Alberta Archaeological Review

NUMBER 28 ISSN 0701-1776 MAY 1998

Microblades from the Tuscany Site (EgPn 377) (lmm scale)

Inside: Sacred Paint John Dormaar Page 4 Microblade Assemblages of Alberta Kerry Larkin Page 14 A Ceramic Vessel from the Blakiston Site (DjPm 115), S.W. Alberta Giering and Peck Page 23 Where was Anthony Henday and What Did he See? Beaudoin and Pyszczyk Page 25 ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF ALBERTA Charter #8205, registered under the Societies Act of Alberta on February 7,1975

PROVINCIAL SOCIETY OFFICERS 1998-99

President: George Chalut Members of the Archaeological Society of Alberta receive a 147 16 65th St copy of the Alberta Archaeological Review. Non-members Edmonton AB T5 A 2E1 and institutions may subscribe to the AAR for $12 per Phone: 403-476-0561 calendar year. Cheques should be made payable to the Alberta Archaeological Review and should be sent to Beth Past President: Morris Burroughs Macintosh. Back issues are available. 9205 11th Ave Grande Prairie AB G8V 3L7 The AAR welcomes submissions concerning Alberta Phone: 403-532-9588 archaeology or of special interest to practising or avocational archaeologists in Alberta. Contributions may be submitted to Executive Jim McMurchy the AAR Editor at the address above. Articles should, if Secretary/ 97 Eaton Rd West possible, be submitted on disk together with a hard copy. A Treasurer Lethbridge AB T1K 4T9 clean typewritten copy is also acceptable. Phone: 403-381-2655 Communications regarding membership in the Archaeological Alberta Archaeological Review Society of Alberta or other Society matters should be addressed to the Executive Secretary/Treasurer at the address Editor: Lesley Nicholls given above. Department of Archaeology University of Calgary, Views expressed in the AAR are those of the writers and do Calgary AB T2N 1N4 not necessarily reflect those of the Archaeological Society of (403)220-7131 Alberta; we welcome healthy debate. FAX: (403) 282-9567 Email: [email protected] DEADLINE FOR RECEIPT OF MATERIAL FOR FALL ISSUE: 30th SEPTEMBER 1998 Distribution: Beth Macintosh 314 4516 Valiant DrNW Calgary aB T3A 0Y1 Phone:288-1837

REGIONAL CENTRES AND MEMBER SOCIETIES

Calgary Centre. President: Marshall Dzurko

Lethbridge Centre: President: Jim McMurchy

South Eastern Alberta Archaeological Society President: John Sitwell

Strathcona Archaeological Society President: George Chalut Letter From the Editor

As you will see this issue is devoted to articles; the fall issue will contain the reports of the meeting held in Grande Prairie April 24-26th, 1998. As usual I am looking for articles, book reviews etc. for publication. Items for publication in the fall should reach me no later than 15th October.

I would like to get some feedback as to the direction the Review should take: do you want it to remain in much the same format as now with articles dealing with Alberta archaeology? Would you be interested in hearing about the work of Alberta-based archaeologists who are working in other Provinces or countries? Would you like more book reviews? Travel articles related to visiting archaeological sites? I can be reached at the address inside the front cover or by email at [email protected]. I look forward to receiving your comments.

Congratulations to the undergraduate students of the Departments of Anthropology, Archaeology and Geography at the University of Calgary. They have just produced the first issue of Agrain, an in-house journal for undergraduate papers. The journal is available to two formats, good old fashioned hard copy (like the Review) and electronically on the WWW at www.ucalgary.ca/agrain. Its good to see students undertaking such initiatives. Student Editors are Chris Rebus, Anna Koopmans, and Tina Fedun from Archaeology . Drs. Gerry Oetelaar (Archaeology) and Jim Patterson (Anthropology) act as In-House Editors, along with Tamaini Snaith and Donna Sheppard (Anthropology) and Christy DeMille (Archaeology). Best wishes to Agrain for success in this most important venture.

Best wishes to everyone for a warm, sunny and productive summer. We look forward to hearing about your new finds in the fall!

Lesley Nicholls Editor

ON THE MOVE (AND VOLUNTEER FIELDWORK OPPORTUNITIES)

Dale Walde was appointed to the position of Field School Director at the Department of Archaeology, University of Calgary effective 1st January 1998. With the completion of the Tuscany Project, Dale will move the field school to fresh fields and pastures new - to the new sub-division of Mackenzie in south Calgary. The site to be excavated was originally found by students taking an archaeological survey course last fall.

In addition to Mackenzie, students will excavate a buffalo kill site in Fish Creek Park. They will also assist with an interesting project which could be termed demolition archaeology. The remains of a historic fur trade post will be demolished as the structure is unsafe. As the building is demolished, students will map, photograph and record the structure.

This is the first year of a multi-year project and the information gathered will eventually be used to set up a multi-media/virtual reality display at a new interpretitive centre at the Park.

As usual a public archaeology program will be carried on in conjunction with the field school beginning early in June. The volunteers will work at the Fish Creek Park Sites. Anyone who wishes to get involved as a volunteer should contact Ruth Dickau at 220-5227. The work at Mackenzie is funded in part by Carma Developers. The work at Fish Creek is funded in part by a grant from the Archaeological Society of Alberta.

Dale received his PhD from the University of Calgary in 1996. He earned a BA from the University of Regina and an MA from the University of Victoria. He has worked as a consulting archaeologist in B.C. and in Alberta. His research interests lie in Plains ceramics, faunal analysis and the archaeology of Western Canada. 4

SACRED PAINT

J. F. DORMAAR

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Research Centre, Lethbridge, Alberta Tl J 4B1

Natosi, Sun Makes the Four Sacred Soils of Earth

The Red, the White, the Green, the Black Soils Come to Life And it is told among the Siksika that in the beginning there was Sun and Earth and Wind and Old Man. Natosi breathes life into the four sacred coloured soils-which-are-everywhere. The four soils are medicines with great power. And the four sacred soils, these: Mikapipixkimiko, Red Earth. The Red Soils are made by Natosi. These are brown, dark brown and blood soils. South Wind visits their lodges on the prairie. Ksikixkimiko, White Earth. The White Soils are made by Natosi. These, the most sacred of all. North Wind visits these in the muskegs. Ksisksimoko, Green Grass Earth. The Green Soils are made by the Little Persons and Old Woman. Their lodges roll in the hills towards the aspens. Willows and forests begin here. Sikksaxkum, Black Earth. The Black Soils are made by Ksistsikuma, Thunder. This soil is a power left by lightning. The Little Persons watch over the soils. They bring up the medicine-soils from inside earth. Then they leave the soils in special places for the Kainai to find. Apikuni spirit men use the four medicine-soils in spiritual painting. When the spirit men use these soils for rock-painting, shield- painting, or skin-painting, the soil spirits penetrate the surfaces. And by their power-of-origin, the coloured soils paint the spirit of man. And even when the paint fades or washes from the skin, the medicine remains. There is a sacred cave in the Shining Mountains (The Rocky Mountains) where the spiritual soil paintings may be seen. These paintings show where the people have come from. Canada Heritage Foundation (1988)

Blanket Lizard

When the world was still new, a man called Blanket Lizard came up from the southeast, from Rembarnga country. As he walked along, he planted trees. He speared kangaroos and ate yams and wild honey, and every evening at sunset he stopped and made camp.

He always carried a big basket of red ochre. A great sickness had come down from the coast, but whenever he felt weak he just painted himself all over. He put red paint from his head down to his feet, so that it looked like red skin. And to stop his headaches he tied round his head lots of soft, cold bush twine. After that he always felt better. Blanket Lizard didn't like the hard ground, because it hurt his feet. He always followed the soft sand, along the creeks. Once he missed his way and found himself in sharp, rocky country. "I've come to the wrong place," he said, looking about and seeing rocks everywhere. "I'd better go back and find the right track."

Soon he was back in the right kind of country. He came to a creek, and followed it along until he saw some large caves. He camped there for a while, and then went on into Dangbun country. Every other day, he still kept painting himself with red ochre.

At last he came to the place he had been looking for. He found a good cave to live in, and hung all his things inside. Every day he went hunting, and every night he came back to the same place to sleep.

The only trouble was that he had no water, up in his cave among the rocks, and he used to get thirsty. He took a stick and tried to dig a well. The stick was too short, and no water came up. So he buried some of his red clay there, and it turned to stone. Then he broke a very long stick from a tree, and tried again. He poked the stick in just the right place, and soon water came up into the hole. But the water wouldn't stop coming. It rose up and up, and soon it began to pour all over the place. It grew deeper and deeper.

This water was sent by the Rainbow Snake. She was angry because he had poked her with his stick; and soon she came up herself and swallowed him. All of his things were drowned, and after a time they turned into stone. Before he died, Blanket Lizard spoke his last words. "The Rainbow blew over the land," he said, "and all you others, you turned into meat. But as for me, I shall turn myself into stone. I leave my spirit here. And the name of this place shall be Gundamen-bo- wurkmeng, meaning 'Blanket Lizard poked the ground for water.' I put the name, because here I come into Dreaming."

It was true. He turned into stone. But today all the blanket lizards have red skin, like that ochre, and they have big frills round their neck like Blanket Lizard wore round his head when he was a man. And he left plenty of good red ochre there for us, at the place where he put his spirit and came into Dreaming. Catherine H. Bemdt (1979)

The story of 'sacred paint' could well have started 300,000 years ago at Terra Amata, near Nice, France (de Lumley 1969). Several pieces of ochre, the ends worn smooth by wear, were found at that site within an Abbevillian/Acheulean context, usually associated with Homo erectus. Dissanayake (1988) reported that 250,000 years ago, someone left globs of red, yellow, brown, and purple ochre in a sea cliff cave in France. She speculated that perhaps people had begun to make themselves and their belongings special. High-grade haematite 'crayons' were discovered in an Aboriginal rock-shelter in northern Australia. Via optically stimulated luminescence it was estimated that the 'crayons' were covered by sediments between 53,000 and 60,000 years ago (Gore 1997). Conversely, skeptics would probably argue that just because red ochre was found at several Neanderthal sites this does not necessarily illustrate symbolic thinking (Fisher 1992).

Although people around the world used ochre to colour their faces, hands, figures, and regalia before a ceremony, the statues, cave paintings, relief sculptures, and the bones they buried, this red crumbly rock was also used to tan hides and repel vermin (Fisher 1992). That is, the Neanderthals could have used it for purely functional reasons and did not have the aesthetic symbolic sense to decorate themselves. Conversely, Schmandt-Besserat (1980) hypothesizes that many materials have first captured human attention through their aesthetic appeal and were used for artistic/magical/religious purposes long before their functional properties were discovered. Can the presence of ochre be interpreted to mean the earliest indications of spiritual awareness?

