Peter Ramsden
McMaster University, Anthropology, Adjunct
- Prehistoric Settlement, Prehistoric Archaeology, Archaeology, Household Archaeology, Hunters, Fishers and Gatherers' Archaeology, Mesolithic Archaeology, and 26 moreSettlement archaeology, Subsistence systems (Archaeology), Subsistance Strategies (Archaeology), Landscape Archaeology, Death and Burial (Archaeology), Funerary Archaeology, Mortuary archaeology, Settlement Patterns, Social Archaeology, British Prehistory (Archaeology), Mesolithic/Neolithic, Iroquoian Archaeology, North American archaeology, European Prehistory (Archaeology), Northeastern North America (Archaeology), Great Lakes Archaeology, Archaeology of ethnicity, Ceramics (Archaeology), Ontario Archaeology, Neolithic Europe, Late Woodland (Archaeology in Northeastern North America), Neolithic Archaeology, Iroquoian Societies (Archaeology), Landscapes in prehistory, Irish Archaeology, and Siberian archaeologyedit
- My archaeological interests have been grounded in the study of small-scale societies, both hunter-gatherer and hortic... moreMy archaeological interests have been grounded in the study of small-scale societies, both hunter-gatherer and horticultural. I have done field research in the Lower Great Lakes (Archaic and Late Woodland), the Central Canadian Arctic (ASTt and Inuit) and Ireland (Mesolithic / Neolithic). Among my interests are: the role of the individual and randomness in cultural processes, small-scale variability in adaptation and settlement, and the social meanings of material culture and their role in culture change.edit
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An attribute analysis of ceramics from a large sample of Huron sites reveals geographical or 'tribal' clusters of sites, a surprisingly complex history of community formation, fission and fusion, and some episodes of long-distance... more
An attribute analysis of ceramics from a large sample of Huron sites reveals geographical or 'tribal' clusters of sites, a surprisingly complex history of community formation, fission and fusion, and some episodes of long-distance migration. These are related to social and political processes, some of which are generally characteristic of horticultural societies, while others relate more to the turbulent events of 16th and 17th century Northeastern North America.
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This monograph describes the excavation and analysis of stratified Late Archaic (Small Point) deposits in Inverhuron Park, Ontario, and isolates three distinct components occupied between ca 3300 and 2800 B.P. The three components are... more
This monograph describes the excavation and analysis of stratified Late Archaic (Small Point) deposits in Inverhuron Park, Ontario, and isolates three distinct components occupied between ca 3300 and 2800 B.P. The three components are interpreted as representing functionally distinct parts of a single settlement and subsistence system, involving intensively occupied base camps and small, specialized out-camps. The changing nature of the site area from lakeshore locality to sheltered inland locality, due to falling lake levels, caused the three distinct components to be superimposed in this one location.
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This paper lays out the evidence for contact between the Balsam Lake region in south central Ontario and the St. Lawrence valley, in the late 15th to late 16th centuries. An important issue is the variability in the nature and scale of... more
This paper lays out the evidence for contact between the Balsam Lake region in south central Ontario and the St. Lawrence valley, in the late 15th to late 16th centuries. An important issue is the variability in the nature and scale of contact over this time period, ranging from individual trade partnerships in the late 15th century, to adoption of St. Lawrence Iroquoian families into Huron-Wendat households in the late 16th century. It is also suggested that this contact was initiated by Algonkians living at the north end of Balsam Lake, but ultimately came to include the Huron-Wendat living around the southern end of the lake.
Research Interests: Northeastern North America (Archaeology), Ontario Archaeology, Archaeological Theory, Ethnicity, Southern Ontario prehistory, and 12 moreHuron Archaeology, Iroquoian Archaeology, Ancient Trade & Commerce (Archaeology), Great Lakes Archaeology, Culture Contact, Prehistoric economies, St. Lawrence Iroquoians, European Contact Americas, Prehistory of the Great Lakes region, Protohistoric Archaeology, Huron-Wendat, and Huron-Wendat archaeology
Recent revisions to the radiocarbon dating of the Thule/Inuit occupation of the Canadian Arctic, and a review of available carbon dates for Thule/Inuit sites in Labrador, lead to the conclusion that the Inuit settlement of Labrador was... more
Recent revisions to the radiocarbon dating of the Thule/Inuit occupation of the Canadian Arctic, and a review of available carbon dates for Thule/Inuit sites in Labrador, lead to the conclusion that the Inuit settlement of Labrador was prompted partly by the collapse of the Greenland Norse colonies in the late 15th century, and partly by Inuit desire to find new sources of European technologies, primarily metal goods.
