The whaling stations of Chateau Bay and Pleasure Harbour (Labrador, Canada), revisiting a temporary settlement model

Summary

Various whaling stations in Labrador were identified and excavated in the 1980s thanks to the work of several Basque archaeologists. Two of the stations, Chateau Bay and Pleasure Harbour, were the subject of systematic excavations. The important results obtained complement and enrich the Basque fisheries model, and yet Canadian archaeological histiography ignores or omits that contribution. The predominant model has been fixed and consolidated around the Red Bay excavations. Neither the case studies we presented, nor new and amazing findings, such as the one at Petit Mecatina, in Quebec, seem to be a strong enough excuse to provide new shades of meaning or change the model. The fact that the cases of Chateau Bay and Pleasure Harbour were not published in English seems to explain their omission. In our opinion, therefore, and because the session is presented as a reassessment of the research conducted to date, it is worthwhile to revisit this case studies.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• The Archaeology of Basque Fisheries throughout the Atlantic, a Reappraisal   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2014

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): SYM-16,02