric Petun Village
Volume: OA63
Year: 1997
Author: J.A. BURSEY
Page Range: 85 – 100
Abstract: The stone artifacts from test excavations of the McQueen-McConnell site, a protohistoric Petun village, are described and discussed. Reference is made to the functional classification of artifacts exhibiting evidence of bipolar battering. Broader questions relating to lithic reduction strategies, trade in exotic cherts and temporal dynamics associated with European influence are addressed.
Guest Editorial: In Celebration Of……..
Volume: OA64
Year: 1997
Author: NEAL FERRIS
Page Range: 1 – 7
Abstract: No Abstract
Among Marshes and Gneiss Mounds: The Archaeology of La Vase Island
Volume: OA64
Year: 1997
Author: DAVID A. ROBERTSON, EVA M. MACDONALD AND MARTIN S. COOPER
Page Range: 8 – 38
Abstract: In 1995, Archaeological Services Inc. carried out limited test excavations at the mouth of the La Vase River, on the eastern shore of Lake Nipissing in the City of North Bay. The primary objective of these investigations was to locate the remains of a small, circa 1800-1820 trade post operated by Eustache LaRonde at the terminus of a portage route, while at the same time providing hands-on volunteer opportunities in archaeology for the public. These investigations not only confirmed the presence of a late eighteenth to early nineteenth century habitation, but also yielded evidence for a long sequence of activity at the river mouth, one which began at least as early as circa A.D. 600.
“Weeds Upspring Where The Hearth Should Be”: Rural House Abandonment In Southern Ontario
Volume: OA64
Year: 1997
Author: IAN T. KENYON
Page Range: 39 – 55
Abstract: A site type often encountered in the course of archaeological field surveys is the rural house abandoned in the nineteenth or early twentieth centuries. The creation of such sites is related to two phenomena well-recorded in contemporary documents. Initially most houses were built of logs, but as settlement progressed these were often replaced by ‘improved’ structures of frame, stone or brick construction. Later, in the half-century between 1880 and 1930, came a second phase of house abandonment, when much of rural Ontario underwent a general depopulation. This paper examines these two periods of house abandonment, and looks more specifically at the underlying factors. In particular, contemporary descriptions and statistical information from census records will be used to develop a framework for understanding the space-time dimensions of rural house abandonment and loss.
The Root of the Scatter: Nineteenth Century Artifact and Settlement Patterns in Rural Ontario
Volume: OA64
Year: 1997
Author: EVA M. MACDONALD
Page Range: 56 – 80
Abstract: In southern Ontario, the most common historic period site type encountered during cultural resource management (CRM) work is the small rural farmstead. The fact that these sites are located most often within the plough-zone, however, can make their analysis challenging as little in the way of structural features has survived. This paper will discuss the documentary evidence, settlement pattern data, and the frequency variations within artifact groups on 15 sites excavated by the consulting firm Archaeological Services Inc. (ASI) between 1986 and 1995. Particular attention will be paid to the site formation processes, in addition to the contextual evidence of nineteenth century land use, in order to explain the variation observed within artefact groups and settlement patterns in this study. In particular, it will be suggested that the presence or absence of a root cellar, or other large subsurface features, would appear to have important implications for the interpretation of site formation processes that occurred after the farmstead was abandoned. Also important are the methods we choose as archaeologists to excavate these sites.
An Archaeological Narrative of York’s Cultural Landscape 1793-1998
Volume: OA64
Year: 1997
Author: VITO VACCARELLI
Page Range: 81 – 111
Abstract: Fort York, located in downtown Toronto, served as a British military garrison from 1793 to 1870. Over the last 12 years archaeological fieldwork conducted in advance of proposed restorations recovered substantial amounts of archaeological and stratigraphic information from virtually all areas of the fort grounds. By mapping the elevations of six major stratigraphic phases and using this data to interpolate two and three-dimensional surfaces, insights were discovered into both the physical and social elements that influenced the way the landscape was used and modified over time. These new insights go well beyond what was previously known about the landscape through the maps and drawings of the Royal Engineers. Furthermore, this research illustrates the capability historical archaeology has in not only documenting these landscape developments, but also correcting historical misconceptions of the cultural landscape as depicted by documentary sources and exploring the socio-cultural dimensions reflected in landscape use and modification.