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Evidence from house structures, artifacts and fauna are used to infer political and economic changes at the Benson site, a late sixteenth century Huron village near Balsam Lake, Ontario. It is suggested that one household acquired trade... more
Evidence from house structures, artifacts and fauna are used to infer political and economic changes at the Benson site, a late sixteenth century Huron village near Balsam Lake, Ontario. It is suggested that one household acquired trade links to Europeans in the St. Lawrence valley, and as a result became the largest and most prestigious household in the community. Subsequently, a second household expanded to a comparable size, but did so in opposition to the first house, and represented the “traditionalist” faction. Ultimately, the traditionalist faction prevailed, and the more progressive house was dismantled, and its inhabitants moved elsewhere.
Research Interests: Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology, Anthropology, Northeastern North America (Archaeology), Archaeological Method & Theory, and 11 moreMicrohistory, North American archaeology, Social Organisation (Archaeology), History of Everyday Life, Prehistoric Settlement, Household Archaeology, Huron Archaeology, Iroquoian Archaeology, Great Lakes Archaeology, Post processual archaeology, and Post-Processual Archaeology
The paper suggests multiple ethnic origins for the Iroquois of the lower Great Lakes, and advances the hypothesis that Iroquoian language was introduced into the Northeast through a process of contact-induced language change among groups... more
The paper suggests multiple ethnic origins for the Iroquois of the lower Great Lakes, and advances the hypothesis that Iroquoian language was introduced into the Northeast through a process of contact-induced language change among groups of indigenous Late Woodland Algonkian speakers.
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A compilation of known sites from the upper reaches of the Trent valley and the Gull River extending into the Haliburton Highlands indicates that throughout much of prehistory the area witnessed little, if any, human occupation. Two... more
A compilation of known sites from the upper reaches of the Trent valley and the Gull River extending into the Haliburton Highlands indicates that throughout much of prehistory the area witnessed little, if any, human occupation. Two episodes of significant occupation are the Middle Archaic and the Late Iroquoian period. The Middle Archaic is represented by a number of early Laurentian occupation sites and later Laurentian find spots, suggesting a brief colonization of the area during the earlier period, followed by a period of less intensive use. Parallels between the Archaic and Iroquoian episodes of occupation prompt the suggestion that while climate may have been a factor in both cases, other less archaeologically tangible factors are equally likely to have been at work.
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The basic unit of the Iroquoian village, and thus of the interpretation of Iroquoian prehistory is the household. An innovative approach to investigating household features at the Benson site reveals that life histories of Iroquoian... more
The basic unit of the Iroquoian village, and thus of the interpretation of Iroquoian prehistory is the household. An innovative approach to investigating household features at the Benson site reveals that life histories of Iroquoian houses are both specific and complex. By contrast, many interpretations have assumed a simplistic uniformity between Iroquoian households and communities and do not take into account the uniqueness of the individual house. By confronting this complexity on a smaller scale, i.e. through the lifecycle of the house, it becomes clear that larger scale analyses, including things like demography and village dynamics are equally complex and therefore must be re-evaluated.
Research Interests: Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology, Anthropology, Northeastern North America (Archaeology), Archaeological Method & Theory, and 8 moreNorth American archaeology, Social Organisation (Archaeology), Prehistoric Settlement, Household Archaeology, Southern Ontario prehistory, Huron Archaeology, Iroquoian Archaeology, and Great Lakes Archaeology
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"No abstract as such, but this blurb at the head of the chapter: "Peter Ramsden is an anthropological archaeologist whose primary research has been focussed on the culture of the Huron of Ontario. In the spirit of the new developments... more
"No abstract as such, but this blurb at the head of the chapter:
"Peter Ramsden is an anthropological archaeologist whose primary research has been focussed on the culture of the Huron of Ontario. In the spirit of the new developments in archaeological interpretation, he takes on here the task of making sense of death practices of the Huron. He finds, on introspection, that understanding the structure of Huron death and dying helps him to understand his own culture's attitude toward death. In this chapter, Ramsden proposes an analytical model of the relation between life/death and living/dying that may have very wide application."
