Archaeology is a branch of Anthropology, the study of Humanity in general, and is the study of people based on the "things" they have left behind. These "things" may be tools they have made and used, buildings or other structures built for various purposes, traces of different activities they may have engaged in, the bodies of people themselves or even indirect evidence of the impact people had on the land or the impact the land might have had upon them. Primarily, then, archaeologists study the traces and remains of people in the past, often the distant past for which we may have no other records.
Like many academic disciplines, archaeology works best when done in conjunction with other, related, kinds of research. Other branches of Anthropology, like Linguistics (the study of languages) and Ethnography (the study of different cultures and ways of life), provide comparisons with related or unrelated peoples who live similar lifestyles. Similarly, disciplines like Botany, History, Geography, Zoology, and Geology can provide insights into the past, both to discover and interpret residues and traces of the activities of people and conditions of the time which might have indirectly influenced them. Results of all these disciplines will be included in the following summary of the prehistory and early history of Ontario.
The archaeological "history" of Ontario can be divided into two "periods", the prehistoric period which predates written documents, and the historic period, which has been at least partially recorded in written documents. The contribution of archaeology to these periods is different, however, because of the existence of this documentation. The prehistoric period is known only through study of archaeological remains but is supported by comparisons with the lifestyles of people who live or lived similar kinds of lifestyles. The contribution of archaeology to the historic period, however, is different in that written records provide us with much information about the broad trends of the period. Instead, archaeology may tell us about aspects of people that were not fully recorded in historical documents. Some people, such as the very poor or the isolated, were either not recorded in historical records or were recorded by people who did not care to know much about them. Slaves, for example, were poorly represented in the historical record and archaeology can provide one means to understand them and their lives better. Archaeology can also give us an independent means to understand events which may not have been accurately recorded for various reasons. An archaeological investigation of the Battle of the Little Big Horn, where General Custer was defeated by the Sioux, has provided new insights into the events of this battle for which there is no other record.
The historic period follows the arrival of Europeans in the area and is at least partially recorded through documents. This period is characterized by increasing dominance of Europeans and is subdivided according to the major sources and types of European influence. The archaeological study of this time period is not directed towards revealing the major events, as these are adequately recorded by written documents, but in learning about the many aspects of life of these times not documented in the records.
In the following brief summary of the archaeological record of Ontario, events will proceed from the earliest time periods to the latest. Before we begin, however, it is important to "set the stage" by describing the geographic and environmental conditions present during the arrival of people into Ontario.
This summary of Ontario Archaeology was taken from the Discovering Ontario Archaeology - Speakers Kit. The original texts were written by Jeff Bursey, Hugh Daechsel, Andrew Hinshelwood and Carl Murphy.
INTRODUCTION¦ POST ICE-AGE GEOGRAPHY AND ENVIRONMENT¦ FIRST PEOPLE OF NORTH AMERICA¦ FIRST PEOPLE OF ONTARIO: THE PALEO-INDIANS¦ THE ARCHAIC PERIOD¦ EARLY WOODLAND PERIOD¦ MIDDLE WOODLAND PERIOD¦ LATE WOODLAND PERIOD¦ THE CONTACT PERIOD¦ THE FRENCH PERIOD (A.D.1650 TO 1763) ¦ THE ENGLISH PERIOD (A.D. 1760 TO 1867)
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