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Dated ground stone artifacts from Tse’K’wa (HbRf-39), Peace River region, British Columbia

Description

Artifacts made from ground sandstone were recovered from Tse’K’wa (HbRf-39) in the Peace River region of northeastern British Columbia. Two formal types are described: handstones and beveled-edge... More ≫

Description

Artifacts made from ground sandstone were recovered from Tse’K’wa (HbRf-39) in the Peace River region of northeastern British Columbia. Two formal types are described: handstones and beveled-edge artifacts. The specimens are dated by stratigraphic position and radiocarbon from 6000 cal BP to recent times. Scans with an optical profilometer of possibly worked surfaces show that they are significantly smoother than unworked sandstone from the local bedrock formation. The shape of the artifacts also supports their identification as deliberately formed artifacts. This paper suggests that these are tools related to preparation of hides.

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Forestry and archaeology in Alberta : a history and synthesis

Description

This paper presents the origins of cultural resource management in Alberta’s forestry sector and synthesizes key statistics since implementation in 2003. Over 4,600 archaeological sites have been... More ≫

Description

This paper presents the origins of cultural resource management in Alberta’s forestry sector and synthesizes key statistics since implementation in 2003. Over 4,600 archaeological sites have been recorded in the province during historic resources impact assessments of harvest blocks and forestry roads with an average of 246 new sites per year. The paper summarizes annual records of sites detected, the number and percentage of forestry developments subjected to fieldwork, site size, and shovel test intensity. The goals are to document trends and explain the value of forestry compliance for heritage protection in Alberta.

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Archaeological discoveries and syntheses in Western Canada, 2020

Description

This volume presents a series of archaeological papers that summarize diverse topics including rock art in southern Alberta, atlatl weights in Saskatchewan, microblade technology in northwest... More ≫

Description

This volume presents a series of archaeological papers that summarize diverse topics including rock art in southern Alberta, atlatl weights in Saskatchewan, microblade technology in northwest North America, Napi effigies on the Northern Plains, a material called porcellanite used to make stone tools in Alberta, and a surface collection of artifacts from northern Alberta (the Gull Lake site).

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The archaeological remains from a surface collection, Fort Vermilion, Alberta

Description

This paper describes a surface collection from the Gull Lake site near Fort Vermilion in northern Alberta. The site yielded an assortment of tools, including a complete microblade core, several... More ≫

Description

This paper describes a surface collection from the Gull Lake site near Fort Vermilion in northern Alberta. The site yielded an assortment of tools, including a complete microblade core, several diagnostic projectile points made from a variety of lithic raw materials (including one specimen resembling Angostura Paleoindian points). We hypothesize that the Gull Lake site represents one of several areas in the northern Alberta Boreal Borest that were prairies purposely maintained by First Nations peoples to attract large game animals such as woodland bison. Once these and other large animals were depleted after contact, First Nations peoples no longer used the site in favor of other still productive game animal areas in northern Alberta.

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A personal perspective on microblade and microblade core variability in northeast Asia and northwest North America

Description

Contrary to the prevailing belief that microblade production was a complicated process that involved indirect percussion or assisted pressure and holding devices, a simple free-hand pressure... More ≫

Description

Contrary to the prevailing belief that microblade production was a complicated process that involved indirect percussion or assisted pressure and holding devices, a simple free-hand pressure technique can easily replicate examples comparable to those recovered from pre-contact sites. This paper argues that such a technique prevailed in the past, and that many of the variations in formal and metric attributes of archaeological microblade cores and microblades are the result of a wide range of environmental, behavioural, and functional variables rather than of completely different methods of manufacture.

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The atlatl weights of Saskatchewan

Description

This article describes and classifies seventy-two atlatl weights found in Saskatchewan, almost all from fields under cultivation in the grassland and aspen parkland. The article presents metric... More ≫

Description

This article describes and classifies seventy-two atlatl weights found in Saskatchewan, almost all from fields under cultivation in the grassland and aspen parkland. The article presents metric attributes and illustrations of the weights in each class in order to further the understanding of this little documented group of artifacts by making available representative specimens from known locations within a defined geographical boundary.

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The rock art of the Williams Coulee site, EcPl-16, southwestern Alberta

Description

Description Provide a brief description of the contents of the resource (1 to 5 sentences recommended). The Williams Coulee site (EcPl-16), in southwestern Alberta, is an important and strikingly... More ≫

Description

Description Provide a brief description of the contents of the resource (1 to 5 sentences recommended). The Williams Coulee site (EcPl-16), in southwestern Alberta, is an important and strikingly visual rock art site. This article describes the rock art and offers interpretations of narrative scenes. Outside of the Writing-on-Stone region, Williams Coulee offers some of the most complete and most complex narrative scenes that are typical of Plains Biographical tradition art, but also features scenes with static anthropomorphs that bespeak of the Plains Ceremonial tradition.

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An excavation at the White Horse Lake Cairn (EeOo-1), with comparisons to other excavated cairns in southern Alberta

Description

This is an article about pre-contact stone features in Alberta. The results of an archaeological excavation of a stone cairn in southern Alberta are compared to results of other excavations at... More ≫

Description

This is an article about pre-contact stone features in Alberta. The results of an archaeological excavation of a stone cairn in southern Alberta are compared to results of other excavations at stone cairns in the province. The results inform expectations and management practices concerning an important historic resource in Alberta.

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Digital methods to mediate impacts of the relocation of built heritage and their implications for the Perrenoud Homestead in Alberta

Description

This is an article about digital methods of heritage preservation. The article outlines the results of efforts to digitally document a historic building in southern Alberta prior to dismantling.... More ≫

Description

This is an article about digital methods of heritage preservation. The article outlines the results of efforts to digitally document a historic building in southern Alberta prior to dismantling. The results inform tourism and historic resource management practices in the province.

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Site 243R (FgQm-59) : a stratified campsite on the Snake Indian River in Jasper National Park, Alberta

Description

This archaeology paper describes work at a stratified site in Jasper National Park, Alberta. Aeolian silts covering the terrace at this site (243R) contained evidence of five cultural components.... More ≫

Description

This archaeology paper describes work at a stratified site in Jasper National Park, Alberta. Aeolian silts covering the terrace at this site (243R) contained evidence of five cultural components. Radiocarbon dates and recovered projectile points suggest that occupations occurred during the Early, Middle, and Late Precontact Periods. The preliminary results from site 243R excavations provide the basis for a much-needed occupational sequence for Jasper National Park.

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