The 1989-90 Excavations at the Parsons Site: Introduction and Retrospect
Volume: OA65/66
Year: 1998
Author: RONALD F. WILLIAMSON, MARTIN S. COOPER AND DAVID A. ROBERTSON
Page Range: 4 – 16
Abstract: No Abstract
The Paleoenvironmental Context of the Parsons Site
Volume: OA65/66
Year: 1998
Author: ROBERT I. MACDONALD AND DAVID A. ROBERTSON
Page Range: 17 – 20
Abstract: No Abstract
Settlement Patterns at the Parsons Site
Volume: OA65/66
Year: 1998
Author: DAVID A. ROBERTSON, RONALD F. WILLIAMSON AND BRUCE M. WELSH
Page Range: 21 – 52
Abstract: No Abstract
Parsons Site Ceramic Vessels
Volume: OA65/66
Year: 1998
Author: RONALD F. WILLIAMSON AND TERRY G. POWIS
Page Range: 53 – 71
Abstract: No Abstract
Parsons Site Ceramic Pipes
Volume: OA65/66
Year: 1998
Author: EVA M. MACDONALD
Page Range: 72 – 76
Abstract: No Abstract
Parsons Site Chipped Stone Artifacts
Volume: OA65/66
Year: 1998
Author: ROBERT I. MACDONALD
Page Range: 77 – 83
Abstract: No Abstract
Parsons Site Ground Stone Artifacts
Volume: OA65/66
Year: 1998
Author: MARTIN S. COOPER
Page Range: 84 – 86
Abstract: No Abstract
Parsons Site Worked Bone and Antler
Volume: OA65/66
Year: 1998
Author: STEPHEN COX THOMAS
Page Range: 87 – 103
Abstract: No Abstract
Parsons Site Exotica and Archaeometry
Volume: OA65/66
Year: 1998
Author: DAVID A. ROBERTSON, STEPHEN G. MONCKTON AND RONALD F. WILLIAMSON
Page Range: 104 – 110
Abstract: No Abstract
Parsons Site Plant Remains
Volume: OA65/66
Year: 1998
Author: STEPHEN G. MONCKTON
Page Range: 111 – 120
Abstract: No Abstract
Zooarchaeology of the Parsons Site
Volume: OA65/66
Year: 1998
Author: STEPHEN COX THOMAS
Page Range: 121 – 139
Abstract: No Abstract
Craniometric Study of the Parsons Crania from Midden 4/Feature 245
Volume: OA65/66
Year: 1998
Author: TOSHA L. DUPRAS AND DAVID G. PRATTE
Page Range: 140 – 145
Abstract: No Abstract
The Parsons Site – References Cited
Volume: OA65/66
Year: 1998
Author:
Page Range: 151 – 161
Abstract: No Abstract
The Archaeology of the Parsons Site: Summary and Conclusions
Volume: OA65/66
Year: 1998
Author: DAVID A. ROBERTSON AND RONALD F. WILLIAMSON
Page Range: 146 – 150
Abstract: No Abstract
Accelerator-Dating the Weiser Site, Kent County, Ontario: New Perspectives on the Wolf to Fort Meigs Transition in the Western Lake Erie Region
Volume: OA67
Year: 1999
Author: DAVID M. STOTHERS, TIMOTHY J. ABEL AND JAMES R. GRAVES
Page Range: 1 – 22
Abstract: The Weiser Site (AdHo-1) and the Wolf to Fort Meigs phase transition in the western Lake Erie region were formerly estimated to date to circa A.D. 1400, based on ceramic seriations and radiocarbon assays derived from research in northwestern Ohio. A new suite of radiocarbon assays, including two AMS assays obtained from the Weiser site itself, has allowed a refinement of this estimate. Based on a consideration of these new assays along with expanded understandings of ceramic seriation, the Wolf to Fort Meigs phase transition is now believed to date to the middle of the fifteenth century. The implications of this revised chronology are discussed.