There is no "References Cited" section in this pdf, since they were all together at the end of the book.
Note: David and Dorothy Counts were kind enough to allow me to participate in this conference they organized at McMaster, and to contribute this chapter to the resulting book. It might be useful to point out that the book was intended as much for professionals who deal with those who are grieving, as for academic audiences. Writing this paper required me to dive into a whole world of academic and clinical literature that I knew absolutely nothing about. The conference was quite a life-changing experience, and I have always been grateful to Dave and Dorothy for including me."
"Peter Ramsden is an anthropological archaeologist whose primary research has been focussed on the culture of the Huron of Ontario. In the spirit of the new developments in archaeological interpretation, he takes on here the task of making sense of death practices of the Huron. He finds, on introspection, that understanding the structure of Huron death and dying helps him to understand his own culture's attitude toward death. In this chapter, Ramsden proposes an analytical model of the relation between life/death and living/dying that may have very wide application."
There is no "References Cited" section in this pdf, since they were all together at the end of the book.
Note: David and Dorothy Counts were kind enough to allow me to participate in this conference they organized at McMaster, and to contribute this chapter to the resulting book. It might be useful to point out that the book was intended as much for professionals who deal with those who are grieving, as for academic audiences. Writing this paper required me to dive into a whole world of academic and clinical literature that I knew absolutely nothing about. The conference was quite a life-changing experience, and I have always been grateful to Dave and Dorothy for including me."
Research Interests: Archaeology, Anthropology, Death, Death Studies, Death & Dying (Thanatology), and 11 moreDeath and Burial (Archaeology), Anthropology of Death, Grief (Psychology), Death Attitudes, Mortuary archaeology, Mortuary Practices, Archaeology of death and burial, Death, Grief, and Mourning, Cross cultural studies of grief, Prehistoric and Historic Mortuary Practices, and Mortuary Archaeolgy
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Briefly describes the results and interpretation of field-walking and sediment coring in the Barrow River valley, southeastern Ireland, and suggests implications for Mesolithic and Neolithic land use.
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First page of a biographical profile of avocational archaeologist Fritz Knechtel, active in the Bruce Peninsula of Ontario from the 1930s to 1975.
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An examination of the structure of Iroquoian villages and the nature of palisade extensions in the Balsam Lake area of south central Ontario suggests a hypothetical series of stages through which such communities may have expanded to... more
An examination of the structure of Iroquoian villages and the nature of palisade extensions in the Balsam Lake area of south central Ontario suggests a hypothetical series of stages through which such communities may have expanded to accommodate immigrant populations.
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From Timepiece to Time Machine: Scale and Complexity in Iroquoian Archaeology Lisa Fogt and Peter Ramsden McMaster University The basic unit of the Iroquoian village, and thus of the interpretation of Iroquoian prehistory is the household... more
From Timepiece to Time Machine: Scale and Complexity in Iroquoian Archaeology Lisa Fogt and Peter Ramsden McMaster University The basic unit of the Iroquoian village, and thus of the interpretation of Iroquoian prehistory is the household An innovative approach to ...
Research Interests: Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology, Anthropology, Northeastern North America (Archaeology), Archaeological Method & Theory, and 8 moreNorth American archaeology, Social Organisation (Archaeology), Prehistoric Settlement, Household Archaeology, Southern Ontario prehistory, Huron Archaeology, Iroquoian Archaeology, and Great Lakes Archaeology
... In particular I thank Mima Kapches, Dean Knight, Marti Latta, Rick Sutton, Colin Varley, Gary Warrick and Ron Williamson. ... Paper presented at the Annual Conference of the Canadian Archaeological Association, Kelowna, BC Steckley,... more
... In particular I thank Mima Kapches, Dean Knight, Marti Latta, Rick Sutton, Colin Varley, Gary Warrick and Ron Williamson. ... Paper presented at the Annual Conference of the Canadian Archaeological Association, Kelowna, BC Steckley, JL 1993 Huron Kinship Terminology. ...
