Bring on the Boreal: Site formation processes and archaeological interpretation in northern Alberta, Canada

Summary

Archaeological sites in Canada’s boreal forest are frequently difficult to interpret due to several factors, including (1) shallow archaeological stratigraphies, (2) non-diagnostic lithics dominate artifact assemblages, (3) low abundances of preserved organic materials, and (4) high potential for disturbance (cryoturbation and bioturbation). These difficulties can contribute to interpretations based on insufficient understandings of site formation processes, producing conclusions that undervalue boreal archaeological sites. In areas under high developmental pressure, such as Alberta’s northern Oil Sands region, this can be devastating, resulting in irrevocable information loss.

However, in some areas of the boreal forest, the depositional context of archaeological sites appears to be largely intact, representing an under-utilized data source with which to better evaluate their cultural, archaeological, and/or palaeoenvironmental significance. Here, we present the results from a case study in northern Alberta, employing geomorphology, stratigraphy, portable and formal optically-stimulated luminescence measurements, and soil micromorphology. We demonstrate that a formerly de-valued (i.e. "written off") site is actually largely undisturbed and represents two chronologically distinct occupations that likely pre-date the middle Holocene period. Our work has wider resonance in the fields of cultural resource management and regulating resource development in regions of rapid growth, particularly the north.

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This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 80th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA (2015)   •
• Natural Formation Processes

Keywords

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