Saint Lawrence Iroquoians In the Upper Trent River Valley

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.