Research Interests: Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology, Northeastern North America (Archaeology), Archaeological Method & Theory, North American archaeology, and 7 moreArchaeology of ethnicity, Southern Ontario prehistory, Huron Archaeology, Iroquoian Archaeology, Great Lakes Archaeology, Archaeology Ontario, and Huron-Wendat
This paper summarizes four common interpretations of the presence of Saint Lawrence Iroquoian artifacts on Huron sites in the Trent Valley, Ontario, and evaluates them in the light of recent archaeological data from the Balsam Lake area.... more
This paper summarizes four common interpretations of the presence of Saint Lawrence Iroquoian artifacts on Huron sites in the Trent Valley, Ontario, and evaluates them in the light of recent archaeological data from the Balsam Lake area. It is noted that acceptance or rejection of any interpretation is in part a function of theoretical orientation. An explanation involving the adoption of Saint Lawrence Iroquoian population remnants by allied Huron communities is considered most consistent with the archaeological data, within a theoretical framework that incorporates issues of power relations and the social meaning of material culture.
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This comment argues that Latta's (1987) recent interpretation of certain ceramic items on sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Ontario Iroquoian sites as imitations of Catholic chalices is contrary to the chronological distribution of... more
This comment argues that Latta's (1987) recent interpretation of certain ceramic items on sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Ontario Iroquoian sites as imitations of Catholic chalices is contrary to the chronological distribution of the artifacts, is inconsistent with the nature of contemporaneous chalices, and ignores more-plausible alternative interpretations.
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In considering cultural changes in southern Ontario between about 250 B.C. and A.D. 1500, spanning the Middle and Late Woodland periods, an attempt is made to integrate settlement patterns, burials and ceramic decoration. It is suggested... more
In considering cultural changes in southern Ontario between about 250 B.C. and A.D. 1500, spanning the Middle and Late Woodland periods, an attempt is made to integrate settlement patterns, burials and ceramic decoration. It is suggested that long-term culture change can be understood as a result of the continual interaction between material culture, ritual, ideology, economy and social structure. The constant renegotiation of the meanings of material snd ritual communication, including the accidental attribution of new meanings, can be a significant force for cultural change.
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The late sixteenth century Huron-Wendat Benson site in the Balsam Lake area of south-central Ontario has produced substantial quantities of a characteristic 'barred' ceramic motif found virtually nowhere else. In addition, it has produced... more
The late sixteenth century Huron-Wendat Benson site in the Balsam Lake area of south-central Ontario has produced substantial quantities of a characteristic 'barred' ceramic motif found virtually nowhere else. In addition, it has produced ceramics that are "hybrids" of Huron-Wendat and St. Lawrence Iroquoian styles. An analysis of these ceramics leads to the interpretation that they are part of a complex process of power brokering by women in the community. In part this entails symbolic resistance on the part of adopted St. Lawrence Iroquoian women. At the same time, it reveals a strategy used by both St. Lawrence Iroquoian and Huron-Wendat women of sending signals of ambiguous political allegiance, either to achieve a degree of political flexibility, or to attempt to mediate between the community's two competing political factions.
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Research Interests: Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology, Gender Studies, Social Identity, Northeastern North America (Archaeology), and 19 moreIdentity (Culture), Ontario Archaeology, Politics, Identity politics, Gender, Late Woodland (Archaeology in Northeastern North America), Iroquoian Societies (Archaeology), History of Ontario, Ethnicity, Southern Ontario prehistory, Huron Archaeology, Iroquoian Archaeology, Great Lakes Archaeology, St. Lawrence Iroquoians, Prehistory of the Great Lakes region, Archaeology Ontario, Huron Archaeology & Culture, Huron-Wendat, and Huron-Wendat archaeology
A ceramic pipe bowl from the late 16th century Benson site in South-central Ontario gives rise to some inferences regarding gender identities in this community.
