A NEW APPROACH TO PRECONTACT ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESEARCH ON THE ANNAPOLIS RIVER SYSTEM, NOVA SCOTIA, CANADA

Summary

Boswell (BfDf-08) is the first archaeological site to be excavated along the Annapolis River, in north-central Nova Scotia. Previously, less than 50 sites had been recorded in the 2130 square kilometer watershed, and only a few of these were tested. Therefore, Boswell is the baseline for our understanding of precontact occupation for this entire drainage system. Thus far, the site has revealed a cultural sequence beginning with the Transitional Archaic (ca. 4100-2700 BP), followed by Middle and Late Woodland (ca. 2500-1500 BP) occupations. Work at the site since 2011 has included paleoethnobotanical and zooarchaeological analyses and a paleoenvironmental reconstruction. Subsistence activities at the site included fishing, hunting of beaver and birds, and the collection of edible berries and nuts. The deeply stratified sediments at the site give an indication as to why so few sites and private collections have been recorded. Based on the Bowell excavations, the authors recommend a new approach for future archaeological work in this understudied part of the province.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 17648