During the Neolithic, many groups in the British Isles buried lumps of ochre and pieces of hzematite with the dead. The haematite was often brought in from quite some distance (Burl 1981). Near Port aux Choix, Newfoundland, ochre was a significant component of many graves: a valve of a soft clam filled with red ochre was placed with the body as a grave good; grave floors were covered with ochre; red ochre had been sprinkled on offerings and on the corpse itself (Tuck 1988). Cheyenne burial mounds in South Dakota contained bundles with human remains and buffalo remains. Bones and bundles had been rubbed with red ochre (Schlesier 1987). Could this use of ochre have been intended to restore life to the corpse, by analogy with blood, colour, or warmth? According to Shuttle and Redgrove (1986), red has always been considered the colour of life, ever since the cave dwellers painted the bones of the dead with red ochre to possibly signify the magical lochial blood of childbirth, it is thought in token of the hoped-for resurrection. As recently as the early 20th century, the Micmac still painted the faces of the dead with red ochre (Wallis and Wallis 1955).

Dillon (1988) and Noble (1991) view the symbolism of the use of red ochre in ceremonies to paint important symbols on bodies and on objects of power as representing the life blood of Mother, from which we all come, and the blood within women, which enables them to bear life. Ochre in that context can be considered as a symbol of fertility. They view the ochre used in ritual and ceremony as to keep women in touch with the source of feminine strength. Metaformically, red pigment was the menstruation of the earth (Grahn 1993). In Australia, "the deposits of red ochre... are said by Aborigines to have been caused by the flow of blood from women's vulvas in the most ancient times which they call Alcheringa."

From being a sacred colour, red has been translated into the colour of luck, of renewal, and of change. It is used in good-luck amulets in the Mediterranean and also figures as a lucky colour in Chinese New year's celebrations. It has also been the colour of revolution; the red flag is not merely an incitement to anger - it signifies the overturn of present rigidities and the arrival of a newer, presumably more life-giving scheme of existence (Fisher 1979).

PIGMENTS

Schmandt-Besserat (1980) reviewed the evolution of the use of ochre from the first evidence available in Lower Palaeolithic to the Neolithic period (8,000 to 6,000 BC). The climax of the mastery of the use of pigment by Palaeolithic people was reached in the polychrome paintings of the caves at Lascaux and Altamira in the Magdalenian period (15,000 to 10,000 BC).

There are many sources of pigment that can and have been used as sacred paint. Ochre or ocher originally (Greek wxP« or ochra) stood for pale yellow. Now it can be:

1. A native earth, or class of earths, consisting of a mixture of hydrated oxide or iron with varying proportions of clay in impalpable subdivision; varying in colour from light yellow to deep orange or brown. Much used as pigments. 2. As pigment; also the colour of this; especially, a pale brownish yellow, i.e., the colour of ochre.

Pigment: a colouring matter or substance 1. A paint, dye, 'colour'; in technical use, a dry substance, usually in the form of a powder, which, when mixed with a vehicle, constitutes a 'paint.' 2. An earthy usually red or yellow and often impure iron ore that is extensively used as pigment; any of various ferruginous clays. 3. Any of various chiefly yellow to orange pigments prepared from natural ochres. 4. A natural or synthetic inorganic or organic substance that imparts a colour including black and white to other materials.

The colour of ochre is from iron oxide in either the anhydrous or hydrous form (Gettens and Stout 1966). Red or purplish red ochre is coloured by anhydrous iron oxide (Fe^) or hematite or hematite (i.e., blood-like stone). In yellow ochre, the colour is caused by the presence of various hydrated forms of iron oxide (Fe203.nH20), chief of which is the mineral goethite (Fe203.H20 or HFeO^. It usually results from weathering of iron minerals, siderite (FeC03), pyrite (Fe S ), magnetite (FeP ), or glauconite (K(Fe,Mg,Al)^(Sj0O )(QH)) under oxidizing conditions at ordinary temperatures or due to direct precipitation from marine or meteoric waters in bogs or lagoons. Goethite, as the main constituent of limonite, is found as a gossan or weathered capping on veins or replacement deposits rich in iron-bearing sulphides. Brown ochre is nearly pure limonite, another hydrated iron oxide (2Fe203.3H20). Yellow and brown ochre turn to red ochre on burning from loss of water of hydration; the well-known ochre, terra di Siena, which in its native state is a dull-coloured earth, assumes when burnt a fine warm mahogany-brown hue (Berry and Mason 1959; Gettens and Stout 1966).

Ochre is a primary mineral frequently found as an accessory in igneous rocks and in contact metamorphic deposits associated with magnetite. Ochre also occurs naturally as a rust-impregnated clay, as well as on the weathered surfaces of iron ore pebbles, or other iron bearing stones. Yellow ochre was equally available but was nearly always converted with heat into the red variety, out of a strong preference for the red as the more "powerful" colour. When local supplies were lacking, trade provided the pigment. It is likely that in ancient times every man's kit included a pouch of the powdered pigment, which he would mix with bear grease or fish oil to paint his person or a ceremonial object for ritual purposes.

Other mineral pigments can be manganese oxide (Mn02) - black, malachite (Cu2(C03)(0H)2) - green, azurite (Cuj (CQ )(0H^) - blue, galena (PbS) - grey, and cinnabar (HgS) - deep red. Carbonaceous earth {e.g., found at certain places along the Marias river (McClintock 1910)} and charcoal have been used for black, while carbonates, Na^O.*, CaSO^ ash, and infusorial clay have been used to supply white colours. The use of white earth is of very great antiquity among the Blackfoot; it was obtained by removing the upper layer of incrustations from dried- up sloughs. The spring buds of pussy willows provided another red (Ewers 1958). A coloured earth commonly found in the valley of the Yellowstone river near some warm springs provided a yellow pigment. Bison gallstones furnished another yellow. Blue paint was obtained from dried duck dung. Green paint was secured from a large lake northeast of Kdto-yi-six (Sweet Pine Hills) or Sweetgrass Hills (McClintock 1910). In all, Ewers (1958) recognized ten different colours - dark red or nearly a Spanish brown, red inclining to pale vermilion, deep yellow, light yellow, dark blue, light or sky-coloured blue, a shiny glossy lead, green, white, and black.

Lundy (1980) noted, however, that almost all of the rock paintings in Canada are red in colour. This is perhaps because the raw material, such as hasmatite and goethite, are fairly common. Keyser and Knight (1976) similarly established that red was by far the most frequently used colour in western Montana pictographs. That is, red was the most common pigment at all of the 29 recorded sites. In addition, yellow was found at four sites, while black occurred only occasionally.

Pigments were usually ground to a powder in small stone mortars (Ewers 1958). They were then stored in little buckskin sacks. The Crows moulded the paint into little flat, round cakes, and drew with the edges of these cakes (Laubin and Laubin 1957). If the pigments were in powder form, they would be mixed with hot water, beavertail grease, bear grease, fish oil, the underscrapings of hides, bone marrow, or blood to make the colours stick. In Australia, goanna, emu, and witchetty grub fat, and orchid juice would be the extenders or binders. When painting tipis, after the paint and the hide were thoroughly dry, the artists went over the designs with the juice of the prickly pear cactus (Laubin and Laubin 1957). The spines were cut off, the cactus split in two, and the halves used as a sort of a sponge, lightly patted on the surface, giving it a thin coat of "varnish", but not to the point of being glossy.

Paint brushes were either made by boiling the spongy bones of bison joints (Laubin and Laubin 1957) or from pieces of porous bone cut from the edge of a bison shoulder blade or hip bone (Ewers 1958). The porous or honeycomb composition held the paint and permitted it to flow smoothly onto the surface of raw hide or soft skin. Separate brushes were used for each colour. Hand prints were created by spraying an ochre and water mixture directly from the mouth over the hand on the rockface (Lewin 1993). CEREMONIES

"Creator Sun and Mudman, leaving Ribwoman, set out for the high country. As soon as they arrived there Creator Sun took Mudman to the highest place, and there they both sat down. Now, my son, I'll give you some of my power that can cure anything if you use it the way I teach you. Listen good, this is a song that goes with my power... Also, here is a feather that goes with the power. It is a feather of a red-winged woodpecker... You shall use this red earth paint that I use all over my body...The song, the feather of the red-winged woodpecker, and the red earth paint, along with a prayer to me, will help the sick or the injured get well, especially if you use the red earth paint to anoint their face" (Bullchild 1985)

Four Sacred Items

"Four items that were sacred and always accompanied each ceremony were the pipe, sweetgrass, the sacred red paint and sage. Honour, respect, sacredness, and all that was good were symbolized in the pipe. It cleansed the body and mind of the bad spirits surrounding the smoker's universe. Sweetgrass was used as a personal blessing during ceremonies. The burning of sweetgrass symbolized respect for the Creator. Sacred red paint was used on the face and body and all sacred objects that were associated with special ceremonies. It was the reflection of the earthy prayers for inner strength in overcoming all that was bad. A person purified body and mind with sage. It was laid beside each sacred object and was used within ceremonies as a decoration. It symbolized what was taken from Mother Earth and what must go back to her. These four elements were essential in each ceremony, and could be used separately when praying, either in the morning or at night." (Pard 1985)

McClintock (1910) relates a Blackfoot story that includes the Origin of Paint -

"In those days there were two orphan brothers. The younger, named Akaiyan (Old Robe), lived with his brother Nopatsis, who was married to a woman with an evil heart. This woman disliked Akaiyan and continually urged her husband to cast him off...In time, Nopatsis abandoned Akaiyan on a lonely island... As winter approached he prepared himself as best as he could...However, he was invited by the beaver people to come into their lodge to spend the winter...They taught him the names of the herbs and roots for the curing of the people. They showed him the different sacred paints, and explained their use, saying, 'If you should use these, they will bring to your people long life and will ward off sickness'..."

This story then led to sacred paint becoming part of medicine bundles and its use in many ceremonies. The ceremony, in which White Grass painted McClintock (1910), was sacred. The application of sacred ochre to faces has erroneously been termed 'war paint'; among the Blood, Peigan, and Blackfoot there was no such thing as war paint (Hildebrandt 1996). The Cheyenne in their 'Massaum Ceremony' at one point brought seven white stone bowls into the wolf lodge. One bowl contained water, while there was paint in the other six - blue, black, white, yellow, light red, and dark red (Schlesier 1987).

The Old One sings a song: "Sacred paint, I am looking for it." He reaches into a sack of things and brings out some old buckskin bags, while he's singing the words, "Sacred paint, I have found it. It is holy." He lays the buckskin bags of sacred paint before him. He brings out a piece of cloth in which is wrapped a small chunk of fat. Like a bar of soap, he rubs the chunk of fat between his palms until his hands are coated with a greasy layer. Carefully, he feels of the buckskin bags - his sight is too dim to let him see them well - he feels of them until he is content that he has found the right one. He unties its buckskin thong, opens up the bag, and dips two of his fingers inside: into the powdered mass of Sacred red Earth. Chanting all the while, he mixes the red Earth into the grease on his hands until his hands are thickly coated with shiny red. Then begins the ceremony of the painting.

