A REPORT ON THE BAXTER ANDREWS ARCHAEOLOGY C O L L E C T I O N F R O M C A P E I S L A N D , N E W F O U N D L A N D John Andrew Campbell Memorial University St. John’s, NL Community Collections Archaeological Research Project Volume 2 March 2016 With support from the Cultural Economic Development Program of the Department of Business, Tourism, Culture and Rural Development, Government of Newfoundland and Labrador. Finding new archaeological sites is not always an easy job. In this province, archaeological sites do not always leave obvious traces on the ground surface, and so archaeologists use many different approaches to finding new sites. Our techniques might involve the newest modern technology, but they will also certainly involve good old-fashioned field work, and often, a healthy dose of good luck. One of the most important ways that archaeologists can find new sites, though, is to talk to the people who live in and around the places that we work. Often, the archaeologist’s first approach when visiting a region to look for new sites is to find the nearest community, and ask as many people as possible a simple question: “do you know of any place nearby where old artifacts have been found?” The responses we get often lead to the discovery of undocumented archaeological sites, which we can add to the growing database that tracks this province’s cultural heritage. Documenting new sites means recording them in detail: we record a site’s general location on a map and its exact location with a GPS, its condition, how old we think the site might be, and the cultural group that used the site—which is more complicated than it might seem, given Newfoundland and Labrador’s lengthy and varied human history. We take such care to document new sites because they are a non- renewable resource—once archaeological sites have been disturbed, either intentionally or accidentally, less of their story remains. With an intact site, we might be able to reconstruct a relatively complete history of the people who lived there, but once the site has been disturbed, our ability to interpret the site is dramatically reduced. As a group committed to the preservation of our shared archaeological heritage in this province, the Newfoundland and Labrador Archaeological Society continues the Community Collections Archaeological Research Project (CCARP) in 2015-2016. Made possible by funds from the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador’s Cultural Economic Development Program, this project’s goal is to document the privately-held collections that sit in basements, closets, and sheds across the province, and to give everyone a chance to see them and learn about them. Our aim is not to encourage private collection of artifacts, but rather to record these undocumented sites, as well as educate and inform people about what to do if you find an archaeological site. This is, after all, our collective heritage, meant to be shared by us all. It is with great pleasure that I present to you the latest Community Collections Archaeological Research Project, on the Andrews Collection, collected by Baxter Andrews on Cape Island, in Cape Freels, Newfoundland. On their walks along the beach, Mr. Andrews and his wife Bernice gathered these artifacts as they eroded out of sand banks. A detailed analysis by John Andrew Campbell, a Master’s student in the Department of Archaeology at Memorial University, has found that the collection contains a sweeping representation of the province’s prehistoric past. Without the actions of the Andrews in reporting these collections, we would know nothing of this site and these important artifacts. Our understanding of our province’s history is built by our collective actions: by people like Baxter and Bernice Andrews, by our province’s archaeologists like John Andrew Campbell, by the people in our Provincial Government who support our project with funding, and by the members of the Newfoundland and Labrador Archaeological Society who volunteer throughout the year. On behalf of the NLAS, thank you all for supporting the preservation of our shared archaeological heritage in Newfoundland and Labrador. Amanda Crompton NLAS President St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador February 17, 2016 Introduction This report focuses on archaeological materials collected by Baxter Andrews on Cape Island in Cape Freels, Newfoundland, (Fig. 1&2) between 1953 and 2010. Seventeen artifacts were surfaced collected by Mr. Andrews from eroding sand banks during walks along the beach with his wife Bernice. The artifacts represent six precontact cultures including: Maritime Archaic Indian (MAI), Dorset Palaeoeskimo (DPE), Cow Head Recent Indian (CRI), Beaches Recent Indian (BRI), and Little Passage Recent Indian-Beothuk (LPRIB). The collection was catalogued and photographed by the author in January 2016 on behalf of the Newfoundland and Labrador Archaeological Society (NLAS) through the Figure 2. Aerial photograph of Cape Island. Community Collections Archaeological Research Project (CCARP). The objective