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.
The high biodiversity and evidence of pre-Europeon contact prompted the decision to test the Crepeele locale. The survey was named in recognition of the Casselman family, the original landowners.
Archaeological testing began in the Crepeele locale in May 2003 on property now owned by the Crepeele family. The locale covers over 6 sections or approximately 3,800 acres of land in an area of stabilized sand dunes and wetlands covered with mixed forest and prairie grass. Given the terrain, the size of the crew and time constrains, an area of approximately 60 acres was chosen for the survey. The survey used the established archaeological methodology of walking the selected area and using a shovel test surveyed grid. The use of GIS technology to locate the exact test spot and record the information into a GIS database was a significant advance and was one of the advantages of the integration of multi-disciplinary techniques encouraged by the SCAPE project. Over one half of the test pits resulted in the recovery of cultural materials. The results of the Casselman survey indicated several areas for further examination including areas that became the Crepeele, Sarah and Graham sites.
Scope and Content
Sub sub series has been divided into five sub sub sub series including: (1) Summary information; (2) Field journals; (3) Site records; (4) Artifact catalogues; and (5) Photographs.
