Traditional Wooden Structures on an Ancient Quartzite Quarry Site, Manitoulin Island, Canada

Summary

Ancient quarry extraction locations on elevated bedrock outcrops continue to be used in the modern era for traditional activities such as constructing bent wooden sweat lodges and wooden shelters for fasting and meditation, which are built and maintained in modern times, over at least several decades. Other special "powerful" locations such as a cave in a Bar River Formation quartzite adjacent bluff are visited and used for spiritual activities by local First Nations members. As part of the sacred cultural landscape these topographically elevated quarry locations also appear to be "maintained," as broken glass from hilltop parties has been removed to clean the area. The continued traditional use for fasting and meditation may restrict other interpretive activities at such quarry workshop sites, as walking paths and visits by tourists are not too compatible with traditional activities such as fasting.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Traditional Knowledge and Lithic Resources   •
• Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 15999