Those who desire to be anointed with the Sacred Earth - those who feel that the anointing, done by the Old One, will later bring them memories to inspire strength when needed - they take turns going up before him, kneeling down, looking into the Old One's already red-painted face, hearing up close his songs and prayers of good wishes, and feeling his greasy, gnarled, old hands rubbing the Sacred Earth across their foreheads, over cheeks and chins, around the wrists, and over their hair. Thus painted, each one turns his back, still kneeling, and receives the Old One's blessing as he passes the Holy Symbol of the Universe over their heads and bodies. Hungry Wolf (1973) 8

The Lakota used red paint on several occasions. A tall cottonwood tree was used as the centre of their Sun Dance Lodge; the party that selected the tree often included four virgins who "struck coup" on the tree, prior to the tree being chopped down, with sacred hatchets or coup sticks, that had been purified and were painted with red earth paint, to bless the tree (St. Pierre and Long Soldier 1995). During the ceremony marking the first menstrual flow, the girl's hair was parted in the middle and red paint was applied to the part (signifying her dedication to truth and indicating that she was now walking on the Red Road), her forehead was painted red, and three marks were painted on her chin, signifying that she was now a woman. A white vent plume from a golden eagle was tied to her hair, signifying virtue. She was allowed to wear these symbols in public (St. Pierre and Long Soldier 1995). The women of several Plains tribes wore special charms to prevent conception (The Editors of Time-Life Books 1994). A Piegan Blackfeet contraceptive amulet, for example, consisted of a flexible beaded waistband shaped like a snake and two small hide pouches, one containing yellow paint, the other a small stone shaped like a buffalo.

Within the Oldman river valley near Lethbridge was a sacred rock called Mi 'k(I)atdwa 'si. Mountain Horse (1979) described the legend of the "Medicine Rock", while Carpenter (1991) outlined its history:

"One day, an Indian in quest of bison looked down into the valley. Across the river, he saw someone walking towards the river. On closer observation he could see that he was a Medicine Pipe man. Such a man always dyes his blanket or robe a dark red; his face and hair are painted red as an insignia of his position. The hunter saw the Medicine Pipe man descend into the valley. On reaching the foot of the hill, he squatted down, Indian fashion. The hunter, riding up to the site discovered nothing but a solid, reddish rock, resembling a man in sitting posture."

PROCUREMENT

Wallace Black Elk (Black Elk and Lyon 1990), a renowned Lakota shaman, noted that there is a ceremony where powerful spirits helped him to find special rocks that have sacred paints in them.

"We had to go to the Badlands in the night when there is no moon. Layers of rainbow colors lie there. Those colors are inside the rocks that lie there. They are little lumps. On the outside they are grey, but when cracked open, the paint is there on the inside. Then the spirit comes in and directs us where to go to find them. Then we take our Chanunpa and go over there in the pitch dark to look for those rocks. Then we pray, and you can see those special rocks glow in the dark. They look like little colored lights in the dark. You can see the colors that are on the inside. So we go there and take the colors that we need. The spirits will educate you how to use those colors. I think the spirit uses colors in many different ways. Anyway, I learned from the spirit how to find those rocks that contain the sacred powdered paints. I learned their songs. I use those songs when I use those powdered paints to make our prayer ties."

The decorative painting of tipis and the symbolic marking of sacred objects were in such general use among the Blackfoot as to make the procuring and preparation of paints an occupation in itself (McClintock 1936). Certain individuals were known as the paint-gatherers. These were often women. No noise might be made in the procurement or the earth would turn to mud (McClintock 1910).

Getting paint was central to the spiritual life of the Peigan. Allison (1996), following an interview with Edwin Small Legs together with quotes from a 1954 story in The Lethbridge Herald about Edwin Small Legs' grandmother Hazel Small Legs, relates that one of the tasks of the holy women was to collect paint powders from a sacred area up the Castle river. The last ceremonies organized to get paint powders were in the 1920's (Hildebrandt et al. 1996). The women would first travel with travois and horses to a site southeast of Burmis where they stopped for the night with complete silence being maintained. At sunrise the women would leave for the sacred site at the Crow Eagle Reserve, an area traditionally considered to be part of the land the Peigans claimed at Treaty 7 (Hildebrandt 1996), ford the Castle river and find the rock formations which contained the materials to grind out the powder for the sacred paint. At night the women would return to their camp, again in silence, only to return again the following morning. They would not talk for the full four days that it took to conduct the paint gathering. They obtained enough paint powder to last about three to four years.

The Bloods would obtain their powders from the Belly Butte region of the reserve (Allison 1996).

SOME WESTERN CANADIAN SOURCES

Ochre was a prized article of trade. Various references refer to places in Alberta where 'sacred paint' can be found:

A mineral spring in the Canadian Rockies is simply a hot spring that flows cool at the surface. Such springs often carry dissolved iron that precipitates as the iron oxide mineral goethite. The Paint Pots (Usna 'waki-cabugi' means "where the red clay spirit is taken" - Stoney, expression) in Kootenay National Park are a good example of a mineral spring. The basic ingredient was cleaned, kneaded with water, formed into walnut-sized balls, and flattened into cakes. The cakes were baked in a fire, then ground into powder. The oxides were mixed with fish oil or animal grease and used as pigments by the Stoney and Kootenay Indians (Gadd 1986; Kramer 1994). This paint was a highly valued commodity for trade and was a catalyst for much of the Native exploration of the mountains.

Rusty creeks contain iron, carried there in a dissolved state by waters seeping through marshy soils. Iron combines with oxygen to form actual particles of rust which settle to the creek bed (Daffern 1994).

In the till cliffs along McGregor lake east of Vulcan, one can find powdered ochre pellets and pebbles ready to be harvested and used.

White Earth lake: In 1859 Sibbald lake was called White Earth lake by James Hector of the Palliser Expedition who came close to the Stoney Indian name Umsiyathkan Eyagubin meaning 'where one can obtain the white clay.' The clay was used for facial make-up during festive and religious occasions like the Sun Dance ceremony. It was obtained from the lake bed (Daffern 1994).

1808 - Getting paint and taken captive (near Turtle Mountain - by Crow Indians) - The location and tribe are in pencil. There is a location for getting earth paint on the Castle River near Turtle Mountain (Raczka 1979).

BEA VER MINES; "where we get paint," estay-sukta in Blackfoot; a deposit of red ochre used for religious paint was found in the area (Dempsey 1987). This is most likely the site described by Allison (1996) and Hildebrandt et al. (1996) 'Ceremonial paints were scraped from rock at Crow Eagle Reserve.'

Map 4 of the Department of the Interior Maps of Crowsnest Forest and Waterton Lakes Park, Rocky Mountains Forest Reserve, published around 1913-14, designates the ridge behind Blind Canyon, north of Yarrow Creek, as Mt. Roche. The southern arm of this ridge has two designations, i.e., No. 2 7798' and No. 1 6056'. Between these two designations is the word ochre. On a map of Waterton Lakes National Park by Williams (1926) the south arm of Blind Canyon, again has two designations No. 1 6055' and No. 2 7798'. Between these two designations is still the word Ochre. Later maps no longer mention the word ochre. The ochre is a deep purple haematite of high quality.

AUSTRALIA

Although rock art and body painting is known from around the world, Australia has a vast resource of knowledge embedded within its Dreamtime stories detailing the origin and use of sacred paint. The landscape is criss-crossed by many Dreamtime tracks and song lines which explain how the land, its animals and its plants were formed. The stories also lay down the basic rules or laws relating to the organisation and behaviour of the people.

Deposits of red ochre "blood" were formed by the mythical Unthippa women: their sexual organs dropped out from exhaustion, caused by their uninterrupted dancing over the spots where the ochre now lies (Buckley and Gottlieb 1988). At a traditionally used red ochre pit, two kangaroo women " caused blood to flow from the vulva in large quantities, and so formed the deposit of red ochre." In Aboriginal Australia, red ochre was a much-used symbol of ritual power.

Lawlor (1991) reckons that Aborigines have always respected the force of magnetic energy, and they recognize the capacity of blood and red ochre to increase their sensitivity to it. There is an Aboriginal Dreamtime story that gives clues as to the interrelationship of the earthly veins of magnetism and the veins of our bodies:

"There was an ancestral dog, Marindi, who lived at a time when the large reptiles ruled the earth. In the distant past, a gecko lizard named Adno-artina would climb every day to the mountain peaks and sing out, so that all could here him, "Come out and fight, come out and fight. I dare anyone to challenge me." One day Marindi grew angry with the lizard's tedious vanity and accepted his challenge. When Adno-artina saw what a powerful and dangerous rival he had incited, he postponed the fight until after dark. Just before sunset, he wound a string of hair around the bone of his tail, so that his courage would not escape through his anus. He then called out to Marindi, who leaped up from his sleep to receive the challenge. The dog tried to catch the lizard by the back of the neck and then shake the life out of him, but the lizard ran underneath his jaw and bit the dog in the throat so that dark red blood spurted out. The blood falling from the ancestral sky formed deep red scars in the earth, which today are the deposits of red iron oxide with which the Aborigines paint their bodies." Isaacs (1980)

Many Aboriginal tribes today refer to the red ochre they use to paint sacred totem designs as the "blood of the dog."

Many quarries are of extremely high quality. The Flinders Ranges in South Australia had a number of ochre mines. A famous ochre pit, Vukartu Ithapi, attracted Aboriginal people from as far away as western Queensland, for its high quality ochre. Its creation story was also 10 seen as a parabolic warning to all who came to the prized ochre, giving the message: if you disobey the rules of approach, and especially if you interfere with the local people in any way, you will be dealt with in no uncerrtain manner by the guardians of this place (Tunbridge 1988). The ochre was collected as dust, mixed with water and formed into large, thick cakes of 22.5 to 27 kg apiece with an indentation in the bottom to fit the shape of a head. The ochre could then be carried more easily (Brock 1985).

The Aborigines from the north would gather into large groups as they went south for their ochre. These expeditions took place in winter when water was more plentiful and they could travel longer distances without it. The expeditions were associated with initiation and other ceremonies. Permission had to be sought from the local Aboriginal people to either obtain the ochre directly or trade for it. If outsiders came to the mines without permission they risked being attacked by the caretakers of the ochre mines.

One of the most remarkable Aboriginal mines is that of Wilgie Mia in the Murchison district of Western Australia. It is told how the ochre was formed by the death of a great kangaroo, who was speared by a spirit called Mondong. The kangaroo leapt in his death agony to Wilgie Mia, where the red ochre represents his blood, the yellow his liver, and the green his gall. The last leap took the kangaroo to another hill, called little Wilgie, which marks his grave. Aborigines traditionally regarded the ochre mine with fear, except for the elders who were its custodians. Areas which it was unsafe for the uninitiated to enter were marked by piles of stones and no mining implements could be taken away. Traditional Aborigines would walk to the site with heads bowed in silent respect. When leaving the site, they would walk backward in their own footprints and cover their tracks so as to leave the site of this intimate contact with the earth undisturbed and sacred, so that the spirit Mondong could not follow and kill them (Flood 1983).

