Sibbald Creek: a Record of 11,000 Years Of
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SIBBALD CREEK: A RECORD OF 11,000 YEARS OF HUMAN UTILIZATION OF THE SOUTHERN ALBERTA FOOTHILLS by Eugene M. Gryba Appendix II THB FAUN AL RBMAINS FROM THE SIBBALD CREEK SITE by Donald A. Barnett Prepared By: Publ ished By: Archaeological Survey Alberta Culture of Alberta Historical Resources Division OCCASIONAL PAPERS Papers for publication in this series of monographs are produced by or for the four branches of the Historical Resources Division of Alberta Culture: the Provincial Archives of Alberta, the Provincial Museum of Alberta, the Historic Sites Service and the Archaeological Survey of Alberta. Those persons or institutions interested in particular sUbjects may obtain publication lists from the appropriate branches. All publications produced by the Archaeological Survey of Alberta are distributed free of charge to the public. Lists of available pUblications and orders for specific papers should be addressed to: Occasional Papers Archaeological Survey of Alberta Old st. Stephen's College 8820 - 112 Street Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2P8 Phone (403) 427-2355 Objectives These Occasional Papers are designed to permit the rapid d issem ination of information resulting from Historical Resources' programmes. They are intended primarily for interested specialists, rather than as popular publications for general readers. In the interests of making information available quickly to these specialists, normal publ ication procedures have been abbreviated. ABSTRACT This report presents a detailed account of the findings of the 1980 salvage excavations at site EgPr-2 which is located in the southern Alberta Foothills at Sibbald Flat some 72 kilometers due west of Calgary. The improvement of Highway 968 as part of the general Kananaskis development program necessitated the archaeological work at this site. Sibbald Flat is a large open meadow situated along the fringe of the high forested Foothills. It had apparently attracted grazing animals and, consequently, their human predators, for thousands of years. For almost a century it has served as a grazing preserve for local ranchers. The Sibbald Creek site is situated high above the valley floor and provided an excellent vantage of the grasslands below on Sibbald Flat. Although this site proved relatively shallow and poorly stratified the archaeological evidence revealed that it contained the refuse of successive occupation events which commenced at the time of the Fluted Point Tradition and continued without any major interruptions for an estimated 11,000 years. Artifacts were recovered that suggest this site had been utilized at least twice during the historic period. Thousands of artifacts and other kinds of cultural information were recovered from the salvage excavations at EgPr-2 and much of this report is devoted towards their description. Apart from its wealth of information the Sibbald Creek site is significant for it is the first instance where artifacts of the Fluted Point Tradition were recovered in excavated context in western Canada. Site EgPr-2 was originally destined for almost total destruction through back-sloping during highway construction. Fortunately, Highway 968 has since been rerouted and the remaining unexcavated part of the site has been left intact. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The successful completion of the various phases of this project was only possible through the efforts and cooperation of many individuals. To them both writers acknowledge their collective gratitude. The senior writer supervised the field work and the data analysis and report preparation. Field assistants were drawn from the University of Calgary, Parks Canada, and other local sources. They included Donald Barnett, Gerald Burden, Wing Chin, Jonathan Driver, Archie Herbert, Tom Hoffert, Adrienne Jex, Richard Lalonde, Helen Lemon, Gregory Lutick, Siu Ma, Margaret Newman, Maureen Newman, Ian Robertson, Merlin Rosser, Gideon Smith, Allan Stevenson, and Jerry Svencicki. Members of the Calgary Chapter of the Archaeological Society of Alberta who participated on a few occasions included Dr. and Mrs. Jean Cody, Jim Humphreys, Allison Humphreys Mahaffey, Brian Mahaffey, and Mr. and Mrs. Bud Vine. Members of the highway construction project must be commended for their tolerance with the archaeological team and their general interest in this province's human history. The project coordinator, Mr. Vince Mulloy of Torchinsky Consulting (1976) Ltd., deserves a spec ial vote of thanks for revising construction plans so that the archaeological work could continue. Mrs. May Chin helped in cleaning the mass of artifacts. The material was catalogued by Eugene M. Gryba and Donald Barnett. Donald Barnett carried out the analysis of the faunal remains and prepared the section of this monograph which covers the faunal material. Eugene M. Gryba handled the rest of the artifacts and composed the other sections of the