Publications

Environmental Assessment - St. Mary River Irrigation District Chin Reservoir Expansion Project

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Environmental assessment registry documents pertaining to the proposed St. Mary River Irrigation District Chin Reservoir Expansion project. Chin Reservoir is an off-stream storage reservoir that ... More ≫

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Environmental assessment registry documents pertaining to the proposed St. Mary River Irrigation District Chin Reservoir Expansion project. Chin Reservoir is an off-stream storage reservoir that is located roughly in the middle of St. Mary River Irrigation District (SMRID) irrigation network, approximately 30 kilometers (km) east of Lethbridge and 15 km south of Taber. The Chin Reservoir Expansion Project (the Project) involves the construction of a new dam which would result in a larger reservoir. The new dam would be approximately 40 meters (m) in height and is expected to inundate (flood) approximately 650 hectares (ha) of privately held land within Chin Coulee. For more information on the environmental assessment process visit ea.alberta.ca.

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Many edges to the wedges : an overview of microblade technology in western Canada

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Microblade technology in western Canada is reviewed within a regional framework to broaden archaeologists’ understanding of its geographic and temporal distribution. Substantial references are ... More ≫

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Microblade technology in western Canada is reviewed within a regional framework to broaden archaeologists’ understanding of its geographic and temporal distribution. Substantial references are made to archaeological grey literature. Focusing on two main microcore forms (Denali and fixed platform), the technology is shown to be found throughout the Holocene epoch, concentrated principally in British Columbia and the Yukon, with fewer occurrences in the Northwest Territories and Alberta. Microcore morphologies are strongly dependent on the qualities of toolstones used in their manufacture; the principal core forms demonstrate regionally distinct distributions and weak temporal trends. From the Late Pleistocene and through the Holocene, microblade technology in northwestern North America appears to increase and decrease in popularity on track with major climatic episodes. Substantial progress has been made in recent times in substantiating a north to south time-slope trend in...

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Archaeology on the brink : papers in honour of John W. Brink, 2023

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This volume is dedicated to Jack Brink who undertook ground-breaking research over his 40 year career with the Archaeological Survey of Alberta and Royal Alberta Museum. He produced many ... More ≫

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This volume is dedicated to Jack Brink who undertook ground-breaking research over his 40 year career with the Archaeological Survey of Alberta and Royal Alberta Museum. He produced many publications and presentations for professional and avocational audiences, he played a formative role in the development of cultural resource management policy in Alberta, and was a creative and driving force in the establishment of world-class interpretive facilities and public programs. The papers in this volume discuss a variety of archaeological topics in Western Canada that continue Jack's legacy of shaping people and research.

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The PaleoIndigenous component of the Ahai Mneh Site (FiPp-33), Lake Wabamun, Alberta

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This paper presents several years of field school research at Ahai Mneh in central Alberta, including spatial analytical methods to disentangle artifact distributions. We were able to identify a ... More ≫

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This paper presents several years of field school research at Ahai Mneh in central Alberta, including spatial analytical methods to disentangle artifact distributions. We were able to identify a deeper PaleoIndigenous Period component at the site, also present in surface collections from an adjacent cultivated field. Enigmatic and initially unprepossessing artifacts from Ahai Mneh actually have fascinating stories to tell if we are willing to delve into the microcosm of human decisions for which they still preserve traces. Examples include a failed effort at making a fluted point, an unusual Hell Gap-like point, a Scottsbluff point, and a fractured Alberta point base. While the results of such analyses involve inferences, they are much better than casual assumptions about associations, and point to the need for serious regulatory reform in requiring 3-D piece-plotting of artifacts.

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DgPf-18: Handprint rock art at the Sandstone Ranch site, North Milk River

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In 2017, Archaeological Survey staff investigated claims of rock art being present on a sandstone outcrop located at Sandstone Ranch, lands owned and managed jointly by the Nature of Conservancy ... More ≫

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In 2017, Archaeological Survey staff investigated claims of rock art being present on a sandstone outcrop located at Sandstone Ranch, lands owned and managed jointly by the Nature of Conservancy of Canada, the Alberta Conservation Association, and the Alberta Fish and Game Association. A preliminary visit to the outcrop resulted in the identification of a couple of red ochre handprints and smears. The rock art was identified as Foothills Abstract Tradition rock art. This paper discusses the significance of this newly identified rock art and how it relates to the distribution of other red ochre handprints and smears in Plains rock art.