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This article argues that prehistoric cultural developments on opposite sides of the North Atlantic were not as separate as they are usually perceived, and that the Mesolithic-Neolithic transition has synchronous analogies in the... more
This article argues that prehistoric cultural developments on opposite sides of the North Atlantic were not as separate as they are usually perceived, and that the Mesolithic-Neolithic transition
has synchronous analogies in the northeastern North American Archaic. It is further argued that this is an example of similar adaptive responses, by similar cultures, to broad-scale environmental changes that spanned the North Atlantic.
has synchronous analogies in the northeastern North American Archaic. It is further argued that this is an example of similar adaptive responses, by similar cultures, to broad-scale environmental changes that spanned the North Atlantic.
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The paper reviews the history of ideas concerning the origins of Dorset culture in the eastern Arctic. We suggest that while the evidence for the derivation of Early Dorset from Pre-Dorset is sound, the evidence for the subsequent... more
The paper reviews the history of ideas concerning the origins of Dorset culture in the eastern Arctic. We suggest that while the evidence for the derivation of Early Dorset from Pre-Dorset is sound, the evidence for the subsequent evolution of Early Dorset into Middle and Late Dorset is far less so. We argue that Early Dorset, Independence II and Groswater are most accurately characterised as the terminal phases of regional 'pre-Dorset' sequences, whereas Middle Dorset, on present evidence, appears to represent a new and distinctive cultural tradition.
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This was a very brief research-in-progress report on methods of acquiring thin-section data from samples of deer and seal teeth to estimate season of death.
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The richness of the archaeological record of 'Huronia' is favorably compared with that of the Valley of Mexico and the Neolithic in southern Britain. This demonstrated richness, both realized and potential, is then contrasted with the... more
The richness of the archaeological record of 'Huronia' is favorably compared with that of the Valley of Mexico and the Neolithic in southern Britain. This demonstrated richness, both realized and potential, is then contrasted with the limitations to interpretation which are created by the reliance on historical approaches to Huron archaeology.
Research Interests: Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology, Northeastern North America (Archaeology), Archaeological Method & Theory, North American archaeology, and 7 moreArchaeology of ethnicity, Southern Ontario prehistory, Huron Archaeology, Iroquoian Archaeology, Great Lakes Archaeology, Archaeology Ontario, and Huron-Wendat
Specific seasons of occupation are inferred for some types of early Pre-Dorset structures at Back Bay, Prince of Wales Island, based on structure type, location, and faunal content. It is suggested that large, well-defined tent rings... more
Specific seasons of occupation are inferred for some types of early Pre-Dorset structures at Back Bay, Prince of Wales Island, based on structure type, location, and faunal content. It is suggested that large, well-defined tent rings represent warm season skin tents, while smaller more ephemeral features represent cold season snow-walled structures. Based on the multiseason use of this single locality, we suggest a settlement pattern of short-term residential stability with periodic moves to new locations.
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This was an invited comment on a then-ongoing debate between Norman Clermont and Dean Snow regarding the demographic implications of in situ versus migration explanations of Iroquoian origins.
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This paper summarizes four common interpretations of the presence of Saint Lawrence Iroquoian artifacts on Huron sites in the Trent Valley, Ontario, and evaluates them in the light of recent archaeological data from the Balsam Lake area.... more
This paper summarizes four common interpretations of the presence of Saint Lawrence Iroquoian artifacts on Huron sites in the Trent Valley, Ontario, and evaluates them in the light of recent archaeological data from the Balsam Lake area. It is noted that acceptance or rejection of any interpretation is in part a function of theoretical orientation. An explanation involving the adoption of Saint Lawrence Iroquoian population remnants by allied Huron communities is considered most consistent with the archaeological data, within a theoretical framework that incorporates issues of power relations and the social meaning of material culture.
