NORTH CARIBOU LAKE ARCHAEOLOGY: NORTHWESTE~~ ONTARIO NORTH CARIBOU LAKE ARCHAEOLOGY: NORTHWESTERN ONTARIO BY DIANA LYNN GORDON, B.A. A Thesis Submitted to the School of Graduate Studies in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Haster of Arts McMaster University July 1983 MASTER OF ARTS (1983) McMASTER UNIVERSITY (Anthropology) Hamilton, Ontario TITLE: North Caribou Lake Archaeology: Northwestern Ontario AUTHOR: Diana Lynn Gordon, B.A. (University of Toronto) SUPERVISOR: Dr. William C. Noble NUMBER OF PAGES: xvii + 286 ii ABSTRACT Field work in the summer of 1981 at North Caribou Lake, at the headwaters of the Severn River drainage, yielded 23 sites. Excavation and testing of ten produced Laurel, Blackduck, late prehistoric, 19th century Fur Trade and 20th century material. To date, this represents the most northerly expression of Laurel and Blackduck cultures in northwestern Ontario. The ethno-archaeological focus of this project, combining archaeological, archival, ethnographic and informant data, allowed for a clear understanding of the native use of the lake over the past one hundred years, including some important determinants of boreal forest settlement patterns. These determinants appear to have remained relatively stable from Middle Woodland times to the present. Observation of modern seasonal patterns of occupation has aided in the interpretation of the culture history of North Caribou Lake. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS A number of organizations and individuals made valuable contributions to this work, and I wish to express my gratitude to them. The Ontario Heritage Foundation provided a generous grant for the field work, and their assistance is gratefully acknowledged. The archival research was funded through a Northern Science and Training Research grant from McMaster University. I extend my gratitude to the Department of Anthropology and McMaster University for allowing me to pursue my research interests at the Master's level. I would like to thank the members of my thesis committee, particularly Dr. William C. Noble who, as my advisor, offered critical guidance and support throughout this research. Dr. Edward S. Rogers kindly shared his expertise on the ethnography and ethnohistory of the area. Dr. Peter G. Ramsden is thanked for his useful comments during the analysis and writing stages. I am indebted to John Switzer for his invaluable work as field assistant, and to Job Halfaday for his contribution as ethnographic informant and excavator. To Patty Halfaday, my thanks for her unfailing enthusiasm as interpreter and field worker. Janet and Caroline Halfa- iv day's additional assistance is also appreciated. My thanks to the other members of the Halfaday family for sharing the summer's experiences with us. Appreciation is extended to Chief Jowin Quequish and the Band Council of Weagamow Lake for their willing­ ness to approve this project. Special consideration goes to councillor David Quequish, who aided in the logistic arrangements. The efforts of pilot Gary Kakakeyash Of the Weagamow Lake Air Corporation are also gratefully acknowledged. I wish to thank archivist Shirlee Ann Smith for permission to use the Hudson's Bay Company Archives, Public Archives of Manitoba. Assistance in locating obscure references was provided by Judith Beattie. In the analysis and report production a number of people made contributions. They include Rosemary Prevec, who analyzed the faunal remains, Marc Lavoie, who identi­ fied many historic and modern items and Juliet Garfit, who did the cataloguing and some artwork. Additional artifact drawings were ably supplied by Linda Jefferson. The reconstruction of pottery vessels was done by George Gee. For help with the photography and editorial comments, I am grateful to John Switzer. Morris Brizinski also made valuable comments on the thesis. Useful information in archaeology, ethnography v and geology was supplied by the following individuals: Dr. J.V. Wright of the Archaeological Survey of Canada; Paddy Reid and Grace Rajnovich, regional archaeologists in Kenora for the Ministry of Culture and Citizenship, Dr. Mary Black Rogers of the Royal Ontario Museum, John Laitin, Department of Geology, University of Guelph and William Fox, regional archaeologist in London. Finally, I would like to thank Mary McKinnon for an excellent job in typing this thesis. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iv LIST OF TABLES . ix LIST OF FIGURES . xiii LIST OF PLATES . xv CHAPTER·ONE: INTRODUCTION. 1 EnvironInental Background /9:. Archaeological Research in Northwestern Ontario ~ 8 Ethnographic Background . 11 CHAPTER TWO: HISTORICAL BACKGROUND 13 Fur Trade History 13 Local History 25 CHAPTER THREE: NORTH CARIBOU LAKE ARCHAEOLOGY, SETTLEMENT AND CULTURES 30 Survey and Excavation Methodology 30 Overall Findings 3S Settlement Pattern Determinants at North Caribou Lake 40 Prehistoric Sites--General 48 Laurel Components (3) 51 Blackduck Component (1) 54 Late Prehistoric Components (3) 54 Unidentified Prehistoric (3). 