of this project is to The following report is divided into two locate and engage with individual collectors of main sections. A brief background overview of archaeological remnants within the Province and to geographical location and synopses on cultural promote a trusting relationship which allows affinities associated with the Andrews Collection archaeologists to catalogue and analyze their will constitute the first section. This will be collections. This project also enables archaeologists followed by a succinct assessment of comparative to promote public education, awareness of heritage, lithic analysis primarily focusing on the Maritime and archaeological resources (NLAS 2014). Archaic Indian (MAI), the Beaches Recent Indian (BRI), and the Little Passage Recent Indian- Beothuk (LPRIB). A discussion, along with concluding remarks will be provided at the end of the report. Background Cape Island in Cape Freels, Newfoundland is a peninsula located on the northern edge of Bonavista Bay. Located along the Kittiwake Coast the peninsula where Cape Island is located is between Cape Cove to the north and Pinchard’s Bight to the southwest. The coastline, particularly to the north along Cape Cove, is dominated by windswept beaches (Fig. 2), where the eroding sand banks are heavily affected by the climate and unveil archaeological materials from their primary, or secondary contexts. Figure 1. Location of Cape Island, Cape Freels, Newfoundland. 1 Figure 3. The Andrew’s Collection recovered from eroding sandbanks in around Cape Island, Cape Freels, Newfoundland. Maritime Archaic Indian (MAI) notched and expanding stem made primarily of fine to coarse grained cherts and rhyolites The Maritime Archaic Indians were the first (Bell and Renouf 2006). Lacroix (2015b:142) people to inhabit, but were not restricted to, defines a “Bonavista Form” which consists of Newfoundland and Labrador with a thick base with an expanding stem and archaeological sites dating between 8,000 and regionally defines this lithic form primarily in 3,200 BP (years before present) (Bell and the Bonavista Bay region. Renouf 2003; Bell and Renouf 2006). The term “Maritime Archaic” characterizes the Dorset Palaeoeskimo (DPE) coastal facet of the economy (Tuck 1971; The Dorset Palaeoeskimos occupied the McGhee and Tuck 1975; Bell and Renouf Province between 2,000 and 1,200 BP and 2006), while also acknowledging interior begin to appear toward the end of the facets to their seasonal mobility (Fitzhugh Groswater Palaeoeskimo occupation between 1972; Tuck 1976). The presence of Maritime 2,800 and 1,900 BP (Renouf 1999:408; Archaic Indian chipped points (Fig. 3 A-C; Renouf 2005:58). Dorset lithic assemblages Fig. 4) in the Andrews Collection are typically includes: tip-fluted harpoon end representative of a southern variant of side- 2 blades, triangular and thumbnail endscrapers, asymmetrical bifacial knives, microblades, ground and polished burin-like tools; and rectangular soapstone lamps and pots (Renouf 1999). In the Andrews Collection (Fig. 3 D; Fig. 5) an unusual water-worn ground slate specimen is present and has been determined to be either a perforator or a skin-working tool (Lavers personal communication). Cow Head Recent Indian (CRI) The Cow Head Recent Indian occupied the Province between 2,000 and 1,050 BP and is the earliest and least understood complex within the four Recent Indian complexes (Erwin et. al. 2005:48; Lavers 2010:12-13). The Cow Head Complex is partially contemporaneous to the Beaches Complex in Figure 4. Maritime Archaic Indian chipped points. the Province, but the two are culturally unrelated (Pastore 2000:44; Hartley 2001; Teal 2001; Hull 2002). Hull (2002) states that the Cow Head Complex is ancestral to the Fléche littorale Complex, first located in Blanc Sablon on the Quebec Lower North Shore (Pintal 1998). In the Andrews Collection (Fig. 3 F; Fig. 6) one Cow Head heavily reworked point made from Cow Head chert, located on the western shore of the Northern Peninsula, displays a contracting stem (Tuck 1978). Beaches Recent Indian (BRI) The Beaches Recent Indian inhabited the Province between 1,900 and 1,000 BP and is widely regarded to be ancestral of the Little Passage Complex (Pastore 1985: 323; Hartley 2001; Holly 2002; Hull 2002). The lithic assemblage of the Beaches Complex includes: scrapers, triangular bifaces, linear blades, and side-notched projectile points (Fig. 3 E; Fig.7) (Erwin et. al. 2005). Contemporaneous Figure 5. Dorset Palaeoeskimo Perforator or skin- working tool 3 Figure 6. Flaked point of the Recent Indian- Cow Head Complex. Figure 8. Transitional-Little Passage Recent Indian flaked point. Figure 9. Corner-notched expanding stem (CNES) Figure 7. Flaked point of the Recent Indian-Beaches Little Passage Recent Indians-Beothuk points. Complex. 4 Andrews Collection a singular side notched point made of Cow Head chert is present. Little Passage Recent Indian-Beothuk (LPRIB) The Little Passage Recent Indian occupied the Province between 1,000 BP and European Contact (Pastore 1983; Penney 1984; Tuck 1982).