Dating ‘aboiteaux’ with the use of dendroarchaeology : examples for Acadia

Summary

Land reclamation of marshlands for farming using ‘aboiteaux’ is a distinctive trait of Acadian culture. The dyke and drainage techniques were used early during colonization at Port-Royal and spread in all Acadian settlements around the Bay of Fundy where saltmarshes abound, particularly at Grand-Pré blessed with a most suitable environment and where settlers developed an extensive and remarkable farming system. After deportation, Acadians that resettled in the Maritimes continued to dyke salt marshes where appropriate and several other aboiteaux systems were built. Many have been lost through time but some still exist today in various states of preservation. Archaeological interest in aboiteaux has grown in the last few decades as old buried sluices were discovered in various areas. However, a major issue in their study is to date them accurately. One efficient method to overcome this problem is dendroarchaeology which uses tree rings to date archaeological objects made of wood. In this paper, we present dendroarchaeological techniques including wood identification along with some case studies from several locations and time periods to illustrate the method

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Archaeologies of Acadia: From Homeland to Diaspora   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2014

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): SYM-49,08