In the Gibson Desert, dry kangaroo-dung yielded a darkish yellow-green colour for paintings on rock surfaces. The Arunta of central Australia used a blue-grey tint from manganese ore. Huntite (CaMg3(CO) \ is found as nodules in vertisols formed over basalts near Katherine, Northern Territory. It in itself is an interesting mineral. However, it also has an alias, pahn-jahn. That is, huntite nodules are mined by Aborigines for extensive trading and local use for making a white paint called "pahn-jahn." This pigment, rather than kaolin, is preferred for body painting, and for the famous rock and bark paintings of Arnhemland. Its superiority over kaolin is related to the difference in lustre and reflectivity of carbonates as compared with clay minerals generally. In the particular case of huntite, the effect may be enhanced by the occurrence of the mineral as minute but perfectly oriented crystals (Veen and Amdt 1973).

Witana and the Ochres

"Witana was a giant mythical being of the tribes of the Northern Flinders Ranges in South Australia. Witana once camped at Wataku-wadlu, in the middle of the Flinders Ranges. While he was there he made a cut in each of his arms, to obtain the blood with which to decorate youths taking part in the initiation rituals. The pool of blood which ran from one arm was transformed into a deposit of red ochre, and that from the other arm became a reef of black pigment. The red ochre was used for the circumcision ceremonies, and the black pigment for the body-scarring rituals of the Wilyeru." (Roberts and Mountford 1989)

SUMMARY

Materials used as 'paint', i.e., pigments, were considered sacred in societies that used them on rocks, dwellings, bodies, and ceremonial objects. 'Paint' often had ceremonies associated with its gathering and application. It had trade value. It had creation stories surrounding its presence in the landscape. What makes iron oxide, manganese oxide, or ground-up algae so special?

Other materials, such as clay and slip for pottery or hides for dwelling covers and clothing, were probably viewed as part of the necessities of life. But 'paint' was part of art. Highwater (1994) notes that the dwellers of caves in the early morning of the human world by painting an amazing world upon their walls and ceilings created "art" before art existed. They considered "art" as essential to life. Highwater (1994) observes that art was a way of seeing which helped to define the "reality" of the artists, i.e., artists represented what they conceived to be real rather than what they perceived.

Although art was an integral part of life, it was not part of mundane life, rather it was "inseparable from spirituality and philosophy." "Art" was art of essence rather than art of appearance, i.e., it dealt with revelation rather than observation (Highwater 1994). No wonder that 'paint' was sacred, and warranted creation stories and ceremonies around its collection.

Arthur Zajonc (as quoted by Highwater 1994) pointed out that vision requires far more than a functioning optical organ; that without inner light, without a formative visual imagination, we are blind. 'Paint' was the medium to help express what was seen. Although pictographs are admired for their "naturalism", the images are often anything but naturalistic (Lewin 1991; Dowson and Lewis-Williams 1994; Highwater 1994; Irwin 1994; Turpin 1994; Bower 1996). 11

As I stand at sites from which pigments, such as ochre, have been collected, I contemplate conception versus perception. Highwater (1994) states it most eloquently -

"Art is so urgent, so utterly linked with the pulse of life and feeling of human beings, that it becomes the singular basis of survival when every other aspect of civilization fails: in concentration camps, among the brutalized and dispossessed, the mad and the too mighty. Like hunger and sex, art is a disposition of the human cells - a marvellous fiction of the brain that re-creates itself as mind."

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MICROBLADE ASSEMBLAGES OF ALBERTA KERRY LARKJN University of Calgary

By comparison to the lithic assemblages of British Columbia and the Northwest Territories, the lithic remains in Alberta, particularly microblades, are relatively poorly known (Le Blanc and Ives 1986). References to microblades are commonly included as an adjunct to papers concerning other site finds, and are often poorly described. The two major publications which address this gap in Alberta archaeological research are David Sanger's 1968 paper in the journal Plains Anthropologist concerning the High River microblade industry, and the 1986 paper by Raymond Le Blanc and John Ives in the Canadian Journal of Archaeology wherein they discuss the Bezya site in northern Alberta. Other microblade industries are discussed in the literature, though not as extensively. It is in these two papers that microblade technology in Alberta is discussed as a whole. Such an overview of Alberta microblade form and frequency would contribute largely to the idea of an "Alberta microblade industry", as well as, perhaps, giving some indication of the origins of this industry.

The recent discovery of what are tentatively being labelled as microblades, at the Tuscany residential development site (EgPn: 377), has led Dr. Gerry Oetelaar of the University of Calgary to raise the issue of potential inaccuracies in microblade identification. Due to morphological similarities between the flakes resulting from the manufacture of larger projectile points and microblades themselves, a diagnostic reevaluation of some Alberta lithic artifacts might be warranted. The lamellar flakes found at EgPn: 377 have parallel margins and a single arris on the dorsal surface and as such, resemble microblades. The only projectile point found at EgPn: 377 has parallel flaking (Oetelaar pers. comm.). It is possible that in the production of such a point, it would be necessary to remove lamellar flakes which could resemble microblades (Oetelaar pers. comm.). The level in which the lamellar flakes were found, at Tuscany, has been dated to approximately 8500 B.P.. If these are indeed microblades, they serve as evidence to extend the antiquity of microblade technology in Alberta (Oetelaar pers. comm.). In order to confirm these and other, flakes/microblades as true microblades, their origin must be established. It is necessary to determine whether or not these flakes and microblades were in fact detatched from a microblade core. To that end, I have chosen to review the production of microblades in several Alberta sites, as well as their associations with parallel flaked points. Any similarities in the raw materials used in the manufacture of the points and microblades are also noted. Such a review may shed light on the evaluation of the flakes found at EgPn: 377.

Microblades

Microblades in Alberta are generally manufactured of obsidian and chert, though other materials, including quartzite and chalcedony are used. The major sources of microblades which can currently be included in an "Alberta microblade industry" are the High River site, the Bezya site, the Stony Plain Quarry site, the Fullerton site, and the Little Gem site area (Fig. 1). Although most of these sites are concentrated in the southern end of the province, the Bezya site clearly indicates that Fig. 1. Major Microblade Sites of Alberta microblade distribution extends to near Lake Athabasca in northeastern Alberta. 15

The unifying attributes of the microblades and cores found at these particular sites are best described by Sanger (1968) and Irving (1962) (Fig- 2):

A typical microblade core has "..(a) contracting or wedge-shaped fluted surface which tapers from a maximum width at the striking platform to the MICROBLADE CORE TERMS keel, and ...(exhibits an) approximate right angle between the fluted surface and the striking platform." (Irving 1962).

STRIKJNiiptATVORM The microblades are divided into two categories: primary flakes and : matH HOR1) secondary flakes. Primary flakes have a triangular cross section and 5 coapEixa- display transverse flaking on the dorsal side which terminates at the lateral 5 I ATFRAT SURFACES edges and originates from the ground ridge of the wedge-shaped core 6 Kua. y FROM (Sanger 1968). Secondary flakes are further divided into Types A and B. * HACK: Type A microblades: "...are extremely thin in proportion to their width and are essentially plano-convex in transverse section. The convex, or dorsal MICROBLADE TERMS surfacemay be entirely covered with transverse flaking, or more frequently,a longitudinal and slightly concave flake scar of a previously detached ridge flake may be present." (Sanger 1968).

1 PROXIMAL END (STRIKING PLATFORM' On the other hand, Type B microblades:"...have triangular, or trapezoidal, 2 AREA OF BATTERING J BULB OP PERCUSSION transverse sections, have a well defined longitudinal concave flute, or s 4 i.ATERAI EX* flutes, resulting from previous ridgeflake or microblade detachment and 5 ARRIS r, DISTAL. LN I) have evidence of transverse flaking on at least one dorsal surface." (Sanger 7 IX>RSAI.SUR1;A(T 1968). X VF.NTRAI SURFAC'f' As noted by Le Blanc and Ives (1986), the primary ridge flake is the first w to be removed from the bifacially prepared core and the secondary flakes Fig. 2. Microblade and Microblade Core are a byproduct of the continuation of microcore preparation and Attributes, from Sanger 1968 reduction. The secondary flakes are removed to complete the preparation of the fluted element, or core, but overlap with detachment of the first microblades (Le Blanc and Ives 1986).

The requirements that allow an assemblage to be considered representative of a microblade technology are the presence of any or all of the following: microcores, primary microblades, secondary microblades and perhaps microblade core platform preparation flakes.

Sites

The diagnostic sites used in the construction of this Alberta-wide microblade assemblage are the High River site and the Bezya site.

High River (EdPk:l)

It is from the High River site that Sanger developed the baseline description of microblade and microblade core styles used in this paper. While no cores were originally found at the site, these have been later recovered as surface finds. I have been unable to obtain primary source data concerning these cores. Sanger originally assumed the presence of a core with little or no taper and of tabular or cylindrical shape. Later, primarily at the Bezya site, associated cores were proven to have a tapered keel. At High River there are 69 blades made of obsidian, seven of which Sanger describes as ridged or primary blades (Sanger 1968). Twenty-two of these blades are retouched laterally, ventrally or dorsally. The majority of these blades and ridge flakes have parallel lateral edges, tapering only at the distal end. Another potentially unifying aspect of the "Alberta microblade industry" is evidence of battering, crushing and grinding on the dorsal edge of the microblade platform (Sanger 1968). This is assumed to be evidence of a technique used to remove the overhang at the core edge created by the removal of a previous microblade (Le Blanc and Ives 1986).

Using three groupings of materials and two hydration rates, Sanger develops a time span for the High River site of anywhere between 5465 and 965 B.P.. Finally, Sanger notes the presence of Eden, Scottsbluff and Plainview points in the vicinity of the High River site, though these are not necessarily in direct association with the microblades found (Sanger 1968). The raw material(s) used to manufacture these points is not mentioned. 16

Bezya (HhOv: 73)

Materials recovered at the Bezya site in northeast Alberta present striking similarities. At this site, there were five cores found, 103 microblades and 27 ridge flakes, as well as other lithic artifacts (Le Blanc and Ives 1986). Despite the horizontal dispersion of the artifacts at the Bezya site, refitting studies would suggest that it represents a single episode of lithic production (Le Blanc and Ives 1986). The cores of the Bezya site generally display bifacial ridges, possibly reduced using a bipolar or rest-anvil flaking technique (Le Blanc and Ives 1986). Bezya also produced four fragments of primary ridge flakes and thirteen secondary ridge flakes, as described by Sanger. Ten other ridge flakes are described as byproducts of striking platform preparation or rejuvenation (Le Blanc and Ives 1986). On the remaining microblades, dorsal edge grinding is in evidence, again indicating the grinding away of a core overhang before the detachment of the next microblade (Le Blanc and Ives 1986). Ridge flakes found at the Bezya site taper towards the distal end. Le Blanc and Ives conclude, as is generally held, that the detachment of these primary and secondary flakes or blades are an attempt to create linear "guiding" ridges for the detachment of subsequent microblades. Dates for this site are estimated to be within the range of 3990+-170 B.P.. There were no points found at Bezya (Le Blanc and Ives 1986) but the cores, blades and ridge flakes were all made from chert (Le Blanc and Ives 1986).