Archaeologists in the Continental Boreal Province: A Personal Recollection
Volume: OA67
Year: 1999
Author: KENNETH C.A. DAWSON
Page Range: 23 – 39
Abstract: The personalities, backgrounds and contributions of the people who undertook archaeology in the Continental Boreal Province, the mid-north forests of Ontario, Manitoba and Saskatchewan, are reviewed. Exploration began in Ontario in the mid-1850s, and was followed by investigations in Manitoba and Saskatchewan about a century later.
The Barrie Site: A Pioneering lroquoian Village Located in Simcoe County, Ontario
Volume: OA67
Year: 1999
Author: RICHARD E. SUTTON
Page Range: 40 – 86
Abstract: The Barrie site (BcGw-18) is one of a very small group of sites located in Simcoe County which represent the only known Uren substage Middle Iroquoian village sites located north of the Oak Ridges Moraine in all of southcentral Ontario. The site was partially excavated from 1991 to 1993 as part of the author’s doctoral dissertation research on Iroquoian migration patterns. The earliest Iroquoian village sites in Simcoe County date to the Middle Iroquoian period, and were established as the result of a rapid migration from south of the Oak Ridges Moraine. As one of the earliest known Iroquoian villages in the region, the Barrie site offers a unique opportunity to examine the adaptations made by pioneering slash and burn horticulturalists. The following article provides a detailed analysis of the site’s settlement patterns and artifact assemblage. It also examines the local and regional context of the Barrie site, the possible source area for the migrants, and the structural conditions which may have caused the colonization of this region in the first place.
Telling Tales: Interpretive Trends in Southern Ontario Late Woodland Archaeology
Volume: OA68
Year: 1999
Author: NEAL FERRIS
Page Range: 1 – 62
Abstract: The publication in 1966 of Jim Wright’s The Ontario Iroquois Tradition and his construction of the Late Woodland culture history for southern Ontario has had a tremendous impact on how this part of the archaeological record has been thought about since. Yet a critical component of this construct, often referred to as the Conquest Hypothesis or Theory, has always proven problematic and contentious, and generally has been rejected by Wright’s colleagues. This seeming paradox in rejecting a critical interpretative construct while embracing the model serves as the starting point here for examining the ways in which archaeologists have come to think about and interpret, and re-interpret the Late Woodland history of southern Ontario. In moving away from the normative assumptions inherent in the Ontario Iroquois Tradition model and actively engaging in broader theoretical discussion, Ontario archaeologists are beginning to ask different questions of – and apply new perspectives to – the archaeological record. What I offer here is an example of the kind of story that can be told based on such changing interpretive approaches to the Late Woodland period. Through application of a long-term, historical perspective to the archaeological record, and recognition of the role of agency, the period of the supposed Pickering Conquest is seen as representing both a range of variable local responses to on-going change, and strategies of response based on over a millennium of cultural development, rather than a sudden, militaristic ‘hiccup’ in between long periods of cultural equilibrium. I also intentionally offer here fictive vignettes, an informal voice, and play, all of which are intended to underscore the point that archaeology, ultimately, is about telling stories about the past. In the end, it is up to you, the audience, to decide whether this story ‘works,’ and if so, where it will go next.
Were “Utilized Flakes” Utilized? An Issue of Lithic Classification in Ontario Archaeology
Volume: OA68
Year: 1999
Author: CHEN SHEN
Page Range: 63 – 73
Abstract: In this paper, I challenge the use of the ‘utilized flake’ category in current Ontario lithic classification. The typological systems that include ‘utilized flake’ as an independent category are problematic because ‘utilized flakes’ are not a unique type, but rather a group of flakes with edge-damage caused by use. Moreover, blind tests demonstrate the problems associated with accurately identifying utilization without magnification. Low power magnification analysis of specimens from two archaeological sites in southwestern Ontario demonstrates the advantages of this method over more subjective methods of identifying use-wear.