A 5,000 year old human burial at Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug, Big Trout Lake, n. Ontario. Scott Hamilton Dept. of Anthropology Introduction Continuous Far northern Ontario was fully deglaciated only about ca. 8,000 years ago, Lakehead University Permafrost Manitoba H.R.B. L. Saskatchewan Manitoba In the spring of 2004, human skeletal remains were discovered along The early Holocene occupants McConnell whereupon much of the Hudson Bay Lowland (north of white dashed line) was Hudson Bay the north shore of Big Trout Lake at Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug Discontinuous of northern Ontario confronted innundated by the Tyrrell Sea. The Big Trout Lake region is within the northern El Molto Permafrost (K.I.), (formerly known as Big Trout Lake F.N.) (Fig 1, 2). They were a persisting glacial environment. Alberta limits of the Precambrian Shield, but is a comparatively low relief area dotted Dept. of Anthropology As the glaciers disappeared, the initially exposed when a shoreline gravel ridge was quarried for local Big Trout Lake with many lakes and muskegs. No detailed Pleistocene thematic mapping is University of Western Ontario road construction. Subsequent surface erosion revealed bones that Far North pioneer tundra vegetation likely available to aid in documenting the early Holocene landscape, and how it attracted herd animals such as Big Trout Lake might have been used for human occupation. The accidental discovery of were discovered and excavated by Mr. Terry Childforever. Chief Donny Laurentide Ice Sheet caribou. In turn, Plano hunters multiple early Holocene human burials on well-drained but subtle local uplands Morris contacted the senior author to evaluate the nature and historical Lake Ontario were attracted northward in Agassiz (eskers, gravel ridges) is strongly suggestive of the importance of such features significance of the finds prior to their reburial in the community. The pursuit of their prey. This would for early human settlement. Wapekeka deceased was a young adult Amerindian male. AMS radiocarbon dating have encouraged the time McKay of a foot bone yielded a date of 4,450 ± 50 yBP (TO-11878), with calibration ± 50 transgressive expansion of early In light of anticipated development (mining, all-weather roads, hydro-electric Aboriginal people northward as 9,900 years BP correction indicating death and burial over 5,000 years ago. The site Glacial Ice Sheet Lake transmission corridors, etc), these burials have considerable CRM implications deglaciation proceeded. Thus, Kam. in a huge area with very little extant archaeological information. has been designated the McKay Burial site. Along with the ca. 7,000 THUNDER MontanaGlacial Melt Water North Dakota BAY Near North technologies and adaptations Present configuration of yBP human burials recovered from the nearby Wapekeka F.N.(Fig 2) associated with the late water bodies Lake Early L. Lake Duluth Ontanagan Minong Forest- Tundra 0 100 200 300 400 Alberta Saskatchewan Manitoba 0 km 300 (Hamilton 2004), these discoveries represent some of the oldest human Pleistocene in more southerly Hudson Bay remains yet found in far northern Ontario. With the permission of the Hudson Bay Lowlands latitudes might have persisted km South Dakota (after Dyke and Prest 1987, Minnesota Lake Boreal Forest McAndrewsWyoming et al 1987) Chief and Council, the junior author conducted skeletal analysis at into the Holocene in the north. Chippewa north boundary Québec Great Lakes- St. Lawrence Forest Canadian Shield Lakehead University to document the vital characteristics, with ongoing Deciduous Forest The process of deglaciation proceeded comparatively rapidly after ca. 9,000 yBP, south boundary Ontario chemical analysis to reconstruct diet and nutrition. The remains were with Plano expansion shortly thereafter. However the sequence of meltwater Canadian Shield returned for reburial in the spring of 2005. As part of the research drainage, biotic recovery and isostatic rebound effects are not well understood Big Trout Lake Between 6,500 and 2000 agreement, a report and a public education poster were produced for SH/02 at a scale useful for regional archaeological analysis. 1800 years RC ago, a series of Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug. Post Contact Period culturesyBP were found Shield Archaic Fig 1 Modern vegetation zones in Ontario. Big Trout Lake is a major Fig 9 A surpisingly large collection of formal headwater lake that drains north into the Severn River system, and is 1600 throughout northeastern The Site Location and expedient tools were recovered from North America.500 The most located at the northern limit of the Precambrian Shield. the gravel beach in the vicinity of the two 1400 Minnesota Big Trout Lake is the primary headwater lake of the Fawn River, a geographicallyMontana extensive