FjnJerton(FfPi:100)

In his evaluation of the High River site, Sanger makes mention of the parallels seen in the Fullerton site, just south of Edmonton. There are four examples of microblades: a proximal end of a non-triangular microblade, a distal fragment, a primary ridge fragment and a Type B secondary ridge flake fragment (Sanger 1968). Like those found at Bezya, the two ridge flakes taper towards the distal end. There is evidence of a long cultural sequence at the Fullerton site, which is dated between 8000 B.P. and 5000 B.P. (Sanger 1968). Scottsbluff points were found in several of the site levels. The microblades are made from obsidian and though it is not specifically mentioned in publication, the associated points are concluded to be made from obsidian as well. Despite the size of this assemblage, Sanger is confident enough to conclude that the microblades of both the Fullerton and High River sites represent the same technological tradition.

Stony Plain Quarry (FiPm:300)

Le Blanc and Ives mention the microblades found at the Stony Plains Quarry site as a more southern example of the same lithic technology. In his paper concerning the Stony Plains Quarry, Losey (1971) describes the eight microblades found as having profiles ranging from triangular to trapezoidal and as having been derived from circular or tabular, tapered-base, "fluted" cores. No attempt is made to identify any of the microblades as primary or secondary ridge flakes. These microblades do not display any regularity of form with respect to the tapering or parallelling of their lateral edges. Losey also describes some of the bifaces found at the site as possibly being projectile points, but does not endeavour to assign them to any particular tradition. All lithic artifacts originating from the Stony Plain Quarry to date are manufactured from quartzite. As well, Losey gives no date for the Stony Plains Quarry site in his 1971 paper.

Little Gem (EkOs:l, EkOs:2, EjOs:l, EjOr:l, EkOr:l, EkOr:2, EkOr:3)

Finally, Sanger quickly mentions the Little Gem area, northeast of Calgary, as another potentially related site. Lithic artifacts from this site include two microblades of Knife River Flint with double aires, and one microcore (Pettipas and Johnston 1980). Again, no attempt is made to further classify these microblades as primary or secondary ridge flakes. Wormington and Forbis (1965) suggest that the Little Gem site is of Paleoindian age as a result of assumed associations with Cody complex materials. However, the age of the site is mentioned only as "early Paleoindian", which includes dates as early as 11 000B.P.. There were, however, projectile points dating from later periods found and in consequence the association of the microblades with the Cody complex is not firm (Sanger 1968). The raw materials used in the manufacture of the various points include Knife River Flint, quartzite, chalcedony and obsidian, though no attempt is made in the publication to associate specific projectile points and their material of manufacture (Pettipas and Johnston 1980). There is no mention of the raw material used in the making of the potential microcore (Pettipas and Johnston 1980).

Discussion

Although no definite pattern of "migration" has yet been determined for the dissemination of these similarities in Alberta lithic traditions, the similarities themselves are well worth noting. Most authors suggest possible origins in northwestern Canada, including northern British Columbia (the Ice Mountain Industry as described by Smith 1971), the Northwest Territories (the Pointed Mountain site as described by MacNeish 1954) and Alaska (the Onion Portage area, discussed by Anderson 1970). The similarities between these sites and those in Alberta, and the distance separating them would suggest a lithic technique in Alberta. The dates of these major sites do not conclusively indicate any concrete temporal aspect to the spread of the technology, due in large part to the wide range of estimated dates for any particular site, especially High River. It will perhaps be important in later research to note that while the earliest possible dates occur in the south end of the province, the potentially later site (Bezya) is in northeastern Alberta. This is despite the general conclusion that this generalised "tradition" came to Alberta from the northwest, and the fact that in his 1968 paper Sanger argues firmly against any association between this 17 lithic tradition and those found in the plateau region of British Columbia.

A further question for discussion involves the projectile points found at these sites. Developments in this area may necessitate the reevaluation of the similarities observed in the Alberta sites. It has been suggested by Dr. Oetelaar (pers. comm.) that the association of microblades and projectile points may be of import. In such points as Eden or Scottsbluff, the knapping technique used produces parallel, horizontal flaking (Fig.3). Dr. Oetelaar points out that in the removal of successive flakes from such projectile points, the ridges created between these horizontal flutes would form the dorsal surface of the lamellar flakes being removed, thus potentially exhibiting a striking similarity to a microblade (pers. comm.). An evaluation of the sites discussed, in light of the elements necessary to determine the presence of a microblade industry, may prove a useful tool in the investigation or reevaluation of other Alberta sites (Fig. 4).

The High River assemblage includes primary and secondary microblades as well as microblade cores. As well, the projectile points at the site could not be determined as being associated with the microblades. These finds confirm that High River is representative of a microblade technology. Also representative of a microblade technology is Bezya, in which, not only were primary and secondary microblades and cores found, but refit studies confirm their association. The fact that the blades originating from Bezya are wedge shaped (tapering at the distal end) confirm that they were detached from a wedge shaped microblade core. The Fullerton site contains a less extensive microblade assemblage but also gives clear evidence of a microblade technology due to the presence of ridge flakes and Fig. 3. Examples of Scottsbluff and Eden microblades displaying double arres. The presence of Scottsbluff points at the Points Fullerton site would perhaps point to the need for further study if it were not for the fact that, by the presence of a primary microblade (a ridge flake) which was not produced during projectile point manufacture, the requirements for a microblade technology are fulfilled. The double aires on the Little Gem microblades confirm them as representative of a microblade technology, as does the presence of the microblade core. The intriguing element of the Little Gem site is its age, which is remarkably early for southern Alberta and is the only age approaching that of the microblade level of the Tuscany site, the dates of sites such as these may serve to push back the earliest dates of microblade technology in Alberta. Little Gem is also the only site which exhibits microblades and points of the same raw material. Since the age of the Stony Plain site is not provided, it cannot be excluded from consideration in relation to the age of the microblade discoveries at Tuscany. It is at Stony Plain that the presence of a microblade technology cannot be confirmed and the idea of potential microblade misdiagnosis is best supported. The absence of cores, primary microblades, and secondary microblades at Stony Plain, and the fact that no arres or ridges can be discerned on the microblades present, support the reevaluation of Stony Plain and other sites like it.

Conclusions

It can therefore be demonstrated that there are sufficient similarities in the microblades of different Alberta sites to suggest a common element in their conception and manufacture. This is further reinforced by the evidence that a major unifying feature of these sites is the presence of ridge flakes, which are rare in northwestern North America (Le Blanc and Ives 1986). This technology has been suggested to have existed from the late Pleistocene up until the early Christian era, perhaps stemming from the Northwest Microblade tradition (Le Blanc and Ives 1986).

Another debatable issue involved in the identification of the ridge flakes used as a common feature of these Alberta assemblages, is the identification of these flakes as microblade technology. This discussion has been an attempt to highlight the implications of the association of parallel flaked points and microblades. Despite the fact that many of the sites discussed fulfil the requirements as demonstrative of microblade technology and associations with projectile points are moot, the association of microblades and points in a given site is an essential area for further investigation. The microblades found at Tuscany are in many ways similar to those of Stony Plain (see Plate 1), insofar as they have very irregular margins, and I do not consider them to be true microblades. As such, the issue of microblade misdiagnosis stands. Stony Plain and other sites, including Tuscany, are not clearly demonstrative of a microblade technology, the lamellar flakes found at these sites may be a result of projectile point manufacture. 18

c O ©

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Plate 1. Microblades from the Tuscany Site (EgPn 377) Scale 1mm

Bibliography

Anderson, D.D. 1970 Microblade Traditions in Northwestern Alaska. Arctic Anthropology, 7(2): 2-16.

Irving, W. 1962 A Provisional Comparison of Some Alaskan and Asian Stone Industries. In: "Prehistoric Cultural Relations Between the Arctic and the Temperate Zones of North America". Arctic Institute of North America, Technical Paper No. 11:55-68, Montreal.

Le Blanc, R.J. and J.W. Ives 1986 The Bezya Site: a Wedge-shaped Core Assemblage from Northeastern Alberta Canadian Journal of Archaeology, Vol. 10: 59-98.

Losey, T. 1971 The Stony Plain quarry site. Plains Anthropologist, 16(52): 138-154.

MacNeish,R.S. 1954 The Pointed Mountain site near Ft. Liard, Northwest Territories. American Antiquity, 19(3): 234-253.

Pettipas, L.A. and RA. Johnston 1980 The Little Gem Complex. Saskatchewan Archaeology 1(2): 3-81.

Sanger, D. 1968 The High River Microblade Industry, Alberta. Plains Anthropologist, 13(41): 190-208.

Smith, J.W. 1971 The Ice Mountain microblades and core industry, Cassiar District, northern British Columbia, Canada Arctic and Alpine Research, 3(3): 199-213.

Wormington, H.M. and R.G. Forbis 1965 An Introduction to the Archaeology of Alberta, Canada. Denver Museum of Natural History, Proceedings Number Eleven, Denver 20

A CERAMC VESSEL FROM THE BLAKISTON SITE (DjPm 115), S.W. ALBERTA

KAREN L. GIERING Archaeologist AND TREVOR R PECK University of Calgary

In Alberta, ceramic sherds, which date from the last 2000 years, are relatively rare items to recover in archaeological excavations. There are only seven vessels found in the province to date that are complete enough for display, one of which was restored by the senior author. The following discussion describes this vessel and its cultural context.

Recovery of the Blakiston Ceramic Vessel

In 1990, Barry Dau of Ethos Consultants Ltd. excavated the Blakiston Site (DjPm 115), located at the confluence of the Oldman and Crowsnest Rivers in southwestern Alberta, as part of the Oldman River Dam Prehistoric Archaeology Mitigation Program (Dau 1990) (Fig. 1). The site consisted of twelve tipi rings, three surface hearths, five stone hearths and two cairns on a low terrace above the Rivers. The cultural material recovered from the Blakiston site included cores, unifaces, bifaces, hammer stones, Late Side-notched projectile points, and pottery. As well, a fair amount of worked bone and shell were recovered, with I ' 1 the majority being interpreted as ornaments. The faunal \ remains are dominated by highly fractured bison bones but also V^ /°°~°w°^wffX^ I include deer, antelope, elk and a small amount of canid bone. \ \. > An examination of the bison teeth and foetal bone ^^^*«^WWO,0N^| CdlQSrV. © indicates that the site was occupied primarily during a C 1*. \ §• ^^.P***-™, period from late fall to late spring (Dau 1990:23). A \^ *"" "N ^%yy^^w«w ^ number of items of Euro- Canadian origin were J I jr © recovered including seven small rusted metal fragments one of \. ****«w. n:n.^\i c I & which may be a projectile point.