56 h-' Rock Paintings (2) ...J I Historic and 20th Century Sites--General 58 Fur Trade Components (3). 50 ~1odern Trading Stores (3) 60 Church Site (1) and Habitation Site (1) 66 Winter Trap Cabin Sites (3) 71 Commercial Fishing Sites (3). 75 Cemeteries (5) 79 vii TABLE OF CONTENTS, continued. CHAPTER FOUR: ARTIFACT DESCRIPTIONS BY SITE 85 Analytical Methods 85 / Old Burn Island . 91 The Job Site (FeJp-3) 92 The Hurried Hare Site (FeJp-7) 126 The Running Rabbit Site (FeJp-6). 147 Base Camp Island. 163 The Auguston Site (FfJq-l) 164 The Halfaday Site (FfJq-2) 179 The Patricia Site (FfJq-3) 182 The Ina Site (FfJq-4) 193 North Central Mainland 198 The McCauley Site (FeJp-l) 198 Atikup Point. 207 The Noble Bay Site (FeJp~5) . 208 The Atik Site (FeJq-9) 209 CHAPTER FIVE: SYNTHESIS AND CONCLUSIONS 214 Shield Archaic 214 Laurel 215 Blackduck 219 Selkirk . 222 Other Late Woodland . 224 Historic Fur Trade Period 225 20th Century. 227 Conclusions • 231 REFERENCES . 235 PLATES . 249 viii LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1. Important historical dates 17 2. North Caribou Lake site components 38 3. Ten analyzable sites on North Caribou Lake . 39 4. Chi-square test for wind direction 43 5. Historic and 20th century components . 59 6. Classification scheme for lithics. 88 7. Job site artifact frequencies. 96 8 . Job site ceramic classifications 97 9. Job site ceramic vessels . 98 10. Job site neck and body sherds. 103 11. Job site lithic debitage . 106 12. Job site lithic artifacts. 108 13. Attributes of Job site end scrapers 110 14. Attributes of Job site retouched flakes III 15. Attributes of Job site gravers 114 16. Attributes of Job site projectile points and bifaces 114 17. Job- site faunal elements by class. 116 18. Job site faunal elements by species 117 19. Job site metal artifacts . 120 20. Dimensions of Job site copper triangles 12-1 21. Job site glass artifacts . 124 22. Job site miscellaneous artifacts . 125 ix LIST OF TABLES, continued 23. Hurried Hare site artifact frequencies . 128 24. Hurried Hare site ceramic classification 129 25. Hurried Hare site ceramic vessels 130 26. Hurried Hare site neck and body sherds . 133 27. Hurried Hare site lithic debitage 137 28. Hurried Hare site lithic artifacts • 138 29. Attributes of Hurried Hare site end scrapers 139 30. Attributes of Hurried Hare site retouched flakes . 141 31. Attributes of Hurried Hare site projectile points . 142 32. Hurried Hare site faunal elements by class • 144 33. Hurried Hare site faunal elements by species. 145 34. Hurried Hare site metal artifacts 145 35. Hurried Hare site miscellaneous artifacts 146 36. Running Rabbit site artifact frequencies 148 37. Running Rabbit site ceramic classification 149 38. Running Rabbit site ceramic vessels. 150 39. Running Rabbit site lithic debitage and artifacts 156 40. Running Rabbit site faunal elements by class 158 41. Running Rabbit site faunal elements by species. 158 42. Running Rabbit site metal artifacts. 160 43. Running Rabbit site glass artifacts. 161 x LIST OF TABLES, continued 44. Running Rabbit site miscellaneous artifacts 162 45. Auguston site artifact frequencies 168 46. Auguston site faunal elements by species . 169 47. Auguston site metal artifacts. 170 48. Auguston site glass artifacts. 173 49. Auguston site miscellaneous artifacts. 178 50. Halfaday site artifact frequencies 179 51. Halfaday site faunal elements by class 181 52. Halfaday site faunal elements by species . 181 53. Patricia site artifact frequencies 185 54. Patricia site ceramic classification . 186 55. Patricia site lithic debitage and artifacts 188 56. Patricia site faunal elements by species . 190 57. Patricia site metal artifacts. 191 58. Patricia site glass artifacts. 191 59. Patricia site miscellaneous artifacts. 192 60. Ina site artifact frequencies. 195 61. Ina site lithic debitage and artifacts 196 62. Ina site faunal elements by species 197 63. McCauley site artifact frequencies 201 64. McCauley site ceramic classification . 202 65. McCauley site lithic debitage and artifacts 203 66. McCauley site faunal elements by species . 205 67. McCauley site metal artifacts. 206 68. McCauley site glass artifacts. 207 xi LIST OF TABLES, continued 69. Atik site artifact frequencies 210 70. Atik site lithic debitage. 211 71. Atik site faunal elements by species . 211 72. Atik site historic pottery 212 xii LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page 1. Location of study area in northwestern Ontario 3 2. North Caribou Lake region. 5 3. Distribution of North Caribou Lake sites 32 4. Distribution of North Caribou Lake cultural components. 37 5. Percentage of sites exposed to each wind direction . 42 6. Old Burn Island site locations. 53 7. Key for the site plans in Chapter Three 62 8. Plan of the Neyaqueyoung, FeJp-5 and HcCauley, FeJp-l sites 63 9. Plan of Norman's Store, FeJq-2. 64 10. Base Camp Island site locations 67 11. Atikup Point site locations 69 12. Plan of the Birch Bark site, FeJp-4 73 13. Plan of the Quequish site, FeJq-6 . 73 14. Plan of the Heshakekang Sl'-I- .... e , FeJr-l 77 15.