burial find areas (Fig. 3 and 4). With the Duck Bay 1200 (and least well-known)North is Dakota the Old Copper

tributary of the Severn River in far northwestern Ontario (Fig 1). The Sandy Lake b exception of item 9b, all are produced from Lake Clearwater Culture Mistikwas Kame Hills Late Woodland Late Shield (Shield Archaic) region is currently within the northern limits of the boreal forest, about Selkirk Hudson Bay Lowland chert that was readily 1000 1000 Wisconsin Laurentian culture. The burial at the Michigan 100 km south of the Hudson Bay Lowlands. Given the age of the burial, Archaic 90˚ W 90˚ a available from stream beds and rocky McKay Site is likely affiliatedSouth Dakota New York the regional ecology was likely very different at the time of interest. shorelines, or from the eskers found 800 Wyoming

Blackduck with Shield Culture. Iowa Wapekeka Nebraska Illinois Pennsylvania Very little is known about the early post-glacial landscape, and even throughout the region. Indiana Ohio SH/03 Burial Site 600 less about the human cultures of this northern region. The discovery 1500 of human remains is an important first step for developing a more Some of the tools are slightly polished and 400 McKay Burial water-worn in keeping with their deposition Fig 13 Wapekeka Gouge detailed understanding of early Aboriginal occupation of the northern c within Big Trout Lake. The collection 200 recovered from mixed AD Laurel Precambrian Shield. includes notched and unnotched projectile Woodland Middle context from Airstrip d 0 2000 points (9a, b, f). These stone tips were BC quarry pit. The burial was located within a 20 metre long low gravel ridge that, hafted on light spears, and likely date to 200 before quarrying operations, ran parallel to the north shoreline of Big between 2,000 and 5,000 years ago. Item 53˚ 45’ N 400 9a is superficially similar to a late Plano Radiocarbon years Before Present years Trout Lake, immediately north of Post Island (Fig 2, Fig 3: loc 1). Several Big B.P. projectile point (Fig 12), but the midsection 0 such gravel and sand ridges are reported along the shoreline, and local Trout 600 Late Woodland Big Trout Lake Region thickness and low quality of knapping is 1000 informants indicate that past gravel quarrying in a nearby ridge led to Woodland Early in not present Subarctic Holocene Middle Woodland 0 5 10 Lake F.N. not consistent with Plano techology. 800 (post-glacial) 2000 the accidental discovery of at least two other human graves (Fig 3: loc 3000 km N Instead, it may be a knife, or alternatively, ? 4000 2, Fig 8). The skeletons from location 2 were reburied in the community derived from portions of e Fig 10 A biface produced from Hudson Bay 1000 Big Trout Lake a presently undocumented unnotched ? Human Burial Shield NTS 53G & 53H projectile point type. This latter possibility Lowland chert. It is a general purpose cutting 5000 cemetery without investigation some time ago. 1200 Human Burials 6000 is very real given the lack of archaeological and scraping tool of a non-diagnostic sort at Wapekeka 7000 Fig 2 The McKay Burial Site along north shore of Big Trout Lake. (Also information about far northern Ontario. produced and used for thousands of years. 1400 Slow Human Burial 8000 Post Island contains the balance of the Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug Deglaciation at Cummins Plano note Wapekeka Burial Site (FlJj-1). The raw material is widely distributed 9000 town site, and is connected to the mainland by a partially submerged 10000 Also of note are items 9c, d and g which throughout northwestern Ontario in gravel 1600 Late Folsom g Pleistocene 11000 esker ridge that is now developed as a roadway (Fig 3). The shoreline Clovis location of former house f are unifacially chipped ‘side scrapers’. Item deposits and glacial drift. Since it was 1800 Late Shield 3,000 to 1,000 BC (Ice Age) 12000 gravel ridges likely formed as part of this esker complex. Throughout 9e is a flake that was used as an expedient recovered from the beach zone, there is no northern Ontario these eskers are a common feature, and in a rugged gravel ridge (approx) cutting tool. All of these materials are from way of knowing whether it dates to the time Fig 11 A ‘timechart’ showing the archaeologically- landscape mantled with lakes, rivers and muskeg, offered attractive artifact yielding section of beach a local private collection, and brief of the nearby human burial. defined history of northern Ontario. Human occupation well-drained travel corridors and ecologically diverse micro-habitats. inspection by Hamilton did not yield any of northern Ontario likely began after about 9,000 years 1,2 gravel ridges Between 2 and 5 burials were disturbed during construction of the Wapekeka The ancient burials at both Wapekeka and Big Trout Lake were recovered other cultural material on the exposed ago. The McKay burial site from Big Trout Lake dates airstrip. They were buried within water-laid sand on a stranded beach feature on or near esker features, and other similar burials might lie undiscovered gravel beach. Interestingly, no flake debitage to the time of Shield Culture, consistent with the cultural built on the north flank of a sand esker, one of the most prominent topographic in the region. or pottery is represented in the private affiliation of at least one of the projectile points recovered features in the region. It is not known whether the interments occurred when collection. nearby from the gravel beach. the beach was active, but the dating of the remains to ca. 7,000 BP is roads suggestive. Particularly important for the interpretation of these early burials The locality containing the burials is near the mouth of a small stream is the eventual collection of data regarding late Pleistocene deglaciation, the that drains into Big Trout Lake. Local informants indicate that the river Summary of the Skeletal Examination age and expanse of glacial meltwater lakes, and ecological recovery of the mouth, with the protection offered by the Post Island, was a favoured early Holocene landscape. spring encampment zone. The antiquity of these human remains, coupled with a small collection of artifacts from the beach (Fig 9 and 10), indicates Gladys B Fig 14 shows the recovered skeletal elements in red. A ground stone gouge was recovered from disturbed context at the McKay Although the burial is well preserved, key elements Wapekeka Burial Site (Fig 13). It is more consistent with Laurentian Archaic that the place was attractive for human settlement for thousands of 2 years. are missing (sternal ends of the ribs, the os pubes and than with Shield Archaic. As it cannot be directly associated with the human A the base of the skull). burials, it remains undated. The lake shore adjacent to the gravel ridges is overgrown with willows, 1 Docks This male was likely in his mid to late 20s at the time While the McKay burial site dates about 2,000 years later than Wapekeka, with a narrow beach exposed at times of low water (Fig 4). Local TN raised, well-drained coarse sediments remained important as part of the residents have collected a small number of stone artifacts from this of death. Age was determined on the basis of fused burial ritual. beach, but their relationship with the nearby burials is not clear. This medial clavicular epiphysis, fused illiac crest ephisises, Big Trout Lake and the unfused S1-S2 bodies, in addition the moderate collection contains at least one projectile point that may date to between Fig 12 Initial occupation 2,000 and ca. 6,000 years ago. This suggests that some of the artifacts attrition of the teeth is consistent with the young adult male status. Sex was determined on the basis of the reflects ‘Plano’ culture, recovered from the beach may have been associated with the burials Loc 1 best known for the on the gravel ridges. robust nature of the skull, well developed muscle lanceolate spear tips. 100 metres markings (i.e. deltoid and teres major), and on basis E 310000 Fig 6 View east along the former ridge at loc 1. The orange- of pelvic traits (i.e. narrow sciatic notch). Both humeri The Nature of the Burial N 5969000 flagged stake (A) marks the burial location. Note the remnant have benign cortical depressions where the teres major Very little can be said about the physical nature of the grave because of the gravel ridge (B) at the east edge of the clearing.It is muscle attaches to the bone (Fig 15). This indicates of the lack of professional excavation and documentation. The remains not clear whether this gravel ridge is a portion of an esker, chronic heavy work. We speculate