report. He also took all the photos included in the report, with the exception of Figure 6 which was supplied by the Government of Alberta Resource Evaluation and Planning Department. The two authors produced the illustrations which are found in their respective sections of the report. Equipment and facilities were made available at the University of Calgary through the cooperation of the Head of the Department of Archaeology, Dr. S. Raymond. Brian Kooyman, a graduate student at the Department, assisted Donald Barnett with the identification of some of the more difficult faunal specimens. Valuable suggestions on the faunal material also came from Dr. Michael Wilson of the Department of Geology. Dr. Margaret Hanna, a former .doctoral candidate at the iii Department of Archaeology, analyzed the native ceramics recovered from site EgPr-2. Dr. Lionel E. Jackson, an environmental geologist with the Geological Survey of Canada at Calgary, provided the senior writer with an on-site interpretation of the geological history of the Sibbald Creek site and gave valuable insights into the Pleistocene events of the Foothills area, in general. Particle size analyses of the soils samples collected from EgPr-2 were carried out by Doug Schnurrenberger, a graduate student at the University of Alberta, Edmonton, through the arrangement of Professor Alan Bryan. Gregory Lutick and Adrienne Jex compiled the inventory of plant species current in the vicinity of Sibbald Flat. They also assisted in identifying the historic period artifacts recovered from EgPr-2. Many days and nights, weekdays and weekends, were spent in processing the data and compiling and revising this final report. The senior writer would like to express his gratitude especially to his landlord, Mr. Wing Chin, for tolerating the conversion of the apartment suite into a seemingly disorganized lab and office complex, and for enduring the many postponed fishing trips as the report was pushed to completion. The use of the Barnett residence as a faunal laboratory is also greatly appreciated. Linda Barnett provided constructive criticism on the chapter pertaining to the faunal remains. Both authors exchanged ideas about the report, and the archaeological information, in general, over vicious contests at the chess board. The revisions to the original 1981 draft made by Dr. Ray LeBlanc of the Archaeological Survey of Alberta were well received by both writerse The senior writer typed the initial and final drafts of the report while Donald Barnett checked them for errors. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT. •................................. i i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................... iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ........................... v LIST OF PIGURES ............................ .. vi i i LIST OF TABLES FOUND IN TEXT. ................ .. xiii LIST OF TABLES FOUND IN APPENDIX I.............. xv PART I: GENERAL OVERVIEW. ..................... 1 . INT ROD UCTION •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 1 THE SCOPE OF THE REPORT. ••••••••••••••••••••• 2 PART II: NATURAL ENVIRONMENT OF SIBBALD FLAT .• '. .. 5 INTROD UCTION •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 5 GENERAL SETTING •••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 5 BEDROCK GEOLOG Y••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 10 PLEISTOCENE GEOLOGY. •••••••••••••••••••••••• 11 MODERN DRAINAGE ••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 14 PRESENT DA Y CLIMATE. •••••••••••••••••••••••• 17 VEGETATION •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 18 FAUNA. ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 20 PALEOENVIRONMENTAL SITUATION ••••••••••••••••• 21 THE ETHNOHISTORIC DATA. •••••••••••••••••••••• 22 P ART III: SITE EgPr-2 ........................... 24 INTROD UCTION •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 24 LOCATION OF SITE EgPr-2 ••••••••••••••••••••••• 24 SITESETTIN G. ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 2 5 DISCOVERY AND EARLY ASSESSMENT OF SITE EgPr-2 •••••• 28 OBJECTIVES OF THE 1980 FIELD SEASON AT SITE EgPr-2. ••• 31 EXCAVATION STRATEGIES AND PROCEDURES. •••••••••• 31 SITE STRATIGRAPH Y••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 36 NATURE AND SOURCE OF THE CULTURE-BEARING MATRIX. • 40 PART IV: THE CULTURAL MATERIAL FROM EgPr-2 ....... 43 INTROD UCTION •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 43 THE PREHISTORIC CULTURAL MATERIAL. ••••••••••••• 43 DEBITAGE •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 44 v PROJECTILE POINTS 51 Plains Side-Notched •••• 52 Plains Triangular •• 52 Prairie Side-Notched •••••• 54 Besant ••••••••••••• 54 Pelican Lake •• 56 Hanna •• ... .. 57 Duncan •••• 57 Oxbow ••• 58 Mount Albion 62 Scottsbluff • 63 Agate Basin 65 Midland •••• 66 Fluted Point Tradition •••• 66 Unidentifiable Point Fragments ••••• 69 BIFACE KNIVES ••••••••• ... 70 DRILLS AND PERFORATORS •••• 76 GRAVERS •••••••••• 78 NOTCHED FLAKE 82 NOTCHED RETOUCHED FLAKE