Numerous photographs were taken during the excavation of the Graham site 2006. A selection of photographs of features and personnel performing usual field tasks such as surveying, measuring, excavating, and taking photographs were selected for the archive.
Scope and Content
Sub sub sub series consists of photographs taken during excavation of the Graham site 2006.
Numerous photographs were taken during the excavation of the Graham site 2008. A selection of photographs of features and personnel performing usual field tasks such as surveying, measuring, excavating, and taking photographs were selected for the archive.
Scope and Content
Sub sub sub series consists of photographs taken during excavation of the Graham site 2008.
Field journals have been scanned in multi-page PDF files. Artifact catalogues are PDF files in spreadsheet format. Photographs are in jpeg format.
History / Biographical
In 2004 Tomasin Playford and her crew of Andrea Richards, Sarah Graham and Shane Kolesar cleared sand cover from over the 2003 excavations and extended sand clearing back from the north edge of the 2003 units to permit implementation of four additional units. During this sand clearing a hearth was identified together with small numbers of lithics and pottery body sherds. This occupation had been noted during sand clearing in 2003 and a charcoal sample was collected and radiocarbon dated to 1440 A.D. This hearth was assigned to Atkinson II, a later occupation.
Four units (5, 6, 7, & 8) were surveyed in adjacent to the 2003 units. Excavation proceeded by means of shovel shaving until the datum pegs from the previous year were located. The new units were then given datum pegs and string boundaries and the high pressure pump was set up for water screening of silt/clay matrix.
Continued to shovel shave levels 1 - 4 and recovered small burned and unburned bone fragments. Level 5 produced a projectile point, an end scraper and a large heat-treated Swan River Chert (SRC) flake. Other SRC flakes were also recovered. Levels 6 and 7 yielded large numbers of flake debitage. The matrix in levels 5-7 contained a scatter of small, bright red ochre particles. The river began to rise on the ninth of June and the site was sandbagged on June 11th, temporarily bringing an end to excavation for Atkinson 1. Tomasin and her crew were relocated to the Crepeele site, west of Lauder.
On July 20th, Tomasin and her crew returned to the Atkinson site and commenced cleaning up the earlier excavation following the flooding. Following the clean up, excavations were resumed on the units that had been opened. An additional Gowen point was recovered from level 8 as well as some poorly preserved bison bone. A lot flakes and small amounts of bone were recovered on west side of block and larger bone and flakes in bone bed along the east side in levels 8 - 10. Two bifaces were recovered in level 11 and a third in level 13. The excavations were terminated at level 18 when water started coming up through the unit floors.
Scope and Content
Sub-sub-sub series contains: Summary information of field methology, number and co-ordinates of excavations, personnel and their staff position; Field journals are daily records of recoveries, features and activities at the site; Site records include excavation level and unit summaries, feature sheets, profiles; sample records and maps; Artifact catalogues are lists and identifications of all artifacts recovered; Photographs are of excavation units, features, the landscape and personnel.
Field journals have been scanned in multi-page PDF files. Artifact catalogues are PDF files in spreadsheet format. Photographs are in jpeg format.
History / Biographical
After the flooding of the Souris River in 2004 receded, Tomasin Playford and her crew of Andrea Richards, Sarah Graham and Shane Kolesar returned to the Atkinson site and commenced cleaning up the earlier excavation of Atkinson.
An area east of the Atkinson excavations was also opened for testing in 2004. This area was designated as Atkinson II. In some of the field notes it is referred to as Atkinson East. A test block was opened and fenced off from the cattle with snow fence. A 4m2 block was surveyed in (units 13 - 16) and two partial units that were truncated by the riverbank (units 11 &12) were also placed to the south of the 4m2 block.
Three of the students who had completed the recent field school were hired as crew. Jessica McKenzie, Evie Fevez and Emily Ansell joined the crew at the Atkinson II site.
Recoveries from XU 13 - 16:
Large bison bone was recovered from units 11 and 12 and a metal tobacco box seal was recovered from unit 12. More small pieces of metal found in levels 2 and three together with small bone fragments. A bone fragment with butchering marks from a metal tool was recovered from level 6 and pottery was found in level 9. A few lithic flakes were found in level 13 and in a trench at the bottom of unit 13 above a calcite cemented layer. Recoveries from these tests were sparse and diminished as the excavation series became more distant from the river. It is likely that the remains that were recovered represent the northern edge of these occupations.