that the bilateral were completely collected at the time of discovery, and no additional Fig 3 Burial Locality along the Big Trout Lake shoreline (note or reflects along shore redeposition of sediment. that the UTM grid lines are based upon NAD’27 as per NTS symmetry of these depressions might derive from Early Aboriginal Occupation bones were encountered at the site during Hamilton’s visit. No evidence activities such as canoe paddling. of the grave pit remained, nor were there any burial inclusions recovered. map 53H/13, while GPS-derived coordinates use NAD’83). of Northern Ontario Note the esker that connects Post Island to the mainland Archaeological investigation of far northern Ontario is in its relative Information provided by Mr. Childforever indicates that the body was immediately to the west of a small stream mouth. The most significant morphological trait present are placed in the grave on his right side in a ‘flexed’ position, and facing infancy, and is heavily dependent upon interpretations drawn from the well developed shovel shaped incisors (Fig 16). elsewhere (Fig 11). Initial Plano occupation occurred after ca. 8,500 south towards the lake (Fig 5). The bones appear to have been in their This and the antiquity of the skeleton support an proper anatomical position at the time of discovery, suggesting interment years BP, (best known with the Lakehead Complex between Glacial Amerindian status for the skeleton. Fig 15 Humeri with broken proximal Lakes Minong and Agassiz) (Fig 12). It appears that these groups shortly after death. The skull and several of the other bones are broken, articulating ends. Note the deep linear likely from earth settling, or from mechanized removal of the gravel were attracted north as the glaciers retreated and the huge meltwater All the teeth were recovered and show no caries, but ‘cortical depressions’ where the muscles lakes drained (see also Pilon and Dalla Bona 2004). This differs from overburden. of the upper arm attach. Both arms are a moderate degree of fractures and chips were noted affected. the idea initially proposed by J.V. Wright (1995:121 citing Wright A in the enamel (Fig 17). These features are consistent 1972:69) that initial occupation derived from the northwest and The actual discovery location is defined by a wooden stake with with traditional non-agrarian diets. Future stable orange flagging ribbon in Figures 6 and 7. The remnant of the gravel involving northern Plano technological change. Instead, we propose isotopic analysis will offer clues regarding the expansion northward of populations from the Eastern Woodlands ridge is noted in Fig 6 at location B. The approximate position of the proportion of animal protein in his diet. We can conclude gravel ridge at location 2 that yielded two burials is illustrated in Fig 8. Fig 18 Some bone surfaces that illustrate the origin of much other Archaic technology. that the diet of this individual was abrassive as expected unnatural pitting noted on many parts of the of a foraging diet, and that the carbohydrates present skeleton. These pits are thought to relate to As the land recovered from deglaciation, forest spread northward, would not have been refined. a disease, perhaps a form of cancer. and humans adapted to the changed circumstances. The Shield Dating of the Burial A people were generalized hunters, fishers and plant gatherers in The burial was radiocarbon dated to 4,450 ± 50 yBP (TO-11878), with This individual suffered a chronic illness characterized A: Outer surface of two articulating vertebrae. keeping with the ecology of this developing northern coniferous a calibration estimate between 5,100 and 5,300 years ago. A time chart by pitting of the bone cortex in many areas of the forest. The technology and lifestyle likely involved a political economy that relates the Big Trout Lake and the Wapekeka burials to other events skeleton. It is most evident in the ribs, vertebrae, B: This pitting is widespread throughout the Loc 1 surfaces of many of the vertebrae. based upon highly mobile kin-based hunting bands whose land use and processes in northern Ontario history is presented in Figure 11. scapulae, pelvis, cranium and mandible (Fig 18). Post- was scheduled to take advantage of seasonally abundant resources. depositional natural bone degradation is ruled out It remains to be seen whether the apparent ‘clustering’ of human Figure 11, coupled with maps illustrating glacial melting and biological Fig 7 View south across burial