Based on all the material recovered, the Blakiston site has been interpreted as a campsite where extensive food processing occurred. Artifacts and radiocarbon dates, clearly indicate a fairly continuous occupation by people over about 450 years from A.D. 1200 to at least as late as A.D. 1650 (Dau 1990:192). These dates assign the Blakiston site to the Old Women's Phase (A.D. 750 to the Historic Period). The excavator observed that 160 kilometres "^^ cultural activities and artifacts remain relatively unchanged at this site, even after the introduction of Euro- Canadian items, suggesting considerable cultural continuity. Fig. 1. Location of Blakiston Site (DjPm-115) As many as eleven separate vessels may be represented in the ceramics recovered from the Blakiston site. Surprisingly, one vessel was approximately 2/3 complete. This highly fragmented vessel was recovered within or adjacent to tipi ring 9, which contained 471 ceramic sherds representing two vessels. One hundred nineteen of the sherds are believed to come from one vessel and 253 sherds from the other vessel, leaving ninety-nine sherds as unidentified (Dau 1990:146). The latter is the more complete of the two vessels and the topic of this paper.

Reconstruction of the Blakiston Ceramic Vessel

Reconstruction of any ceramic vessel involves three major steps: recognizing that a collection of sherds belong to the same vessel, identifying how the sherds fit together, and the physical rebuilding of the vessel.

The find context of the Blakiston vessel made identifying all of its sherds relatively easy. The majority of the pot was found broken in situ, that is, in the exact place where it was abandoned or destroyed (Fig. 2). This means that from the time it was last used until the time when it was recovered by archaeologists the vessel fragments were not moved or disturbed by natural forces and thus stayed together. It is much more difficult to first identify and then reconstruct whole vessels from sherds that are scattered over an entire occupation or level. When there is doubt whether sherds are from the same vessel the decoration, treatment, colour of the exterior and interior surfaces, thickness, and colour 21 of the paste all help to identify sherds that come from the same pot.

Once all the sherds from the Blakiston vessel were recovered the task of discovering how they all fit together began. This process took time and patience. Decoration with a visible and recognizable partem is a great aid in the reconstruction process, similar to putting together a jigsaw puzzle by joining the parts of the picture that have the same images. In Alberta, decoration is often limited to the rim and shoulder of a vessel. Hence, rims were easy to pick out of the sherd material and it took little time to fit them together. Body sherds presented a greater challenge and required that each sherd be matched with every other sherd until a join was found. The colour of the interior and exterior surfaces of this pot was sometimes a help and sometimes a hindrance since the colours are mottled and uneven. Sometimes a sherd that is light brown joins with one that is black. Once enough joins were found that a continuous section of the vessel was formed the physical joining of the sherds began.

Water soluble glue that dries clear was used to bond the sherds, This was done because if the glue is not soluble in water it would have been very difficult to correct any mistakes that were discovered later. Joins that cannot be dissolved in water usually require some sort of chemical solvent, such as acetone, which can damage the sherds and will most certainly remove any patina or finish, Such treatment will damage the vessel for future attempts at residue and other types of analysis, If the glue used did not dry clear any glue that squeezed out of the join would make the vessel unsuitable for display. Using a fine paint brush joining sherds had a small amount of glue applied and then were held together with constant and firm pressure until the bond began to Fig. 2. The Blakiston Vessel in situ form. Sherds were then placed in a sand box for support. The sherds of this vessel are relatively thick and heavy; despite care many joins between sections broke during the drying process requiring that the joins be cleaned with water and a small paint brush, allowed to dry and then joined again, this time with better support.

Once enough blocks of sherds were joined sections of the rim and the body were fit together in such a way as to leave no empty spaces where it would be difficult or impossible to insert a sherd that was later found to join. The vessel was constructed from the base up, with the rim sections being placed on last. Once the entire pot was together, glue was mixed with a small amount of water, giving it a viscous texture, and mis mixture was applied to every join on both the interior and exterior of the vessel. The water allowed the glue to soak into the join and the pores of the vessel and strengthen the paste and the join. Once the glue and water mixture had dried, the procedure was repeated. The glue and water gave the vessel extra strength and allowed it to stand on its own without support. With the reconstruction complete, the vessel was marked with its Borden Number (DjPm 115). Working at a pace of five hours per week, the entire process of reconstructing the vessel took approximately one year.

The shape of the vessel is globular and the base is rounded. The rim is tall and flared outward at an angle of 40 degrees. The dimensions are: interior rim diameter 23.0 cm., height 24.5 cm., thickness 8.0 mm., capacity 9.0 litres or 2 gallons (Fig. 3). 22

The decoration consists of puncture holes that are 16.0 mm. below the top of the rim. These holes were probably functional and may have been used for threading pieces of hide through them allowing the pot to be hung from a tripod above a fire or to be carried. The exterior surface has a fabric/net impression. The paste is smooth with some blocky temper inclusions and ranges in colour from Black (Munsell 10YR2/1) to Light Brown (Munsell 7.5YR 6/4). The interior and exterior surfaces were smoothed and possibly burnished, with a stone or bone tool, and range in colour from Black (Munsell 10YR 2/1) to Brown (Munsell 10YR 5/3) to Light Brownish Gray (Munsell 10YR6/2).

As with most Alberta pottery, the manufacture of the Blakiston vessel is problematic. It is certainly handmade pottery, as the potter's wheel was not in use, but there are a variety of methods by which it could have been produced (Simon 1979). Coils of clay may have Fig. 3. The Blakiston vessel reconstructed. been stacked on top of each other and then the joins between them smoothed and the rim formed. Alternatively, the vessel could have been formed from a block of clay by depressing the centre and building up the sides. The clay could also have been spread on the outside of a rawhide mould, which was removed from the interior of the clay vessel after initial sun drying. Finally, the clay could have been spread inside a pit mould dug into the ground. Large amounts of buffalo fat may have been used to keep the clay from cracking during drying and firing (Simon 1979:46). Regardless of how the vessel was actually formed, it was mostly likely sun-dried first and then possibly fired in an open fire or a pit.

The Blakiston Ceramic Vessel in Alberta Archaeology

Ceramics in Alberta can be assigned to one of three categories. From earliest to latest these three categories are the Early Variant Saskatchewan Basin Complex, the Late Variant Saskatchewan Basin Complex, and the Cluny Complex. There is a possible fourth category that has yet to be fully defined but may represent the oldest ceramics in Alberta. These 'early' ceramics are both rare and controversial but appear to be associated with the Besant Phase (A.D. 1 to A.D. 750) (e.g., Vickers 1986:81). The few ceramic sherds that have been recovered are body sherds that tend to be well bonded, contain angular temper of quartz and feldspar, and exhibit smooth interiors and undulations on the surface that appear to be cord impressions which were subsequently smoothed (Quigg 1986:119-121). Since these ceramics may be contemporaneous with ceramics classified as Early Variant Saskatchewan Basin Complex ceramics (A.D. 200 to A.D. 750) a separate classification may not be necessary (Quigg 1986:122).

Early Variant ceramics are usually associated with the Avonlea Phase (A.D. 200 to A.D. 750). These ceramics are generally globular or coconut-shaped with flat or ridged lips. They exhibit plain fabric/net impressed surface treatment, finger tip and tool impressions, and alternating lip impressions (Byrne 1973:355-356; Vickers 1986:88-89).

The Blakiston vessel is most similar to the Late Variant ceramics (A.D. 750 to the Historic Period) (Byrne 1973). In general, ceramics of this complex are globular, thick-walled vessels that commonly have "...internal or external thickening in the vicinity of the ridge, and necks, when present, are generally shallow and short" (Byrne 1973:334). The vessels may be plain or decorated. If decoration is present it is on the shoulders, lips, or rims. Common decorative features include impressions by cord-wrapped tools, incising, and punctates.

The Blakiston vessel exhibits a globular vessel shape that has a neck. It also displays truncated fabric/net impressed surface treatment with punctates just below the rim. All these features suggest it belongs to Late Variant ceramics. 23

Late Variant ceramics date between A.D. 750 and the Historic Period and have been found across southwestern Saskatchewan (e.g., Byrne 1973; Meyer 1988), southern Alberta (e.g., Byrne 1973, Vickers 1986), and northwestern Montana (e.g., Byrne 1973, Roll and Deaver 1980). In fact, the consistent association between Late Variant ceramics and Late Side-notched projectile points provides the current definition for the Old Women's Phase (Brumley and Dau 1988:55).

Coeval with the most recent expressions of Late Variant ceramics are Cluny Complex ceramics. These ceramics are dated between A.D. 1700 and A.D. 1750 and are interpreted as items produced by an intrusive group of people, likely from the Middle Missouri area, who possessed a different ceramic tradition. These ceramics are characterised by truncated surface treatments, shoulders and shoulder decoration, incised/impressed decoration, and thickened lips (Vickers 1986:89).

Discussion

Determining the role that ceramics played in Aboriginal culture in Alberta is complicated by their scarcity throughout the province. Questions persist about every aspect of pottery in Alberta, from how it was introduced, to local production techniques, trade value, craft specialization, what functions ceramics were used for, and what value ceramics had to Aboriginal culture.

Ceramics and the technology to make and use them mostly likely came to Alberta from the Middle Missouri region or the Eastern Woodlands. However, it is unclear whether the first ceramics entered Alberta as an introduced technology or were brought in with newcomers to the area. Regardless, the raw materials (clay, temper, pigment) were certainly available for the production of ceramics as were the tools (bone, hom, stone) for scraping, polishing, smoothing, compacting and so forth. Fuel (buffalo dung and wood) was readily available for drying and firing and there was ample sun in the summer for drying as well. It is logical to assume that the vessels found to date were made locally (Bower 1973). There is no evidence that they were obtained through widespread trade and there are ethnographic accounts which suggest pottery making traditions by the inhabitants of Alberta (Simon 1979:13-15; Ewers 1945).

Making ceramics would likely have been a craft specialization limited to a small segment of a particular group. To produce a usable vessel takes skill and practice so it is reasonable that the same person or small group of people looked after pottery production over a period of time. The pots from Alberta, although coarse in paste, do have smooth, even shapes and care was taken to decorate the rims and shoulders. Certain decorations and shapes were used over a long period of time. All of this implies some level of craft specialization, where a person or group devoted some time to producing ceramics.

What these pots were used for is another mystery. Cooking seems the most significant function, and the local Aboriginal people would certainly have been aware of this possibility, but the scarcity of ceramics makes alternate means of cooking most likely. The small size of the vessels and their relative scarcity at all sites further suggests they were not used for extensive cooking. They may have been used for some activity where only small quantities of materials were processed. Perhaps they were used for the processing of herbs or other items in medical or religious activities or maybe they were used in the production of dyes and pigments. A recent study that analysed the fat remains on ceramic vessels in Alberta found that some vessels had remains from large herbivores while others had only vegetal remains (Malainey 1997:195-205).

Despite difficulties in interpreting the vessels, they certainly had a value to Aboriginal cultures in Alberta since people have made ceramics here for approximately 2000 years. The exact significance assigned to ceramic vessels, however, remains an area for further investigation.