The upper occupation at Atkinson II appears to be an early historic occupation with a sparse scatter of bone and a few pieces of metal. The lower layers, below level 7 are likely precontact. Units 9 and 10 were dug as test pits and produced very little in the way of cultural materials.
Scope and Content
Sub-sub-sub series contains: Summary information of field methology, number and co-ordinates of excavations, personnel and their staff position; Field journals are daily records of recoveries, features and activities at the site; Site records include excavation level and unit summaries, feature sheets, profiles; sample records and maps; Artifact catalogues are lists and identifications of all artifacts recovered; Photographs are of excavation units, features, the landscape and personnel.
Field journals have been scanned in multi-page PDF files. Artifact catalogues are PDF files in spreadsheet format. Photographs are in jpeg format
History / Biographical
Based on the results of the 2003 excavation, and the radiocarbon date of 6,200 years before present, further excavation was warranted at the Atkinson I site.
In 2004 four units (5, 6, 7, & 8) were surveyed in adjacent to the 2003 units. The unit co-ordinates and excavator are listed on the attached pdf file.
Radiocarbon date reports have been scanned in multi-page PDF files.
History / Biographical
The Crepeele locale is located within the larger Lauder Sandhills area, located in southwestern Manitoba. The area is a complex region of high biodiversity made up of stabilized sand dunes and wetlands that encourage the development of mixed forest and grass prairie. This area provided a variety of subsistence resources for pre-European hunter-gatherers. At the present time the grass prairie is now farm land but the areas of vegetated sand dunes have not been cultivated and have revealed numerous pre-contact archaeological sites.
Archaeological surveying was conducted in 2003. The results of the 2003 Casselman survey showed over 300 test uints contained cultural material and indicated several areas for further examination including the Crepeele site DiMe-29, Sarah site DiMe-28 and Graham sites DiMe-30.
From 2003 to 2008 field work took place at the locale with 75 - 1m x1m units excavated. The Crepeele locale is a complex region of high biodiversity made up of stabilized sand dunes and wetlands that encourage the development of mixed forest and grass prairie. This area provided a variety of subsistence resources for pre-European hunter-gatherers. At the present time the grass prairie is now farm land but the areas of vegetated sand dunes have not been cultivated and have revealed numerous pre-contact archaeological sites.
To help establish the cultural sequence at the locale Radiocarbon dates were obtained from the three sites in the Crepeele locale.
Radiocarbon dating
The technique of radiocarbon dating was developed by Willard Libby and his colleagues at the University of Chicago in 1949.
Radiocarbon dating is used to estimate the age of organic remains from archaeological sites. Organic matter has a radioactive form of carbon (C14) that begins to decay upon death. C14 decays at a steady, known rate of a half life of 5,730 years. The technique is useful for material up to 50,000 years. Fluctuations of C14 in the atmosphere can affect results so dates are calibrated against dendrochronology. Radiocarbon dates are calibrated to calendar years.
Dates are reported in radiocarbon years or Before Present. Before Present refers to dates before 1950. The introduction of massive amounts of C14, due to atomic bomb and surface testing of atomic weapons, has widely increased the standard deviation on all dates after A.D. 1700 causing these dates to be unreliable.
Accelerated mass spectrometry can more accurately measure C14 with smaller samples and can date materials to 80,000 years.
Scope and Content
Sub sub series contains radiocarbon dates from: Crepeele, Sarah and Graham sites.
Field journals have been scanned in multi-page PDF files. Artifact catalogues are PDF files in spreadsheet format. Photographs are in jpeg format
History / Biographical
An area east of the Atkinson excavations was also opened for testing in 2004. This area was designated as Atkinson II and a test block was opened and fenced off from the cattle with snow fence. A 4m2 block was surveyed in (units 13 - 16) and two partial units that were truncated by the riverbank (units 11 &12) were also placed to the south of the 4m2 block. Test units 9 and 10 were also excavated.
