Dominic Lacroix

This dissertation explores the world in which the first permanent inhabitants of the island of Newfoundland situated themselves. People of these First Nations lived in Newfoundland for thousands of years during the Archaic (5500–3200 uncalibrated years BP), leaving material traces in the form of objects and site locations. The three analyses presented herein use these material traces to investigate movements and contacts across the island, different expressions of burial ceremonialism, group identity, and ethnicity, and re-introduces the use of “country” to refer to land occupied by separate indigenous groups. Least-cost paths are used to model precontact routes of travel and suggest that a number of significant places along the travel route network played an important role for Archaic islanders. It suggests that Back Harbour, and perhaps Burgeo too, were central places; that the Deer Lake-Grand Lake junction may have been of particular ceremonial importance, and that Port au Choix ...

Ground-penetrating radar (GPR) is one of the major geophysical prospecting techniques used in archaeology. Complex GPR profile data contains detailed reflections produced by subsurface features, but they are difficult to interpret. To help the interpretation of GPR profile data in ...

ABSTRACT This dissertation explores the worlds in which the first permanent inhabitants of the island of Newfoundland situated themselves. People of these First Nations lived in Newfoundland for thousands of years during the Archaic (5500–3200 uncalibrated years BP), leaving material traces in the form of objects and site locations. The three analyses presented herein use these material traces to investigate movements and contacts across the island, different expressions of burial ceremonialism, group identity, and ethnicity, and re-introduces the use of “country” to refer to land occupied by separate indigenous groups. Least-cost paths are used to model precontact routes of travel and suggest that a number of significant places along the travel route network played an important role for Archaic islanders. It suggests Burgeo and Back Harbour were central places, that the Deer Lake-Grand Lake junction was of particular ceremonial importance, and that Port au Choix was purposefully positioned at a cultural boundary. The investigation of the landscape setting and burial assemblages of Newfoundland’s only two known Archaic burial grounds at various scales further demonstrates important differences present between the burials at Port au Choix and Back Harbour, suggesting they were intended to fulfill slightly different roles. Significant differences in their burial assemblages indicate that they are likely the result of different groups of people, with Port au Choix acting as a gathering place for multiple groups. The comparative analysis of stone tool assemblages from Newfoundland and its adjoining mainland regions reveals the presence of at least three contemporary and spatially distinct technological complexes on the island. Distinct regional patterns in access to food resources, burial ceremonialism, and location along the travel route network support the presence of multiple cultural groups in Archaic Newfoundland. This dissertation argues for the recognition of three ethnic groups sharing the island, people inhabiting separate countries who saw each other as different and maintained these differences over time despite repeated contacts and exchanges. It is time to move beyond the limiting notion of a single group of Maritime Archaic Indians, a concept that over generalizes the complexity of the worlds present in Archaic Newfoundland.

Laser scanning is currently being used in various areas of the world to document, preserve, and analyze ancient architecture. Laser scanners record the proveniences of numerous points on an object's surface. The resulting three-dimensional images can be used to test various building scenarios, analyze activity areas in a three-dimensional context, and digitally archive heritage resources threatened with destruction via erosion and industrial activities. Laser scanning may have applicability in the western Canadian Arctic, where archaeological research has become increasingly focused on the interpretation of Mackenzie Inuit architecture and the preservation of houses threatened by erosion. The use of laser scanning technology in an environment as remote and challenging as the Arctic provides an excellent case study for assessing the benefits of using this approach in a region associated with both complex architecture and excellent preservation. We conclude that laser scanning is ...

ABSTRACT Laser scanning is currently being used in various areas of the world to document, preserve, and analyze ancient architecture. Laser scanners record the proveniences of numerous points on an object's surface. The resulting three-dimensional images can be used to test various building scenarios, analyze activity areas in a three-dimensional context, and digitally archive heritage resources threatened with destruction via erosion and industrial activities. Laser scanning may have applicability in the western Canadian Arctic, where archaeological research has become increasingly focused on the interpretation of Mackenzie Inuit architecture and the preservation of houses threatened by erosion. The use of laser scanning technology in an environment as remote and challenging as the Arctic provides an excellent case study for assessing the benefits of using this approach in a region associated with both complex architecture and excellent preservation. We conclude that laser scanning is feasible at isolated arctic field sites, but suggest that short-range, high-resolution scanners, similar to the one used in the study, are best suited to recording specific architectural details, rather than complete dwellings.