Research Interests: Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology, Material Culture Studies, Northeastern North America (Archaeology), Archaeological Method & Theory, and 7 moreNorth American archaeology, Late Woodland (Archaeology in Northeastern North America), Archaeology of ethnicity, Huron Archaeology, Iroquoian Archaeology, St. Lawrence Iroquoians, and Huron-Wendat
In considering cultural changes in southern Ontario between about 250 B.C. and A.D. 1500, spanning the Middle and Late Woodland periods, an attempt is made to integrate settlement patterns, burials and ceramic decoration. It is suggested... more
In considering cultural changes in southern Ontario between about 250 B.C. and A.D. 1500, spanning the Middle and Late Woodland periods, an attempt is made to integrate settlement patterns, burials and ceramic decoration. It is suggested that long-term culture change can be understood as a result of the continual interaction between between culture, ritual, ideology, economy and social structure. The constant renegotiation of the meanings of material and ritual communication, including the accidental attribution of new meanings, can be a significant force for culture change.
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This comment argues that Latta's (1987) recent interpretation of certain ceramic items on sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Ontario Iroquoian sites as imitations of Catholic chalices is contrary to the chronological distribution of the... more
This comment argues that Latta's (1987) recent interpretation of certain ceramic items on sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Ontario Iroquoian sites as imitations of Catholic chalices is contrary to the chronological distribution of the artifacts, is inconsistent with the nature of contemporaneous chalices, and ignores more plausible alternative interpretations.
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Late Archaic artifacts from a test excavation at the Winter Site, near Ospringe, Ontario, show typological affinities with those of the Lamoka Phase of central and western New York, and those of the McIntyre Site near Rice Lake. The... more
Late Archaic artifacts from a test excavation at the Winter Site, near Ospringe, Ontario, show typological affinities with those of the Lamoka Phase of central and western New York, and those of the McIntyre Site near Rice Lake. The Winter Site appears to have been located to take advantage of areas of deer habitat. The appearance of a Lamoka-related Archaic culture in this area may have been due to the expansion of habitat suitable for deer ca 5000-4000 B.P.
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Okay, I apologize for this one beforehand. Another case where one of my colleagues who believed I had some familiarity with humour asked me to write something...in this case for TA PANTA, a literary/discussion/art magazine put out by the... more
Okay, I apologize for this one beforehand. Another case where one of my colleagues who believed I had some familiarity with humour asked me to write something...in this case for TA PANTA, a literary/discussion/art magazine put out by the McMaster Faculty Association for a while in the 80s. I chose to write about something I happened to have been thinking about - namely, why are jokes funny? The resulting article raised some eyebrows, but also had people badgering me for weeks to tell them the joke. I like to think it may also have been partly responsible for a call from a faculty member at the Medical School to ban the magazine entirely.
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An examination of the structure of Iroquoian villages and the nature of palisade extensions in the Balsam Lake area of south central Ontario suggests a hypothetical series of stages through which such communities may have expanded to... more
An examination of the structure of Iroquoian villages and the nature of palisade extensions in the Balsam Lake area of south central Ontario suggests a hypothetical series of stages through which such communities may have expanded to accommodate immigrant populations.
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Very brief report on a dog coprolite from the lowest level of the late Archaic (ca 1150 BC) Rocky Ridge site at Inverhuron, Ontario.
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A metallurgical analysis of 21 copper-based artifacts from 9 Iroquoian sites dating between A.D. 1550 and 1650, along with one sample of native copper from Algoma, suggests that a pattern is discernable in the changing metal content of... more
A metallurgical analysis of 21 copper-based artifacts from 9 Iroquoian sites dating between A.D. 1550 and 1650, along with one sample of native copper from Algoma, suggests that a pattern is discernable in the changing metal content of these artifacts through time. The earliest samples tend to be predominantly copper, and may be difficult to distinguish from native copper, while the later ones are more likely to contain increasing amounts of other inclusions. It is suggested that this change reflects a changing industrial base in France in the late sixteenth century, and a shift from the exportation of high-quality goods to the mass production of cheaper goods specifically for the export trade.