Conclusion

The Blakiston ceramic vessel is important for understanding the significance of ceramics in Alberta as it is one of about five relatively complete vessels of the Late Variant Saskatchewan Basin Complex in Alberta, and among seven relatively complete pots in all of Alberta. As the largest and most complete vessel in the province it has provided information about decoration, shape, and size.

The relatively complete nature of this vessel makes it useful as a showpiece for presenting the importance of ceramics in Alberta's prehistory to the public. This pot illustrates a poorly known aspect of Aboriginal culture and, because it is reconstructed from so many sherds, it shows the effort involved in recovering, restoring, and learning from archaeological artifacts. Currently, the vessel is displayed in an exhibit showcasing Alberta ceramics in the new Syncrude Gallery of Aboriginal Culture at the Provincial Museum of Alberta, Edmonton. The display of this vessel helps to demonstrate the value of Cultural Resource Management in conserving Alberta's heritage.

Acknowlegements:

We would like to thank J. Brink for permission to publish the Blakiston pot and R. Vickers and R. Dawe for their valuable comments on the vessel and on pottery in Alberta in general. 24

Bibliography

Bower, Caroline 1973 Petrographic Studies of Northwestern Plains Ceramics. Unpublished M.A. Thesis. Department of Archaeology. University of Calgary. Calgary.

Brumley, John J., and Barry J. Dau 1988 Historical Resources Investigations within the Forty Mile Coulee Reservoir. Manuscript No. 13, Archaeological Survey of Alberta, Edmonton.

Byrne, William J. 1973 The Archaeology and Prehistory of Southern Alberta as Reflected by Ceramics. National Museum of Man Mercury Series Paper No. 4. Archaeological Survey of Canada, Ottawa, 1973.

Dau, Barry J. 1990 Oldman River Dam Prehistoric Archaeological Mitigation Programme Stone Feature Study: Investigations at the Blakiston Site (DjPm 115). ASA Permit 90-18, Volume 1 and 2. Consultant Report (Ethos Consultants Ltd.)for Alberta Public Works, Supply and Services. Copy on file, Alberta Culture and Multi-Culturalism-Archaeological Survey of Alberta, Edmonton.

Ewers, John C. 1945 The Case For Blackfoot Pottery. American Anthropologist 47(2):289-29.

Malainey, Mary 1997 The Reconstruction and Testing of Subsistence And Settlement Strategies for the Plains, Parkland, and Southern Boreal Forest. Unpublished Dissertation. Department of Anthropology, University of Manitoba. Winnipeg.

Meyer, David 1988 The Old Women's Phase on the Saskatchewan Plains: Some Ideas. Archaeology of Alberta 1987. Ed. Martin Magne, pp. 55-63. Occasional Paper No. 32, Archaeological Survey of Alberta, Edmonton.

Quigg, Michael 1986 Ross Glen: A Besant Stone Circle Site in Southern Alberta. Manuscript Series No. 10. Archaeological Survey of Alberta, Edmonton.

Roll, Tom E., and Ken Deaver 1980 The Bootlegger Trail Site: A Late Prehistoric Spring Kill Bison Jump. Heritage Conservation and Recreation Service Interagency Archaeological Service, Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C.

Simon, Arleyn 1979 Pottery Manufacture Analysis: Experimental Assessment of Technological Continuity in the Altamont Region. Archaeology in Montana 20(2): 1-78.

Vickers, J. Roderick 1986 Alberta Plans Prehistory: A Review. Occasional Paper 27. Archaeological Survey of Alberta, Edmonton. 25

WHERE WAS ANTHONY HENDAY AND WHAT DID HE SEE?

ALWYNNE B. BEAUDOIN AND HEJNZ P. PYSZCZYK Archaeological Survey, Provincial Museum of Alberta

One of the most dramatic events in recent western Canadian history took place on October 14 1754. On a stretch of prairie somewhere in south-central Alberta, Anthony Henday met with a leader of the Archithinue people, presumed to be the Blackfoot, to try and persuade him to involve his people in the fur trade to Hudson Bay. Surrounded by strangers, Henday made his unsuccessful sales pitch:

... came to 200 tents of the Archithinue Natives, pitched in two rows, and an opening in the middle; where we were conducted to the Leader's tent; which was at one end, large enough to contain fifty persons; where he received us seated on a clear Buffalo skin, attended by 20 elderly men. ... Attickasish my Guide, informed him I was sent by the Great Leader who lives down at the great waters, to invite his young men down to see him and to bring with the Beaver skins, & Wolves skins: & they would get in return Powder, Shot, Guns, Cloth, Beads, &c. He made little answer: only said that it was far off, & they could not paddle. (Burpee 1973: 31-32)

This meeting, filled with tension and drama, was selected as one of the scenes to be recreated in a diorama for the new Syncrude Gallery of Aboriginal Culture at the Provincial Museum of Alberta in Edmonton (Figure 1). Given the effort and expense of creating a diorama, it is important to get the details right! So in the summer of 1996, we set out to find a place that could be used as the setting for this meeting and to compile the other details of the scene. Following review by the Museum's Aboriginal Advisory Committee, our information was then passed along to the exhibit designers and builders.

The re-creation of human history is an exciting but daunting task. The development of the new gallery gave us an opportunity to choose a scene from the past containing important messages about European and Native relations - that was the exciting part. Deciphering Henday's route and resolving the contradictions in his journal - these were daunting. We chose Anthony Henday's journey and his encounter with the Plains Aboriginal people in 1754 for both pragmatic and thematic reasons. Henday's journal describes one of the earliest encounters between Europeans and Plains Aboriginal people. Here also was enough detail about the people, their clothing and dwellings, and the surrounding landscape to depict what Aboriginal life was like in the mid- eighteenth century. Here, too, was an opportunity to impress Fig. 1. The diorama showing Henday's meeting with the upon gallery visitors that the European fur trade was somewhat Archithinue Leader in 1754. L-R Attickasish, Henday's peripheral to Plains Aboriginal peoples' way of life in Alberta Cree guide; Henday seated beside the Archithinue or during the eighteenth century. As the Blackfoot Leader stressed Blackfoot Leader, Henday's Cree female companion. to Henday during their meeting:

... [York Factory] was far off, & they could not live without Buffalo flesh; and that they could not leave their horses &c: ... The Chief further said they never wanted food, as they followed the Buffalo & killed them with the Bows and Arrows; and he was informed the Natives that frequented the Settlements, were oftentimes starved on their journey. (Henday, Oct. 15, 1754 in Burpee 1973: 32)

In short, Plains Aboriginal people dictated the terms and conditions of the trade and were not dependent on European goods or methods for their livelihood or survival during the eighteenth century. These messages needed to come through in the new gallery, giving a more balanced picture of early Aboriginal-European interaction in Alberta.

Where was Henday?

We soon decided that locating the proper place for the scene was more complicated than it at first appeared. Most authorities agree that the 26 meeting probably took place somewhere in the Red Deer area (MacGregor 1954, Burpee 1973). But that was not specific enough for our needs; we had to choose an exact spot. Our task was complicated by the fact that Henday's account of his journey to the interior was compiled in four versions, all slightly different. Glyndwr Williams (1978) inclines to the view that the most reliable may be the last version. This was probably compiled about 1782 by Andrew Graham, once the Hudson's Bay Company clerk at York Factory, from Henday's notes supplemented with additional information from others who had travelled on the Plains after Henday's journey. This is the version that most people are familiar with because it was edited and published by Lawrence J. Burpee in 1907. Although we did have available facsimiles of all four versions, it was the last version that we used as guidance for our reconstruction.

There are clues about Henday's journey within the text itself. One of his responsibilities was to make a good record of his travels. Henday records his direction and approximate distance of travel for most days of his journey. He also notes significant landscape features, especially water sources, topography, and features important in an assessment of the country for the fur trade, such as the presence of "beaver houses". However, his descriptions of the country are, for the most part, rather terse. He does not note landmarks i— or other useful navigational features, Perhaps he was not trying to record a route so that other travellers could follow. Even his landscape descriptions, especially the comments on vegetation, cannot be taken at face value. Agricultural clearance has removed much brush and timber; large timber would have been used for construction in early years of EuroCanadian settlement. Conversely, fire suppression and extirpation of bison has led to some areas being more treed now than in the past (see Campbell et al. 1994). For example, Alwynne has talked to people in the Neutral Hills area who say that when the first EuroCanadian settlers moved in there were no trees in that area whereas now there are many aspen.

There is no evidence that Henday was trained as a cartographer or surveyor (Wilson 1974). Unlike slightly later travellers, such as David Thompson or Lewis and Clark, he was not taking celestial observations to determine his latitude and longitude. So what navigation equipment did Henday have with him? Because he records his course according to sixteen directions, it is almost certain that he had a compass (Figure 2). However, even his compass directions cannot be taken at face value due to changes in magnetic declination across the continent and over time. It is unlikely that Henday corrected his bearings during his journey because he would not have known what the appropriate correction was for magnetic declination. In other words, even if his compass directions were accurate according to his instrument, there would have been a systematic error in the directions in relation to true north as he proceeded into the interior. There are no data for the magnetic declination in interior Canada in 1750. Using the data for 1800, a reasonable estimate is an error of around 20 °E between the Hudson Bay coast and the interior (Dawson and Newitt 1984; Newitt and Dawson 1984; Newitt, pers. comm., 1996). This is an error of almost one compass direction. Modem compasses can be adjusted on the fly to allow for magnetic declination. Compasses of appropriate age, such as those illustrated in Bedini (1986), do not appear to be readily adjustable. Fig. 2. A very simple compass, with a wooden case and Presumably, the distances and handmade paper dial. Such compasses were in directions that Henday records are approximate. It is unlikely that he use throughout the 18th and 19th centuries. In all travelled constantly in one direction for a whole day. Similarly, there is likelihood, this is similar to the compass that no evidence that he had any method of estimating distance, other than by Henday would have carried. (PMA Collections, the rate and time of travel, which would have varied according to H73.122.1, made in England around 1870) the conditions and terrain. So the entries in his journal must be taken as a rough guide to his travels. Given that distances are elastic, directions variable, and terrain altered, the problems of tracing his route are formidable

There seems general agreement by all authorities that the final part of Henday's journey across the Plains began from the Elbow of the Saskatchewan River, in central Saskatchewan (Figure 3). We therefore took this location as our starting point and tried to work out his journey 27

200 km - Blackfoot Camp

- MacGregor's Route

- Burpee's Route

Fig. 3. Map showing alternate reconstructions of Henday's route. The northern route is the reconstruction offered by MacGregor (1954); the more southern route follows the suggestions of Burpee (1973).

from there. We each read through Henday's account and tried to match his descriptions with terrain. Alwynne mapped out to scale his day by day travels on tracing paper, trying to allow for systematic error in the compass directions, and overlaid this on the relevant 1:250,000 scale topographic map sheets for Saskatchewan and Alberta. Independently, Heinz went through the journal, looking for terrain features and trying to match them with maps. When we compared our results, we had arrived at more or less the same spot! The coincidence in the two lines of reasoning was remarkable. 28

So where was Henday? We will probably never find the exact spot but is seems clear that he was in south-central Alberta, not far from the present town of Red Deer, just south of Pine Lake. Certainly, the folks of nearby Delbume, Alberta, believe they know! The local museum is named after Henday.