This dissertation explores the worlds in which the first permanent inhabitants of the island of Newfoundland situated themselves. People of these First Nations lived in Newfoundland for thousands of years during the Archaic (5500–3200 uncalibrated years BP), leaving material traces in the form of objects and site locations. The three analyses presented herein use these material traces to investigate movements and contacts across the island, different expressions of burial ceremonialism, group identity, and ethnicity, and re-introduces the use of “country” to refer to land occupied by separate indigenous groups.
Least-cost paths are used to model precontact routes of travel and suggest that a number of significant places along the travel route network played an important role for Archaic islanders. It suggests Burgeo and Back Harbour were central places, that the Deer Lake-Grand Lake junction was of particular ceremonial importance, and that Port au Choix was purposefully positioned at a cultural boundary. The investigation of the landscape setting and burial assemblages of Newfoundland’s only two known Archaic burial grounds at various scales further demonstrates important differences present between the burials at Port au Choix and Back Harbour, suggesting they were intended to fulfill slightly different roles. Significant differences in their burial assemblages indicate that they are likely the result of different groups of people, with Port au Choix acting as a gathering place for multiple groups. The comparative analysis of stone tool assemblages from Newfoundland and its adjoining mainland regions reveals the presence of at least three contemporary and spatially distinct technological complexes on the island. Distinct regional patterns in access to food resources, burial ceremonialism, and location along the travel route network support the presence of multiple cultural groups in Archaic Newfoundland.
This dissertation argues for the recognition of three ethnic groups sharing the island, people inhabiting separate countries who saw each other as different and maintained these differences over time despite repeated contacts and exchanges. It is time to move beyond the limiting notion of a single group of Maritime Archaic Indians, a concept that over generalizes the complexity of the worlds present in Archaic Newfoundland.

The paleogeography of Atlantic Canada has changed dramatically during the postglacial period. Following glacial retreat, a complex pattern of sea-level change led to the subaerial exposure of large landforms, and archaeological evidence suggests some human presence. The highest potential for the preservation of submerged archaeological landscapes is at the local scale where conditions combine to create low-energy environments. Evidence for the presence of submerged archaeological landscapes is seen through relict coastal, fluvial, and deltaic features preserved on the seafloor. Two test cases illustrate how submerged landscape archaeology provides an insight on the impact sea-level change has had on the region’s precontact population and how it changes our understanding of the history. Undated artifact assemblages from Prince Edward Island and the Magdalen Islands previously thought to date to the Late Paleo-Indian period (ca. 10,000–9,000 uncal BP) are reinterpreted as dating to the Late Archaic or later. Local indigenous groups have remembered for over 3,400 years the sudden linkage between the Minas Basin and the megatidal environment of the Bay of Fundy through a local legend in which the events are interpreted in their own terms and given social meaning.

Ground-penetrating radar (GPR) is one of the major geophysical prospecting techniques used in archaeology. Complex GPR profile data contains detailed reflections produced by subsurface features, but they are difficult to interpret. To help the interpretation of GPR profile data in an archaeological context, the use of computer models is investigated. Synthetic models can be used to produce reflection analogues that can be compared to real field data to help identify reflections produced by specific archaeological features. Modelling results can also be used to test hypotheses to determine which best explains the reflections observed in GPR profile data. Two test cases are presented, clearly demonstrating the benefits of using GPR models to help interpret reflection patterns produced by buried archaeological features.

Until now, knowledge of the Archaic in Newfoundland has principally relied on information from only a handful of sites, located hundreds of kilometres apart, resulting in a patchy and over-generalized understanding of the period. This paper combines the results of a qualitative analysis of formal stone tool assemblages from 81 localities spread around the Island and a multi-criteria cost surface analysis exposing Newfoundland’s inherent travel route network. These results demonstrate the presence of clear regional differences within Newfoundland. When different technological traditions are contrasted with other forms of regional patterns like site location preferences, access to food resources, burial ceremonialism, and Newfoundland’s travel route network, three distinct regions with significantly different cultural patterns emerge. This regionalism is interpreted as the presence of at least three ethnic groups in Newfoundland during the Late Archaic, each settled in its own “country” and with its own unique set of traditions, weakening the long-held view of a single, monolithic Maritime Archaic tradition present across all regions of the Island.

Maritime Archaic Indians were the first people to leave significant traces of their occupation on the island of Newfoundland (ca. 5500–3200 BP). Generally poor preservation and limited excavations have resulted in regional-scale syntheses focussing primarily on stone tools and environmental factors. Ethnographic examples suggest landscapes are imbued with cultural significance and cannot be explained simply in terms of topography and resource availability. Glimpses of a rich ideological system are provided by the exceptional state of preservation found at the Port au Choix burial ground. To further probe the complex ideology folded into Maritime Archaic life, a cultural landscape approach was developed, tailored to the limited nature of this period’s archaeological record. Examples from the Northern Peninsula and elsewhere in Newfoundland are used to illustrate the methodology and provide further insights into the connections these early Amerindians had with their surroundings.

Although geophysical methods have long been part of the archaeological toolkit, their role has often been restricted to prospection, neglecting the wealth of information they can provide as an analytical dataset. This potential remains mostly unexploited due to non-unique solutions and the “art” involved in decoding geophysical data. Ground-penetrating radar (GPR) reflections are especially complex to interpret, and simple computer simulations can provide a much needed bridge between complex field reflection patterns and the archaeological feature that produced them. Armed with a better understanding of feature-pattern relationships, datasets can be mined for information relevant to site- and feature-scale archaeological interpretations.

The use of geophysical surveys in archaeology is gaining importance; however, results are often used solely as a mapping tool rather than as a primary line of evidence for archaeological interpretations. Limitations are due to the inherent complexity of geophysical datasets. Although rarely used in archaeology, computer simulations are omnipresent in environmental geophysics when interpreting complex subsurface geometries. Synthetic models are simplified representations of buried features and stratigraphy. These are subjected to virtual conditions that replicate geophysical survey conditions. Case studies are used to demonstrate the value of using synthetic models to help archaeological survey planning and data interpretation.