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An infant burial in a longhouse at the protohistoric Benson site in the upper Trent river valley suggests the existence in the late 16th century of some childbirth-related practices described by Sagard in Huronia one or two generations... more
An infant burial in a longhouse at the protohistoric Benson site in the upper Trent river valley suggests the existence in the late 16th century of some childbirth-related practices described by Sagard in Huronia one or two generations later. It also gives rise to the suggestion that not all in-house burials were expressions of a conscious burial pattern.
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This was written for a general audience, and was published in Rotunda, the magazine of the Royal Ontario Museum. The editor had heard me being interviewed on Peter Gzowski's CBC morning radio show, and invited me to submit an article. I... more
This was written for a general audience, and was published in Rotunda, the magazine of the Royal Ontario Museum. The editor had heard me being interviewed on Peter Gzowski's CBC morning radio show, and invited me to submit an article. I took the opportunity to write about an issue that was on my mind at the time, namely the amount of change that occurred in many aboriginal societies as a result of the ripple effects of European presence on the east coast of North America, long before those societies were contacted directly by Europeans.
This was also a learning experience. Since Rotunda was a glossy, commercial magazine, the article was extensively re-written by the editorial staff to suit their ideas of the interests of their readers, and incorporating many ideas that came up in my conversations with the editor. The final version bears only a partial resemblance to article I initially submitted.
This was also a learning experience. Since Rotunda was a glossy, commercial magazine, the article was extensively re-written by the editorial staff to suit their ideas of the interests of their readers, and incorporating many ideas that came up in my conversations with the editor. The final version bears only a partial resemblance to article I initially submitted.
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This was a partly tongue-in-cheek talk prepared for a department seminar, which often served as a forum for people to give papers they had always wanted to give but never had the guts. Because the (then) editor of the journal Culture... more
This was a partly tongue-in-cheek talk prepared for a department seminar, which often served as a forum for people to give papers they had always wanted to give but never had the guts. Because the (then) editor of the journal Culture knew that I had the goods on him, he agreed to publish it as a commentary. The paper makes a comparison between the theory and practice of archaeology and various forms of magic.
Research Interests: Epistemology, Theories of Meaning, Hermeneutics, Phenomenology, Archaeological Method & Theory, and 11 moreMagic, Social Epistemology, Witchcraft (Magic), Magical Practices, Witchcraft, Religion and Magic, Humour Studies, Humour, Inductive Inference, Incomprehensibility, Ideational Meaning, and Inferential Spaces
In 17th century Huron society, the distribution of material items associated with the fur trade (beaver pelts, wampum and European metal goods) was a prominent feature of certain ritualised activities, including burial, gambling, dream... more
In 17th century Huron society, the distribution of material items associated with the fur trade (beaver pelts, wampum and European metal goods) was a prominent feature of certain
ritualised activities, including burial, gambling, dream fulfillment and crime payment. This paper suggests that these activities became elaborated during the historic period because they were capable of redistributing or eliminating new forms and quantities of wealth which would otherwise have had a socially disruptive effect.
ritualised activities, including burial, gambling, dream fulfillment and crime payment. This paper suggests that these activities became elaborated during the historic period because they were capable of redistributing or eliminating new forms and quantities of wealth which would otherwise have had a socially disruptive effect.
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This paper presents evidence in support of the hypothesis that Iroquoian people in south-central Ontario were participating in a trade in furs which found their way to European buyers in exchange for metal goods, among other things, by... more
This paper presents evidence in support of the hypothesis that Iroquoian people in south-central Ontario were participating in a trade in furs which found their way to European buyers in exchange for metal goods, among other things, by A.D. 1500; and, further, that involvement in this trade had profoundly affected many aspects of Iroquoian settlement, social structure and political behaviour by that date.
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An academic directory and search engine.
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This review of Birch and Williamson's book "The Mantle Site. An Archaeological History of an Ancestral Wendat Community" was written for North Atlantic Archaeology, Vol. 3. Even though I had written another review of the book for... more
This review of Birch and Williamson's book "The Mantle Site. An Archaeological History of an Ancestral Wendat Community" was written for North Atlantic Archaeology, Vol. 3. Even though I had written another review of the book for Ontario Archaeology, the editor of NAA felt the book was important enough that I should write a differently focussed review, aimed at the journal's more international audience.
