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.