There are some points in his journey that can act as anchors. His starting point on August 24 at the Elbow of the Saskatchewan is one. On Monday September 16, Henday reports crossing "a small river called Chacutenah" which had "small Hazle, Birch & Poplar trees, growing on both sides of it" (Burpee 1973: 28). This is most likely the Battle River valley which, even today, is comparatively well-wooded.

On October 3 he remarks that he "Passed 2 Creeks where were growing the largest Pines and Birch trees I have yet seen" (Burpee 1973: 30). This again is probably the Battle River, somewhere near Cordell. Here the river is flowing roughly west-east and in many areas the valley, especially the north-facing side, is well-wooded. South of the Battle River is Paintearth Creek which also flows roughly west-east. Along this valley, Heinz recently found some stands of extremely large birch trees (Figure 4).

Water was a constant pre-occupation for Henday and his companions. There are numerous journal entries that comment on the availability or lack of water. On Monday September 9, he notes: "Travelled 10 miles W.S.W. over a barren „ plain, not one drop of water in it; then came to Hommocks of Poplar & Hazle, with a few ponds of water, plenty of Moose & Waskesew [elk]" (Burpee 1973: 26).

Partly this probably reflected Henday's concern with assessing the landscape for production of fur-bearers, especially beaver. But the group also needed water to drink and, although they had at least one horse with them, they would not have been able to carry large amounts of water. Henday records the purchase of this horse from a group of Assiniboine, whom he calls the Asinepoet Natives, on Friday Fig. 4. A stand of large birch trees on Paintearth Creek. For scale, note the person beside September 20: the large tree in the centre of the image. Travelled 6 miles S.W. then came to 7 tents of Asinepoet Natives. I smoked with them and bought a horse from them for a gun, to carry my provisions &c. At night they let the Horses graze with their feet fettered. (Burpee 1973:28)

On Friday October 11, Henday crossed the Red Deer River:

Travelled 7 Miles S.W.b.W. then came to Waskesew River, and crossed it on a Fall about two feet high, and much the same depth, & 20 poles wide. On both sides there are stones of different sizes & weight: quite round, and of an iron color: and a tittle distance from the River, are veins of iron-ore running along the surface of the ground. No woods to be seen. (Burpee 1973: 30-31)

This crossing probably took place on the north-south flowing section of the Red Deer, somewhere north of Trochu. Following this, he travelled roughly west-southwest for two days, he estimates 15 miles, before meeting with the Archithinue on October 14 and entering their camp. This would place him in the headwaters of Threehills or Ghostpine Creek.

Standing here today, you can see a marked break of slope to the north, where the rolling moraine around Pine Lake gives way to the open former glacial lake plain around Trochu. Ghostpine Creek flows from Pine Lake. Given the size of the Archithinue party and the number of horses that they had with them, a reliable water source must have been a determinant of their campsite location. By late summer and early fall, many creeks and water sources would have dried up. The terrain also fits with considerations that probably governed Henday's journey. 29

In the moraine country, south of Stettler for instance, there are many hollows that would probably have retained water through the late summer. In addition, this country would have yielded the beaver that Henday was so interested in. Further south, towards Hanna, the Plains are dry and desolate, even today. For these and other reasons, we decided that Henday and his party were probably skirting the edge of the more rolling moraine country, travelling mostly on the plains, where visibility would be good and travel faster, but within sight of safer, better watered, and possibly more wooded terrain to the north.

In our landscape scenario (Figure 5), we tried to suggest that Henday was at the border between two biomes, in the same way that he was between two cultures or social milieus. The meeting took place on the edge of the present parkland but in a grassland setting. We envisioned the terrain of the Archithinue camp as predominantly flat, located on a gently-sloping terrace along the western valley side of a creek. In our reconstruction, the view from the tipi opening is roughly towards the east or northeast across the broad valley floor. Generally in this area, the valleys are a mile or more wide, with the creeks cut into small, deeper inner channels. In the far distance, a mile or more away, the land rises quite abruptly to the hummocky moraine country. This terrain was probably relatively open on the south-facing slopes visible from the camp but there may have been some trees, mainly aspens turning golden in the fall, visible in folds in the landscape. We wanted to suggest a more wooded and well-watered landscape in comparison to the campsite. The trees would tend to cluster around the wetter spots, down in the hollows and folds of the landscape.

Fig. 5 Part of the background painting for the diorama showing a recreation of the Archithinue camp as it can be seen from inside the tipi, according to Henday's description

The meeting took place in fall. Henday mentions that it froze during the night of October 14, after his first meeting with the Archithinue Leader. The vegetation around the campsite was probably grassy, trampled from traffic, both human and animal, and parched-looking, as in late season after a hot summer. By this time, flowering would have been over, and many plants would been bearing seed-heads. The vegetation in the area now is greatly modified by agriculture. We had to take care to avoid including introduced plants into the scene.

What Did He See?

Once the place was fixed, the other details of the scene, such as clothing, artifacts etc., needed to be worked out. The daunting part of working with Henday's journal was trying to figure out what some of the passages actually meant! There were references that made our task of accurate historic reconstruction very difficult and sometimes controversial. For example, consider Henday's description of the large camp of the Blackfoot:

...came to 200 tents of Archithinue Natives, pitched in two rows, and an opening in the middle; where we were conducted to the Leader's tent... (Burpee 1973: 31)

This was one of the more the most difficult parts of the reconstruction. Was this really what Henday saw when he visited the camp? And how were we going to portray the large numbers of people and their power to gallery visitors? Of the thousands of tipi ring sites that archaeologists have recorded on the Alberta Plains, none conforms strictly to a two row linear pattern. Oral tradition among Plains Aboriginal people also contradicts this linear camp arrangement. According to oral tradition, large camps were arranged in a circular fashion - an arrangement that is also rarely found by archaeologists. Historic photographs generally show tipis arranged in groups or small clusters that do not conform to a strict pattern (Banks and Snortland 1995). Such arrangements are also common in the archaeological record in Alberta. However, there are paintings and later nineteenth century photographs showing linear camp arrangements of the Sioux (see Banks and Snortland 1995). 30

Perhaps then, Henday's Archithinue were more southern Plains peoples? After much discussion, we decided to follow Henday's description of the camp lay-out. We solved the problem of depicting the large camp by painting a camp scene on the wall of the diorama, as it would have looked when viewed from inside the large tipi where Henday met the Archithinue Leader (Figure 5).

Henday also described the inside of the Leader's tent:

... where we were conducted to the Leader's tent... large enough to contain fifty persons; where he received us seated on a clear Buffalo skin, attended by 20 elderly men. (Burpee 1973: 31)

We could never fit a tipi that seated 50 people into the gallery nor afford the expense of 50 clothed mannequins, so we had to scale the scene down considerably. Also, Burpee interprets the word "clear" as meaning white and goes into great length about the significance and rarity of white or albino buffalo for Plains people. The thought of finding a white buffalo skin or replicating one at the museum seemed difficult. As we investigated further, we found that Burpee's interpretation of the word "clear" was problematic. This word is about as vague in meaning as "nice", as an examination of the Oxford English dictionary indicated. According to mid-eighteenth century usage, "clear" could have meant that the buffalo robe was: 1) clean; 2) bright; or 3) translucent (hair removed). We eventually chose a conservative meaning of the word, and seated the Leader on a clean bison robe.

Immediately upon describing the Leader, Henday goes on to say: "He (the Leader) made signs for me to sit down on his right hand: which I did." This is opposite to what proper seating etiquette currently dictates among the Blackfoot. Guests are seated on the left side of the principal man in the tipi. In 1833, Prince Maximilian describes a meeting with a Blackfoot chief in which he was seated "on buffalo skins, spread out on the left hand of the chief, round the fire, in the centre of the tent" (Thomas and Ronnefeldt 1976: 101). Just why Henday wrote this is uncertain. It may have been changed in the later versions of his journal to make it conform to English standards, or traditions amongst Plains Aboriginal people may have been different 250 years ago. Or perhaps Henday simply got his directions mixed up!

As Henday finally leaves the large camp, he provides more description of the people and their animals, then states that he saw "four Asses" in the camp. Now here was a phrase that was really open to interpretation! However, being a public institution limited how we could interpret what Henday saw. It is entirely conceivable that since Aboriginal people were acquiring horses from the Spanish in the southwest, donkeys or mules could have been acquired also. They used dogs and horses to pack the belongings of the families; donkeys (burros) would have made ideal pack animals. These animals were also very tough. So, when you come to our new gallery and view the diorama camp painting, you will notice that some of the four-legged critters look a lot like donkeys.

One of the biggest mysteries of Henday's journey is something that he did not see or report seeing! And that is mountains. Some historians, such as MacGregor (1954), believe that he did see the Rockies but the matter is debatable (Williams 1978). South of Red Deer on a clear day, you can see the Rockies shimmering in the far distance to the west. But, despite the fact that Henday travelled further west after his meeting with the Archithinue, his journal never mentions the mountains. Perhaps the air was simply too hazy from dust or smoke for him to see the mountains. Perhaps, scale and distance being deceptive, he did not realize what they were. Certainly, around 1788 a later traveller, David Thompson, had difficulty in accepting that what he saw were mountains:

At length the Rocky Mountains came in sight like shining white clouds in the horizon, but we doubted what our guide said; but as we proceeded, they rose in height their immense masses of snow appeared above the clouds (Hopwood, 1971:94).

Perhaps, to Henday, something so far away seemed unimportant to his record. Or perhaps Henday had poor eyesight! We shall never know and the tantalizing question as to whether Henday was one of the first Europeans to see the Rockies from the Plains persists.

As these few examples amply demonstrate, depicting and reconstructing historic scenes can be difficult. Some details often contradict other lines of evidence, but decisions on components of the scene have to be made. The scenario details were examined by the Museum's Aboriginal Advisory Committee to ensure the greatest possible authenticity. However, we felt that the diorama, despite many challenges, was very important for this gallery. Aboriginal-European interaction is a historic fact. It happened, and here was an opportunity to show the public traditional Plains Aboriginal cultures during the eighteenth century. They really didn't need or rely on European goods although when the right opportunities arose they acquired them. This meeting symbolizes the coming together of European and Aboriginal cultures, changing the trajectory of historic events in western Canada 31

Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Larry Newitt, EMR Canada, for discussion of Henday's navigation and magnetic declination. Many thanks to Maurice Doll and Bill Gnatovitch for their assistance with the compass, and to Bob Dawe for photographing it. We thank Jack Brink, Susan Berry, and Ruth McConnell for comments on earlier drafts of the manuscript. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors only.

Bibliography

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