A Museum That Moves

Inside the pages of this presentation you will find evidence of a Museum that moves for its clients. The consulting services of the Museum of Ontario Archaeology have a simple and direct mission statement: to do whatever can be done to provide excellence, and satisfaction, for our clients.

Since 1976, when consulting services were first provided by the Museum, it has grown to become one of the largest, best equipped, most experienced, and we believe, the most professional and competitive organization of its kind. Furthermore our unique affiliation with the University of Western Ontario, and association with other Canadian Universities, provide ready access to a wide variety of services and resources which are not normally available to private consultants.

You can be the judge. The following pages document how our mission statement is put into action.


History of the Museum

The Museum was founded at the University of Western Ontario in 1933, by Amos and Wilfrid Jury. In 1975 Dr. William D. Finlayson came to the University, and in that year he began coordination of what would become the single largest archaeological project undertaken in Canada - archaeological survey of thousands of acres of land expropriated for the then-proposed "New Toronto International Airport" in Pickering, and the salvage excavation of Iroquoian village sites threatened by that undertaking, including total excavation of the Draper village site.

In 1976 Dr. Finlayson was appointed Executive Director of the Museum, and the Museum began to offer consulting services. This has grown exponentially, and to date the Museum has performed several hundred heritage resource assessments. The Museum also leads the field in the provision of services to archaeological sites threatened by development.

Robert J. Pearce joined the Museum as a Research Assistant in 1977. He obtained his Ph.D. in 1981, and since 1987 has been Senior Archaeologist, directing or co-ordinating all of the Museum's projects.

Description of Services:

Fields of Specialization:

We have experience in providing archaeological or heritage services for:


What We Can Do

We can provide you with what you need - competitively and professionally - in any area of resource assessment, ranging from small scale surveys to full scale mitigation. Specifically, we can provide:

The Museum is a leader in computer applications to archaeology, including custom designed programs for data entry, processing, analysis and plotting. The use of such programs maximizes the results we are able to produce for clients while at the same time reducing time and costs.

Museum staff and associates have made significant contributions to the establishment of locational models to predict areas of high archaeological potential (where significant archaeological sites are most likely to be located), and sampling studies on archaeological data.

The Museum has developed a growing list of knowledgeable experts based in various departments of several Canadian Universities, who can provide advice and consultation, or undertake the examination or study of specific artifacts or data. Consequently, the Museum has been in the forefront of multi-disciplinary research involving such things as: remote sensing, aerial photography interpretation, soils analyses, pollen analyses, trace-element analyses and other means of examining ceramic and metal artifacts, and the identification of archaeobotanical (floral) and faunal remains

The Museum maintains relationships with the Departments of Anthropology at various Canadian Universities, allowing access to a pool of undergraduate and graduate students for both short-term summer field projects and long-term research projects.

The Museum maintains a commitment to research and to communicate the results of that research to the archaeological community and to the general public.

Without comprising our relationship with clients, and without added cost to the client, the Museum has a demonstrated track record of carrying out research arising from client-initiated resource assessments. By carrying out a large number of contracts throughout southern Ontario (and a limited number of contracts in the southern portion of Northern Ontario), the Museum has:


Who We Are

An Important Difference

As an affiliate of The University of Western Ontario, the Museum of Ontario Archaeology is able to offer specific benefits which may not necessarily be available to other organizations or private consultants:

A History of Obtaining Matched Funding

Throughout the 1970s and 1980s the Museum undertook a significant number of small, medium and large scale mitigation projects, where overall costs to the client were greatly reduced through the Museum's efforts to obtain matched funds from other sources. Due to changes in the granting policies of federal and provincial agencies and municipal governments through the 1990s, the level of such funding has been greatly reduced. However, the Museum maintains a commitment to endeavour to reduce the overall cost to the client of large scale mitigation projects.

A Commitment to Minimize Costs to Clients

The Museum maintains a philosophy that the client should only pay for what is absolutely necessary to receive the clearances and permissions necessary to proceed with development or construction. To this end, the Museum of Ontario Archaeology only charges the client for work up to and including completion of an archaeological licence report as required by the Ministry of Culture under the Ontario Heritage Act and its associated regulations. We do not believe it is fair to expect that the client should pay for "extras" which might appear in the reports of other consultants, such as the detailed processing, analysis and reporting of floral and faunal remains.