area (A) with Big Trout Lake C: Detail of the outer surface of one of the because of the unusual distribution of pitting on the ribs showing the holes. The plural surface of burials on localized uplands overlooking lakes is related to seasonally recovery, demonstrate that the human remains from Wapekeka and Big and the partially submerged esker in the background. The Fig 14 Skeletal inventory of the burial area is no more than 1 metre above the current skeleton. these ribs have an intact cortext, confirming scheduled group aggregation, or early development of ‘burial places’. Trout Lake fall in the first half of the time span when humans occupied recoveries. Unshaded bones or that the holes are from a pathological process shoreline of Big Trout Lake, suggesting that the current portions may have been lost during far northern Ontario. They are the oldest currently known human remains lake level was achieved about 5,000 years ago. This indicates These bone modifications suggest a systemic and not deriving from taphonomy. During Shield times, some populations in the lower Great Lakes in far northern Ontario, and collectively provide the earliest evidence gravel quarrying, naturally displaced a comparatively rapid post-glacial recovery and the early pathology originating within the marrow cavities of the or decomposed, or missed during also began using ground stone technology, a technology rarely of human habitation in the early post-glacial period. achievement of the modern configuration of the landscape affected bones, hence a blood and/or lymphatic based excavation. found with Shield Archaic (Fig 13). One such heavy woodworking Fig 4 View east along the gravel beach at low water levels on and stream systems. Big Trout Lake. This gravel beach has yielded a few artifacts, disorder. Possible diseases include acute myelocytic gouge was recovered in disturbed context at the Wapekeka airstrip including at least one projectile point of probable Shield leukemia and lymphoma. The diagnosis is ongoing B during salvage recovery of the human burials (Hamilton 2004). cultural affiliation. and involves a series of scientific imaging techniques Fig 5 Artist’s sketch of the (x-rays, CT, microCT, MRI) and molecular (DNA and This individual, coupled with the early Holocene remains from burial based upon Mr. protein) testing. Wapekeka, represent the earliest human remains currently known Childforever’s description in far northern Ontario. They speak to early human adaptation to of what he encountered. the emerging forested environment of the Holocene Subarctic. If The ‘flexed’ burial faced this individual is confirmed to have had leukemia, then this will be south towards the lake, with the head to the west. No the earliest case of this disease in antiquity. artifacts were recovered with the burial.

References Cited Dawson, K.C.A. 1983 “Prehistory of the interior forest of Northern Ontario” In Boreal Forest Adaptations edited by A. Theodore Steegman jr. Plenum Publishing.

Loc 2 Hamilton, S.2004 “Early Holocene Human Burials at Wapekeka (FlJj-1), northern Ontario” In The Late Palaeo-Indian N C Great Lakes: Geological and Archaeological Investigations of Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene Environments edited by L. Jackson and A. Hinshelwood Mercury Series Mercury Archaeology Paper 165, Canadian Museum of Civilization, Gatineau, Québec. Pilon, Jean-Luc and Luke Dalla Bona 2004 “Insights into the Early Peopling of Northwestern Ontario as Documented Fig 17 The right portion of the mandibular molar tooth row at the Allen site (EcJs-1), Sioux Lookout District, Ontario” In The Late Palaeo-Indian Great Lakes: Geological and Archaeological Investigations of Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene Environments edited by L. Jackson and A. Fig 15 Detail of the maxilla. The incisor illustrating the antemortum enamal chipping (arrows). Hinshelwood Mercury Series Mercury Archaeology Paper 165, Canadian Museum of Civilization, Gatineau, Québec. teeth are ‘shovel shaped’. Wright, J.V. 1972 Ontario Prehistory, an eleven thousand year archaeological outline. Canadian Prehistory Series, Fig 8 View northeast across a former ridge (Loc 2) that yielded at least two human burials overlooking the creek mouth (the water National Museum of Man, Ottawa. body in the background). 1995 “A History of the Native People of Canada Vol. 1 (10,000 -1,000 BC) Mercury Series Archaeological Survey of Canada, Paper 152, Canadian Museum of Civilization, Hull.