ARCHAEOLOGY
Archaeologists use excavations and other techniques to gather clues in order to learn about cultural groups who lived in an earlier time period. The vast region of northwestern Ontario’s boreal forest provides a unique set of conditions which are challenging in terms of conducting archaeological field work. This has limited the amount of overall research carried out in this area. However, as additional archaeological work is completed, the emerging picture reveals that previous groups living within this landscape had a rich and dynamic cultural history. This section highlights the archaeological component of Lac Seul and offers a glimpse into its past.
COOL DISCOVERIES
Category
I was instantly both amazed and exhilarated as I examined the highly polished artifact that I held in my hand.
This was extremely exciting as this artifact type is quite rare so finding two at the same site is very cool!
While out walking the eroded shoreline of a known archaeological site I discovered a green tubular shaped object.
I was instantly both amazed and exhilarated as I examined the highly polished artifact that I held in my hand.
This artifact has been identified fragment of a bone tool made from a moose vestigial metarsal.
BLOGS
The recovery of the amazing artifact in close proximity to the rocky outline possible structure heightened the need to carry out further investigations of this site.
As I got closer I could see that it was a waterlogged canvas satchel heavily encrusted with dirt and clay. A mystery bag!
Therefore, the unearthing of a fairly intact hearth feature within an eroded shoreline was even more amazing because it appears to have distinct layers!
In early May of 2006 I was on a spring expedition surveying various sections of the shoreline around Lac Seul. At this time of year the water temperatures are very cold and the weather can be extremely volatile. Cruising around the lake and sleeping in a tent well out of reach of a cell signal is not for the faint of heart.
In early September of 2014 my friend and anthropology lab technician at Lakehead University, Clarence Surette, had driven from Thunder Bay to help me dig interior test pits on my research site.
In other words, my archaeological Holy Grail would be to find a complete vessel (pot). My specific and ongoing “quest” for the complete “vessel” eventually was referred to (and not affectionately) by my wife as, the vesselquest.
INFORMATION
The Minontoba Composite, a paper published in the Manitoba Archaeological Society Journal (2021), proposes a revision to the taxonomic categories of the Late Woodland period based on the high degree of attribute variability observed on pottery vessels from this era.
