Wet and Dry: the Archaeology of Basque and Inuit Pioneers at Hare harbor, Petit Mecatina, on the Quebec Lower North shore

Summary

Since Red Bay much information on 16th C.Basque whaling has become available. However, few sites have been excavated intensively, and none shed light on post-1600 activities. Hare Harbor-1 provides information on a 17th/early 18th C. fishing station of probable French Basque origin. Like Red Bay, the site offers land and underwater deposits, with the latter especially rich in organic and ceramic remains. The land site includes both Basque and Inuit structures, an industrial charcoal production enterprise, and an absence of try-works. On land, much European material is found in Inuit houses and middens, and Inuit materials are present on European floors. So far, history is mute regarding the identity of the Europeans. The close proximity of European and Inuit structures and combined materials suggest Inuit-European collaboration in a 17/18th C. fishing outpost over a period of a decade or more.

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-16,05