On the north ridge of the Seahorse Gully we located the remains of an approximately 2000 year old dwelling. The parallel row of vertically placed stones were the central part of the dwelling where activities like cooking and heating would occur. On both sides of this mid passage would have been living areasArchaeologists refer to the people who used this type of dwelling as the Dorset people. Churchill would have been the most southerly location used by these people.
0 Comments
The shoreline of the Churchill peninsula was very different 3000 years ago. In fact, only a small spot of land was not covered with water and the shoreline of Hudson Bay was 100km inland from that of the present day. A seal bone at the Weasel Site (IeKn-27) dates to 3590 years before present (C14 dating). This site is older than the Seahorse Gully Site (IeKn-09) which was occupied as early as 2900 years before present. When occupied, the small island was likely treeless and it was possibly used a camping spot from which ringed seals were hunted in the late winter early spring. These sites, and others on the Churchill peninsula, demonstrate the continuity of Indigenous use of the Land. The people used the Land during a range of seasons over thousands of years to harvest resources and live their lives. The Land holds the stories of these lives. In 1994 Virginia Petch recorded the location of the Weasel Site as a result of her work for Manitoba Hydro. The site was partially excavated by Lisa Hodgetts in 2005 and the information and the maps below were published in the Journal of Field Archaeology Vol 3, 2007. Evidence of other Pre-Dorset sites are also found at Burton Rock and on the north rim of the Seahorse Gully.
A big thank you to the knowledge keepers and community members that came and shared their stories about the Flats and Jockville. We heard about how families came to these places and thrived. A remembrance was that the houses were shelters for eating and sleeping and the Flats and Jockville were beautiful playgrounds for the children in the summer and winter. The areas were surveyed for more streets (the markers are still in the ground) but that development never happened. People moved and were moved from these areas and the houses were disappeared. The stories of resilience and resourcefulness were stirring and warm despite the heavy rain outside. Thanks to Tim (Frontiers North) for the keeping us warm in the bus.
What do maps, broken pots, art, artifacts and drone images have in common?
|