Artifacts Curated in the Public Domain

The Museum is firmly rooted as part of the University of Western Ontario, and has an impressive history and tradition stretching back to the initial founding of the Museum by Amos and Wilfrid Jury in 1933. The Museum's endowment fund ensures proper management of all artifacts and data in perpetuity. This history, tradition and security therefore ensure that all artifacts and data arising from Museum projects are properly curated and maintained in the public domain. All artifacts and data are accessible to the client at any time, and can be made available to qualified researchers.

Staff Are Paid A Salary

Museum staff receive a salary. No bonuses are paid, and no profit-sharing is offered since the Museum is a registered charitable organization. This keeps our zeal truly professional with no goal of make-work at the client's expense. Any profit earned on consulting projects is used by Museum personnel to obtain the Museum's goal of research.

Disclosure of Contracts

The Museum regularly publishes its own newsletter, The Palisade Post, and has two highly-respected publication series, Research Reports and Bulletins. These are normally produced in-house or through the facilities of the University of Western Ontario. A summary of the Museum's consulting work is normally submitted for publication in the Ontario Heritage Foundation's Annual Archaeological Report series. Museum personnel publish articles in leading journals, and make presentations at conferences. All of this is done to convey to the archaeological community and the general public the results of the Museum's work.

Closure of Cemeteries

The Museum has experience in the closure of both Native and pioneer cemeteries under the Provincial Cemeteries Act and its associated regulations. We also have experience in varied scientific methods of determining the nature and extent of cemeteries without disturbing the interments, which can lead to the formal designation and preservation of burial areas as newly-created cemeteries.

Preservation of Archaeological Sites

In many instances, the Museum has recommended that significant archaeological sites be preserved as park land or open space, rather than be excavated. We can then work closely with the client and municipal planning authorities to ensure the long-term preservation of such sites. We possess the knowledge and experience of undertaking an assessment to precisely define site boundaries. The Museum has worked with landowners, developers, surveyors and municipalities to ensure the long-term preservation of the following sites:


Background Today

In 1933 Amos and Wilfrid Jury established the Museum of Indian Archaeology and Pioneer Life in London, Ontario. Located at the University of Western Ontario, the Museum was dedicated to the study and interpretation of Ontario's prehistory and early history, and Wilf Jury became a pioneer in the emerging field of Canadian archaeology.

The Museum became an important archaeological institution in Ontario and Canada, through the numerous archaeological and historical projects undertaken by Wilf Jury. These impressive projects included:

  • excavation and reconstruction of Ste. Marie Among the Hurons in Midland
  • excavation and reconstruction of the Naval and Military Establishments in Penetanguishene
  • construction of an Indian village in Midland (the first reproduction of its kind in Canada)
  • founding of Fanshawe Pioneer Village in London
  • discovery and excavation of the Moravian Mission of Fairfield-on-the-Thames

    • Since 1976 we have continued the tradition established by Wilfrid Jury by excavating and reconstructing the prehistoric Neutral period Lawson village site, located beside the Museum in northwest London.

    In 1976 Dr. William D. Finlayson was appointed Executive Director of the Museum, following Wilfrid Jury's retirement from active work. With extensive experience in research and excavation, and as an expert in archaeological resources in Ontario, Dr. Finlayson soon began formulating plans to reorganize and expand the Museum to become a major interpretive facility and research centre.

    These plans became a reality in 1981. Today, the Museum of Ontario Archaeology is located in the modern, energy efficient 2,000 square metre Lawson-Jury Building. It houses a gallery with a permanent exhibit interpreting Ontario's 11,000 year prehistory, and space for temporary or travelling exhibits. The Museum also features a theatre, offices, laboratories and curatorial storage space. The Museum has been formally recognized as one of the finest archaeological facilities in Canada.

    The Museum is a corporation without share capital and a registered charitable organization. It is governed by a Board of Directors comprised of prominent individuals from the fields of education, business, government and the private sector.

    The Museum was reorganized in 1978 with the following goals:

    Robert J. Pearce worked for the Museum on a 1975 field project, and upon graduation with a Masters degree in archaeology in 1977 joined the Museum on a full-time basis. He took a leave in 1980-1981 to obtain his doctorate in archaeology, but returned and now co-ordinates the Museum's Contract Archaeology Centre. He possesses extensive experience in all aspects of archaeological and heritage resource consulting, through participation in over 400 projects since 1977.