Archaeology and Calgary Parks Territorial Acknowledgement Table of Contents Contributors Explore Archaeology
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UNCOVERING HUMAN HISTORY: Archaeology and Calgary Parks Territorial acknowledgement Table of Contents Contributors Explore Archaeology ........................................................... 2 10 Glenmore Parks (North and South) .........................32 We would like to take this opportunity to Amanda Dow Cultural Timeline ..................................................................... 4 11 Griffith Woods ..................................................................34 acknowledge that Indigenous people were Anna Rebus Cultural Context – Archaeologically Speaking ............ 6 12 Haskayne Legacy Park ..................................................35 the first stewards of this landscape - using 13 Inglewood Bird Sanctuary ...........................................36 it for sustenance, shelter, medicine and Circle CRM Group Inc. Explore Calgary’s Parks....................................................... 8 14 Nose Hill Park ...................................................................38 ceremony. Calgary’s landscape falls within Bison Historical Services Calgary’s Parks and Waterways ......................................... 9 15 Paskapoo Slopes and the traditional territories of the people Calgary’s Waterways and Parks Pathways ...................10 Golder Associates Ltd. Valley Ridge Natural Area Parks ................................40 of Treaty 7. This includes: the Blackfoot Know History Waterways ............................................................................... 11 16 Pearce Estate Park ..........................................................42 Confederacy, comprised of the Siksika, 1 Bow River .......................................................................... 11 17 Prince’s Island Park .........................................................43 Piikani, and Kainai First Nations; the Lifeways of Canada 2 Elbow River ...................................................................... 12 18 Quarry Park Natural Area Parks .................................44 Stoney Nakoda First Nations, comprised Royal Tyrrell Museum 3 Nose Creek ....................................................................... 13 19 Sandy Beach and River Edge Park ............................46 of the Chiniki, Bearspaw, and Wesley First Stantec 4 West Nose Creek ............................................................ 14 Nations; and the Tsuut’ina First Nation. 20 Simon’s Valley Natural Area Parks ............................47 TreeTime Services Inc. 5 Pine Creek ......................................................................... 14 Calgary is also homeland to the historic 21 St. Dunstan’s Industrial School ..................................48 6 Radio Tower Creek ......................................................... 14 Northwest Métis and to the Métis Nation Turtle Island Culture Resource Management 22 Weaselhead Flats ............................................................49 of Alberta, Region 3. We also acknowledge Parks ...........................................................................................16 Palaeontology vs. Archaeology ....................................50 all Indigenous urban Calgarians who have 1 12 Mile Coulee Park .......................................................16 Explore Conservation ........................................................52 made Calgary their home and Calgary’s 2 Bearspaw Legacy Park .................................................18 Volunteer ..................................................................................53 parks their parks. 3 Bottomlands Park and Tom Campbell’s Hill ........20 Attend a talk ............................................................................53 4 Bowmont Park and Dale Hodges Park ..................22 Report a find ...........................................................................53 5 Carburn Park ....................................................................23 Role of Development ...........................................................54 6 Clearwater Park ..............................................................24 7 Confluence of the Bow and Elbow Rivers .............26 Glossary ...................................................................................55 8 Douglasdale/McKenzie Natural Area Parks .........28 References ..............................................................................56 9 Edworthy Park ..................................................................30 COVER: Excavations at a site in Simon’s Valley Photo credit: Lifeways of Canada RIGHT: Nose Hill Photo credit: The City of Calgary Archaeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. Archaeological sites offer a glimpse into how peoples lived, traveled, hunted, gathered, adapted, and survived in the past. They also highlight past people’s intimate connection to and knowledge of the landscape and the environment. Archaeologists excavate deliberately and Glass – bottle glass, tableware glass, decorative items Explore archaeology systematically—stepping further back into time with and window glass; each layer of soil—revealing century upon century of Nails – hand wrought versus machine cut; human history. Using basic tools such as hand trowels, shovels, dust pans and brushes, archaeologists uncover Tin cans; the material culture of past peoples. Guns and ammunition – parts of guns, whole guns, Each artifact that is uncovered tells a story. Artifacts and a variety of cartridge types; unearthed in Calgary and southern Alberta can be Glass beads – classified by their manufacturing; and, varied and differ greatly between pre-contact and Structures – often found in remnant form. post-contact and historic sites. Pre-contact artifacts can include: Through years of study and research, archaeologists learn to train their eye to distinguish between artifacts lithics – artifacts made of stone including tools, and non-artifacts. Using scientific methods, they projectile points, scrapers, drills, and knives; undertake excavations to answer specific research faunal – the remains of animals including bone, fur, questions. Once an excavation is complete, artifacts and shells; are taken back to a lab for further analysis and fire-broken rock (FBR) / fire-cracked rock (FCR) – investigation—this can include radiocarbon dating, rocks that have been cracked or broken by deliberate bone analysis, blood residue analysis, pollen analysis LEFT: Excavation at a site in Carburn Park. Photo Credit: Lifeways heating (e.g. a by-product of stone-pit boiling); (palynology), as well as general artifact cataloguing of Canada and site interpretation. ABOVE: Siltstone projectile point recovered at Everblue Springs pottery – traditionally manufactured ceramic vessels site (8,000—7,500 years old). Photo credit: Lifeways of Canada usually found in fragments; and, Archaeological evidence of human occupation in Alberta can be found as early as the end of the last ice features – associations between artifacts are called age, 12,000 years ago. Archaeologists divide post- features such as hearths, cairns, stone circles, and glacial pre-contact Indigenous history, prior to the medicine wheels. coming of Europeans, into three periods termed the Many historic artifacts are similar to what we may find Early, Middle and Late periods. These time periods in our homes today. There are several types that can were defined by major technological changes in help determine when people were using a site and can projectile point types used in hunting and warfare, as include: seen in the archaeological record. Ceramics – tableware, crockery, porcelain, and fine china; 2 Uncovering Human History: Archaeology and Calgary Parks Uncovering Human History: Archaeology and Calgary Parks 3 Metal Trade Bitterroot Oxbow Avonlea Old Women’s Musketball McKean Besant Pelican Lake Salmon River Clovis Help Plains/Mounta Cody n o ti p u er a am az M nt ou M Prairie Turnip Illustration: Amanda Dow. Lodgepole Pine Wheat Long-leaved Sage Use of projectile point images courtesy of Wood. Plains Pricklypear 11,000 10,000 9,000 8,000 7,000 6,000 5,000 4,000 3,000 2,000 1,000 present The Early Period (ca. 11,050 – 7,750 years ago) is The Middle Period (ca. 7,750 – 1,500 years ago) begins with The Late Period (ca. 1,500 – 200 years ago) is The Proto-Historic Period (ca. 350 – 150 years ago) The Historic Period (ca. 150 years ago – present) in characterized by archaeological phases containing Mazama Ash - A distant volcanic eruption is the appearance of side- and corner-notched dart points characterized in Alberta by the first appearance of the begins with initial contact from Europeans and the Alberta begins in 1873 with the arrival of the North-West large stone projectile points, presumably used with an important part of Alberta’s archaeological in the local archaeological sequences. These points were bow and arrow. This new technology is represented in establishment of inland trading. The flow of trade goods, Mounted Police and includes the signing of Treaty 7 throwing and stabbing spears. Survival depended on the record. Approximately 6,800 years ago, Mt. used to tip light throwing spears propelled with a throwing the archaeological record by small notched arrow points. including copper and iron arrowheads, glass beads, in 1877. Bison had become rare by this time, and many specialized hunting of big game—many species of which Mazama in southwestern Oregon erupted and board usually referred to as an