Metallurgical Activities During French Colonial Attempts In North America: The Case Study Of The Cartier-Roberval Site (1541-1543)

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "Pre-Recorded Video Presentation Paper / Report Submission (General Sessions)", at the 2024 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

One of the first French colonial attempts in North America led to the construction of a fort close to the current Quebec City, by Jacques Cartier and Jean-François de La Rocque de Roberval between 1541 and 1543. French settlers, under the command of François Ier, aimed to find precious metals in the New World.

Excavations conducted from 2005 to 2010 led to the discovery of a large variety of material culture showing that metallurgical activities took place in this fort. Our project aims to investigate these artefacts (crucibles, metallic wastes, slags, etc.) along with historical sources and artefacts from Europe. It investigates the technics employed by the settlers and their possible adaptations to the Canadian environment, as well as the type of metals and alloys used in the site.

It will provide a better understanding of both exploration activities and daily life within the reality of first French colonial attempts.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for Historical Archaeology 2024   •
• Pre-Recorded Video Presentation Paper / Report Submission (General Sessions)

Keywords

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Nicole Haddow