ARCHAEOLOGY IN ALBERTA, 1987 Compiled by Martin Magne Archaeological Survey of Alberta Occasional Paper No. 32 Prepared by: Published by: Archaeological Survey Alberta Culture and Multiculturalism of Alberta Historical Resources Division OCCASIONAL PAPERS Papers for publication in this series of monographs are produced by or for the five branches of the Historical Resources Division of Alberta Culture and Multiculturalism: the Provincial Archives of Alberta, the Provincial Museum of Alberta, the Historic Sites Service, the Archaeological Survey of Alberta, and the Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology. 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. Requests for list of available pUblications and orders for specific papers should be addressed to: Occasional Papers Archaeological Survey of Alberta 8820 - 112 Street Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2P8 Phone (403) 431-2300 The Archaeological Survey of Alberta Occasional Papers are intended primarily for interested specialists rather than as popular publications for general readers. The Archaeological Survey encourages authors to submit manuscripts for publication on topics of Alberta archaeology. Editorial policy requires full length monographs to be subjected to peer review process. Papers pUblished in the Annual Review of Alberta Archaeology and edited thematic volumes are subject to the discretion of the series editor. To maintain a free distribution of Occasional Papers, production costs are minimized. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Tables •• vii List of Figures ix Archaeology in Alberta, 1987 John W. Ives ••••• The 1987 Field Season at Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump: An Interim Report Jack Brink and Bob Dawe • 9 The Strathcona Site (FjPi-29): 1987 Season Preliminary Report Brian Kooyman ••• 19 An Archaeological Survey in the Upper North Saskatchewan River Valley Brian M. Ronaghan and Alwynne B. Beaudoin ••••• 25 FhPm-l: An Occurrence of IICharlie Lake ll Type Fluted Points Near Thorsby, Alberta Eugene M. Gryba •••••••••••••••••••• 47 The Old Women1s Phase on the Saskatchewan Plains: Some Ideas Davi d Meyer ••••••••••••••••• 55 The Management and Conservation of Alberta Rock Art: Background and Preliminary Recommendations Michael A. Klassen and Martin P.R. Magne 65 Obsidian Source Study, 1987 0.1. Godfrey-Smith and Martin P.R. Magne 119 ,Environment Canada, Parks, Archaeology in Alberta, 1987 John Porter, Kathy Dilts, Daryl Fedje, Ian Sumpter and Rod Pickard •••••••••••••••••• 135 Alberta Radiocarbon Dates 1986-1987 Alwynne B. Beaudoin ••• 159 Abstracts Martina Purdon (compiler) • 169 Bibliography 225 v LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Summary of the faunal material from DkPj-l, 1987 excavation. •••••••••••••••••• •• 13 Table 2. Lithic reduction stages based on debitage scarring patterns •••••••••••• 22 Table 3. The early Holocene archaeological sites in the Eastern Slopes area used in setting up the research design •••••••••••••••• 36 Table 4. Qualitative and quantitative (mm) attributes of the eight basally thinned points from FhPm-l and the single specimen from Charlie Lake. 50 Table 5. Factors for rock art deterioration analysis. ••• 76 Table 6. Summary of preliminary recommendations for Alberta rock art sites •• •••••••••••••• 97 Table 7. Recommended sites for deterioration analysis at Writing-an-Stone •••••••••• 101 Table 8. Artifacts submitted for XRF analysis 120 Table 9. Source identifications of artifacts Alta 1 to 40 129 Table 10. Projects conducted/implemented in Alberta by the Archaeological Research Services Unit, Canadian Parks Service, Western Region • 148 Table 11. Summary of newly recorded archaeological sites in western region national parks 1987 •••• 154 Table 12. Explanation of abbreviations and conventions used in Table 13 ••••••• 160 Table 13. Radiocarbon dates from Alberta ••••••• 162 vii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Visitors observing the 1987 excavation at Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump ••••• 11 Figure 2. Plan view of a large pit feature at Head-Smashed-In •• •••• 15 Figure 3. Profile view of pit feature ••••• 15 Figure 4. Bone upright feature at Head-Smashed-In 16 Figure 5. Map of the Strathcona site excavation area. 20 Figure 6. Location of the upper North Saskatchewan River valley study area and other locales mentioned in the text •••••••••• 26 Figure 7. The upper North Saskatchewan River valley study area •••••••••••••••• 27 Figure 8. Interpretations of Late Wisconsinan ice cover in Alberta •••••••••••••••••• 28 Figure 9. Schematic diagram showing ~enera1ized stratigraphy at the IIBrian s Creek ll section 39 Figure 10. Schematic diagram showing generalized stratigraphy the Nordegg Bridge