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Published in Ontario Archaeology No. 93, 2013, pp. 219-223
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A case study is presented from the Benson site, a small, late 16th century community in south-central Ontario, that appears to have been occupied by members of two or possibly three ethnic groups. While ceramic motifs and pipe styles,... more
A case study is presented from the Benson site, a small, late 16th century community in south-central Ontario, that appears to have been occupied by members of two or possibly three ethnic groups. While ceramic motifs and pipe styles, among other artifacts, carried traditional ethnic significance, this paper argues that while ethnicity may have been the language employed, the conversation was about politics. It goes on to generalize from this and to suggest that it may commonly be the case that what we recognize as ethnicity is really a political conversation employing readily understood ethnic metaphors.
Research Interests: Northeastern North America (Archaeology), Late Woodland (Archaeology in Northeastern North America), Iroquoian Societies (Archaeology), Archaeology of ethnicity, Ethnicity, and 7 moreCeramics (Archaeology), Archaeology and politics, Huron Archaeology, Iroquoian Archaeology, St. Lawrence Iroquoians, Huron-Wendat, and Ethnicity and Identity Politics
This paper suggests that the 'boundary' between the Iroquoian-speaking Hurons and their Algonkian-speaking neighbours to the north was not so much a boundary as a zone of transition. Material culture, settlement and language varied... more
This paper suggests that the 'boundary' between the Iroquoian-speaking Hurons and their Algonkian-speaking neighbours to the north was not so much a boundary as a zone of transition. Material culture, settlement and language varied independently across this zone, and not according to any simple notion of ethnicity.
Note: this paper was given a long time ago, when the Algonkian speakers of the north shore of Lake Huron were still generally referred to as Ojibwa.
Note: this paper was given a long time ago, when the Algonkian speakers of the north shore of Lake Huron were still generally referred to as Ojibwa.
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A re-consideration of the few (possibly) acceptable Thule carbon dates from Labrador, in light of recent re-assessments of Thule radiocarbon chronology more generally, indicates that the Thule/Inuit entered Labrador ca AD 1500, and moved... more
A re-consideration of the few (possibly) acceptable Thule carbon dates from Labrador, in light of recent re-assessments of Thule radiocarbon chronology more generally, indicates that the Thule/Inuit entered Labrador ca AD 1500, and moved southward along the coast very rapidly, settling at least as far south as Sandwich Bay. This was in all likelihood part of a general re-adjustment of Thule/Inuit settlement areas following the collapse of the Greenland Norse colonies ca AD 1480, and the arrival in the late 15th century of other European fishers and whalers in the western North Atlantic, including the coast of Labrador.
Research Interests:
I have always tried to impress on students the value of doing research in more than one archaeological region, and of having first-hand experience with ways of life that are more closely tied to the landscape than those of the typical... more
I have always tried to impress on students the value of doing research in more than one archaeological region, and of having first-hand experience with ways of life that are more closely tied to the landscape than those of the typical academic. While I still firmly believe that those things are valuable, I realize I have never actually demonstrated that. I will try to do so in this presentation, with reference to my own experiences in archaeology. I may or may not succeed. I hope to use examples from my research in Ontario (Archaic and Iroquoian), the Arctic (Paleoeskimo and Thule) and southeast Ireland (Mesolithic and Neolithic).
Research Interests:
This paper examines the occurrence and distribution of a new ceramic motif among the Upper Trent Valley Huron-Wendat of the mid 16th century: stamped horizontal bars on the neck of the vessel. I suggest that the motif originally occurred... more
This paper examines the occurrence and distribution of a new ceramic motif among the Upper Trent Valley Huron-Wendat of the mid 16th century: stamped horizontal bars on the neck of the vessel. I suggest that the motif originally occurred on the pipes used by St. Lawrence Iroquoian men, and became transferred to pots during the process of negotiating the adoption of St. Lawrence Iroquoian refugees into Trent Valley Huron-Wendat communities. I try to demonstrate that this was part of a wider process of negotiating and internalizing a new hybrid St. Lawrence/Huron-Wendat identity.