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The finer features of the Junction Site

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This paper reports on the success of three seasons of excavation at the Junction Site, where anomalies identified through the use of a magnetometer became focal points for the mitigative ... More ≫

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This paper reports on the success of three seasons of excavation at the Junction Site, where anomalies identified through the use of a magnetometer became focal points for the mitigative excavations completed. Here we assess the utility of this technique in identifying buried features and further describe the many different features exposed. Our discussion concludes with an analysis of results and identification of the salient characteristics that distinguish the different functions of the features identified.

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I’ll aways miss the point... and I still don’t know Jack

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This paper is an adapted conference presentation for inclusion in a collection of tributes to Jack Brink. The paper is meant to stand as a memory to those who attended the conference symposium and ... More ≫

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This paper is an adapted conference presentation for inclusion in a collection of tributes to Jack Brink. The paper is meant to stand as a memory to those who attended the conference symposium and to honour an admired colleague.

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Bibliography of Jack W. Brink

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This is a bibliography of articles and book chapters by Jack W. Brink.

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Reconciling local, global, and Indigenous values : a history of the Writing-on-Stone / Áísínai’pi World Heritage inscription

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The inscription of Writing-on-Stone / Áísínai’pi on the World Heritage List in 2019 was the culmination of a fifteen-year long nomination process. The nomination recognized the international ... More ≫

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The inscription of Writing-on-Stone / Áísínai’pi on the World Heritage List in 2019 was the culmination of a fifteen-year long nomination process. The nomination recognized the international significance of this Blackfoot cultural landscape, but the process also exposed tensions between local, global, and Indigenous values. Consultation with Blackfoot and local settler communities during the National Historic Site of Canada commemoration that preceded the World Heritage site nomination indicated broad support for inscription of Writing-on-Stone / Áísínai’pi. However, engagement with local settler communities during the World Heritage site nomination process led to multiple iterations of the submission, as the nomination team attempted to balance the original Blackfoot vision of a cultural landscape that extended beyond Writing-on-Stone / Áísínai’pi against local community concerns with the nominated property boundaries and buffer zone. Integrating recent settler history within the...

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Chinese government scholarships : program overview

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Each year, the Government of China provides a number of scholarships enabling residents of Alberta to study in China. Alberta high school graduates, post-secondary students and scholars wishing to ... More ≫

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Each year, the Government of China provides a number of scholarships enabling residents of Alberta to study in China. Alberta high school graduates, post-secondary students and scholars wishing to participate in Chinese language studies, academic study at the undergraduate or graduate level, or research are all eligible. The language of instruction is primarily Chinese, but a limited number of programs are offered in English. The program may also sponsor and recommend remedial Chinese language studies for applicants who are not applying for the Chinese language study program.

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Swan Hills Treatment Center: PCBs and PCDD/F in wild game and fish tissue (1999-2014)

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The Swan Hills Treatment Centre (SHTC) is a facility for the safe disposal of special wastes located approximately 12 km northeast of the town of Swan Hills, AB. On October 16, 1996, a malfunction ... More ≫

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The Swan Hills Treatment Centre (SHTC) is a facility for the safe disposal of special wastes located approximately 12 km northeast of the town of Swan Hills, AB. On October 16, 1996, a malfunction of a transformer furnace was discovered to have caused the release of a portion of process gases containing polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs) into the ambient air. These chemicals can be harmful to human health. Therefore, in 1997 Alberta Health (AH) conducted a human health risk assessment study to estimate human exposure and to evaluate the effectiveness of public health interventions. As a result of the study, food consumption advice for wild game and fish taken within a 30 km radius of the facility were issued out of concern that PCBs and PCDD/Fs were accumulating in these locally caught foods. A long-term environmental monitoring and human exposure assessment program has been ongoing since 1998 to monitor concentrations of...

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World supply and disposition [2022 to current]

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Data on historic supplies, production, imports, exports, usage, and stocks of grains worldwide. Grains reported on include coarse grains, rice, soybean, and wheat. Released monthly.

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United States supply and disposition [2022 to current]

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Data on historic supplies, production, imports, exports, usage, and stocks of grains in the United States. Grains reported on include barley, corn, feedgrain, oats, soybean and wheat. Released ... More ≫

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Data on historic supplies, production, imports, exports, usage, and stocks of grains in the United States. Grains reported on include barley, corn, feedgrain, oats, soybean and wheat. Released monthly.

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The recovery for display of a 1,600-year-old roasting pit feature from Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump

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Dozens of pre-contact pit features have been recorded during excavations of the processing area at Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump, in Alberta, Canada. In 1990 a largely intact 1,600-year-old ... More ≫

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Dozens of pre-contact pit features have been recorded during excavations of the processing area at Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump, in Alberta, Canada. In 1990 a largely intact 1,600-year-old roasting pit feature was located and left in situ as it was considered a good candidate for future display, should an opportunity present itself. In 2016 that opportunity was realized with the planned development of the new Royal Alberta Museum in Edmonton. The feature was relocated, excavated, and enclosed in a plaster jacket using a technique commonly used by paleontologists for fossil recovery. After removal and transport, the final excavation of the feature was accomplished in the museum, allowing optimal excavation conditions that produced some unusual results. This methodology allows the preservation and long-term interpretation of archaeological material, providing an alternative to dismantling these features under standard archaeological research conditions.