section 42 Figure 11. Basally thinned Palaeo-Indian points from FhPm-1 48 Figure 12. Line drawings of the eight Palaeo-Indian points from FhPm-1 •••••••••••••••••• 49 Figure 13. Line drawings of the multiple fluted point from Charlie Lake •••••••••••• 51 Figure 14. Basally thinned points from FkPf-50 52 Figure 15. Map showing the location of Old Women1s Phase sites in Saskatchewan ••••••••••••• 58 Figure 16. Partially reconstructed vessel from the Garratt site •••••••••••••••••• 59 Figure 17. Map showing the approximate distribution of Old Women1s Phase sites of the Prairie Side-notched period (ca. A.D. 800-1300) 61 ix LIST OF FIGURES (continued) Figure 18. Map showing the distribution of Old Women1s, Mort1ach and Selkirk in the period ca. A.D. 1300-1750 ••••••••••••• 61 Figure 19. Cliff faces at Writing-On-Stone which contain the 26 rock art panels of DgOv-2 ••••••• 66 Figure 20. Photographs of exceptional pictographs from an unknown location left at the Archaeological Survey of Alberta with no documentation ••• 68 Figure 21. The acetate and felt pen method used by Keyser (1977) to trace the battle scene, DgOv-81, at Writing-On-Stone ••••••••••••••• 70 Figure 22. Example of the vandalism suffered by some of the rock art panels at Writing-On-Stone ••• 73 Figure 23. Petroglyph panel at Writing-On-Stone which has been nearly obliterated by natural and human-caused deterioraton •••••••• 77 Figure 24. Fence erected around the battle scene at DgOv-81 as an immediate measure to protect this important petrogl yph pane1 • • • • • • • • 94 Figure 25. The pictographs at Zephyr Creek 103 Figure 26. The Cline River pictographs ••• 103 Figure 27. Location of Canadian and American obsidian sources and site locations of the artifacts Alta 1 to 40 •••••••••• 121 Figure 28. Schematic of the XRF apparatus ••• 124 Figure 29. Energy calibration of the XRF data ••• 127 Figure 30. Sample peak extraction output .. 128 Figure 31. ASA obsidian source study, 1987 (Rb/Zr x Y/Zr) •• 130 Figure 32. ASA obsidian source study, 1987 (Sr/Zr x Y/Zr) •• 131 Figure 33. Locations of 1987 ARIA projects, northern Banff National Park .. .. .. ... .... 139 Figure 34. Locations of 1987 ARIA projects, Lake Louise area •••••••••••••• 140 x LIST OF FIGURES (continued) Figure 35. Locations of 1987 ARIA projects, Banff townsite area •••••••••••••• 141 Figure 36. Locations of 1987 ARIA projects, southern Banff National Park ••••••••• • ••• 142 Figure 37. Locations of 1987 ARIA projects, Elk Island National Park ••••••••• • ••• 143 Figure 38. Locations of 1987 ARIA projects and survey projects, Jasper National Park •••••• 144 Figure 39. Locations of 1987 ARIA projects, Waterton Lakes National Park ••••••••••• 146 xi ARCHAEOLOGY IN ALBERTA, 1987 By John W. Ives Archaeological Survey of Alberta The key event for archaeology in Alberta in 1987 was the opening of the Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump Interpretive Centre, northwest of Fort Macleod. On July 23, as part of three days of celebrations, including a powwow with a tipi village and dancing, the Duke and Duchess of York opened this ten million dollar facility designed to interpret Native lifestyles and operation of the buffalo jump over the last 5,700 years. The centre was an immediate success, and by September of 1987 the new facility had already attracted 100,000 visitors. Little more than a year later, the 250,000th visitor is expected to enter the building in a few weeks. The opening of the interpretive centre marked the culmination of five years of collaborative effort between the Historic Sites Service and the Archaeological Survey of Alberta. Planning for Head-Smashed-In also involved extensive collaboration with Peigan elders. Close cooperation with the Peigan and Blood has continued as interpretive activities and archaeological research have created important local employment opportunities. In a very positive way, Head-Smashed-In has become the focus for a variety of Native activities in southwestern Alberta. Among the many benefits of the centre, of course, has been the opportunity to convey to a much broader public the value and significance of archaeological work in understanding the past. Archaeological Survey of Alberta research at Head-Smashed-In will involve ongoing excavations in the camp and processing area of the site, and visitors have genuinely appreciated their chance to see archaeological work in progress from May through September. Jack Brink and Bob Dawe report in this volume on those activities for 1987. The field season for 1987 also saw the first tangible efforts towards the First Albertans Research Project. (Passages in the following remarks have also appeared in a Canadian Archaeological Association Bulletin compiled by Bruce Ball.) The project is intended as a study of the