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The 2021 excavations at Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump, UNESCO World Heritage Site : taking Jack Brink’s excavations to a new level

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Throughout the 1980s, Jack Brink conducted excavations on behalf of the Archaeological Survey of Alberta at Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump and developed an extensive understanding of how bison that ... More ≫

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Throughout the 1980s, Jack Brink conducted excavations on behalf of the Archaeological Survey of Alberta at Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump and developed an extensive understanding of how bison that were hunted at the jump were transformed into food and supplies. A joint team from the University of Lethbridge and the Royal Alberta Museum returned to the site in 2021 with the express goal of digging beneath where Jack had stopped and unearthing the earliest stages of use. While the materials we discovered were minimal, the results were stunning, revealing that activities have been occurring at the site for more than 8500 years. The results of the 2021 excavations are presented as a tribute to Jack’s contributions to Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump.

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An unusual Avonlea pit at Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump

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At the instigation of Jack Brink, a large pit feature situated in the processing area of Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump (DkPj-1) was excavated in 1992. Apparently made by enlarging an animal burrow, ... More ≫

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At the instigation of Jack Brink, a large pit feature situated in the processing area of Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump (DkPj-1) was excavated in 1992. Apparently made by enlarging an animal burrow, the irregularly shaped feature contained ochre-painted bison bones, bison mandible digging implements, large portions of a pottery vessel, projectile points, 17 sets of articulated bison bones, portions of 15 bison skulls, and almost 1000 identifiable faunal specimens, the vast majority being bison. Artifacts and radiocarbon dates between 1300 and 1050 cal BP indicate the feature is associated with Avonlea. In the absence of a functional interpretation relating to the processing of bison, a ceremonial/ritual purpose appears to be the best explanation for this unusual pit feature.

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Microbotanical remains, residues, and usewear : other views of Head- Smashed-In Buffalo Jump

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Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump is one of the best-known archaeological sites in Canada and a UNESCO World Heritage site. This paper examines examples of phytoliths, charcoal, lithic tool residues, ... More ≫

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Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump is one of the best-known archaeological sites in Canada and a UNESCO World Heritage site. This paper examines examples of phytoliths, charcoal, lithic tool residues, and usewear to cast new cultural and palaeoenvironmental light on the site. Phytoliths and charcoal corroborate that the past environment was a foothills fescue mixed grassland, as it is today. Tools unexpected at a bison kill, such as hide scrapers and drills, document probable use of the site as an occasional campsite outside the times when it was used for bison hunting. In particular, the residues and usewear demonstrate processing of plants

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Stories from Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump : an interview with Boyd Wettlaufer

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Boyd Wettlaufer carried out the first systematic excavations at Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump in 1949. Stories from Wettlaufer himself describe his work at the site and his relations with local ... More ≫

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Boyd Wettlaufer carried out the first systematic excavations at Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump in 1949. Stories from Wettlaufer himself describe his work at the site and his relations with local communities. The artifacts recovered by Wettlaufer are examined and compared to results from subsequent excavations. The presence of the Paleoindian artifacts, as well as certain landscape features, suggests the site was used as a bison kill as long ago as 9000 BP. Several artifacts made of exotic raw materials show that the people at Head-Smashed-In were involved in the trade and movement of raw materials not native to Alberta.

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Alberta industrial greenhouse gas compliance

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Each annual issue of this report summarizes information gathered from compliance reports submitted by regulated facilities under the Technology Innovation and Emissions Reduction Regulation. ... More ≫

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Each annual issue of this report summarizes information gathered from compliance reports submitted by regulated facilities under the Technology Innovation and Emissions Reduction Regulation. Information contained in the report includes total regulated emissions, compliance position, and credit usage by sector, and a summary of historic compliance results from 2007 forward.

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Canada supply and disposition

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Data on historic and projected supplies, production, imports, exports, usage, and stocks of grains in Canada. Grains reported on include barley, canola, durum, flax, lentils, oats, peas and wheat ... More ≫

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Data on historic and projected supplies, production, imports, exports, usage, and stocks of grains in Canada. Grains reported on include barley, canola, durum, flax, lentils, oats, peas and wheat (excluding durum). Released quarterly.

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