ARCHAEOLOGIST BOB PEARCE ANSWERS SOME FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS



What is archaeology?

Archaeology is the study of the people of the past through recovery and analysis of the artifacts and features they left behind, correlated with the context of those artifacts and features.


What is an artifact?

Any object shaped or modified by people, or as a result of human activity.


What education and training does an archaeologist have?

Most professional archaeologists have an advanced University degree (Masters or Doctorate) with specialization in the archaeological branch of anthropology, coupled with several years of experience working on various types of archaeological sites.


What education and training do you have?

I received a general Bachelor of Arts degree from the Faculty of Social Science, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario (three years); a Master of Arts degree from the Department of Anthropology, Trent University, Peterborough, Ontario (one year for Honours B.A. and two years for Masters Degree); and a Ph. D. ("Doctorem Philosophiae") from the Department of Anthropology and Faculty of Graduate Studies, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec (one year residency plus three years to write thesis).

I began working on an archaeological site during my first year of University, and throughout subsequent University years worked on numerous archaeological projects throughout southern Ontario. Also, I spent one summer (16 weeks) working on a major rescue/salvage excavation at Fengate, on the outskirts of Peterborough, England, for Mr. Francis Pryor. In 1975 I was one of the members of the large field crew excavating the prehistoric Huron Draper village site near Pickering Ontario, under the direction of Mr. Bill Finlayson. After graduation from Trent University, I was employed on a six-month contract under Finlayson at the Museum of Indian Archaeology, London (now Museum of Ontario Archaeology). Over the past twenty years I have been employed at the Museum of Ontario Archaeology (excepting a one year leave to fulfil residency requirements at McGill University, for a doctoral thesis), working on over 400 archaeological projects throughout southern Ontario and the southern fringe of northern Ontario.


Do archaeologists dig up dinosaur bones?

No, this is a popular misconception. Archaeologists are primarily concerned with the prehistoric and early historic occupants of the area. The study of dinosaurs, and of fossils, is in the realm of palaeontology, defined as the study of fossil organisms. Palaeontologists normally have advanced degrees in sciences, and work in Departments of Geology or Earth Sciences. However, there is some overlap between archaeology and palaeontology in the Old World, concerning the study of "fossilman" and the origins of man.


What is the distinction between "prehistoric" and"historic"?

In southern Ontario, prehistoric archaeology covers the study of human occupation between the Palaeo-Indian period circa 9,000 B.C. to the Late Woodland period circa A.D. 1550. The "historic" era begins in the late sixteenth century when the first European-made artifacts were traded into southern Ontario, followed shortly thereafter by contacts between the indigenous Native population and European explorers and missionaries, who left written accounts of their travels and contacts (i.e.the writings of Samuel de Champlain, edited by H.P. Biggar and published in 1926; the writings of Father Gabriel Sagard, edited by G.M. Wrong and published in 1939; and The Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents, edited by R.G. Thwaites and published between 1896 and 1901). Technically, the "historic" era continues into the late nineteenth to early twentieth century, to encompass archaeological investigations at pioneer settler sites such as log cabins, homesteads, blacksmith shops, mills, etc.


What types of sites have you worked on?


What is the most fascinating artifact you have ever found?

I guess I'd say that was an effigy pipe - a clay (ceramic) pipe bowl moulded to represent an abstract human form (torso and head, with eyes, ears, nose and mouth).

What is "chert"?

The most prevalent type of artifact found on a prehistoric site is a chert flake. Chert is a coarse type of siliceous rock (a form of flint or chalcedony), which was the primary raw material used by the aboriginal inhabitants of southern Ontario for the manufacture of a wide variety of tools including projectile points (spear and arrowheads), drills, knives and scrapers. Chert occurs naturally under specific geological conditions in bedrock formations, where it can be "mined" or extracted in chunks or nodules. But glaciation wreaked havoc on the landscape, and nodules of various types of chert were distributed as glacial outwash and in moraines throughout southern Ontario. For example, nodules of Onondaga chert which originates in veins in the Onondaga Escarpment in the Fort Erie to Port Colbourne area of the Niagara Peninsula can be found today on the surface of fields around London. Chert nodules were hammered and flaked into the rough outline of a "biface" or preform, and then finely flaked into a finished tool such as an arrowhead. In the process of making a biface or a finished tool, hundreds of small waste flakes are removed and discarded. Archaeologists frequently first find a scatter of these chert waste flakes (debitage), an important clue towards documenting a site. The waste flakes themselves sometimes have razor-sharp edges which were simply an expedient tool for cutting or scraping, so it is important for the archaeologist to carefully examine the edges of each and every flake. Detailed archaeological excavation of a large camp site or an Iroquoian village site might result in the recovery of thousands of chert flakes.

What types of artifacts do you normally find on a site?

The types of artifacts found varies by the type and age of the site.

In 1995-1996 the Museum of Ontario Archaeology totally excavated the Ridge site, a special-purpose component dating to the prehistoric Neutral Iroquoian period circa A.D. 1500. The site was small, covering an area of 0.5 hectare, and consisted of two longhouses with a "midden" or garbage dump located outside one end of each longhouse. Yet we discovered over 6500 artifacts. The site is interpreted as an Iroquoian agricultural cabin site or hamlet, which would have only been occupied from spring to fall over the course of a few years. It is believed that small groups of men, women and children left a much larger main village in the area, and set up small cabins in or beside fields where corn, beans and squash were grown. They would stay at these cabins to tend the crops, then return to the village for the long, cold winter with a plentiful supply of harvested crops. While at the cabins, they also collected and processed wild plants foods (nuts and berries); hunted and fished and dried or processed the meat; made and used several stone and bone tools; and enjoyed games and leisure time activities.

The range and frequency of the various types of artifacts listed below provides an example of what is typically found on an Iroquoian agricultural cabin site or hamlet in the London area:


How do you find sites?

The single most common way that archaeologists discover new sites is simple - walking over a freshly ploughed or cultivated field, examining the weathered and bare ground surface for the presence of artifacts. Also, archaeologists rely on information supplied by previous landowners, or by farmers who till the fields.


Can anybody pick up artifacts?

No. Since 1975, provincial legislation (the Ontario Heritage Act, administered by the Ministry of Culture) stipulates that all archaeological fieldwork must be conducted by or under the supervision of a person holding a valid archaeological licence. Archaeologists must make application each year to the Ministry of Culture for a licence to conduct archaeological fieldwork. Part of the licencing process makes it necessary for the licenced archaeologist to receive permission from a landowner to: a) enter property to conduct fieldwork; and b) remove artifacts.


What should I do if I find an arrowhead in my garden?

You should report your discovery to an archaeologist or to a local Museum. Part of my job at the Museum of Ontario Archaeology includes the identification of artifacts brought in by the public. We do not insist that the public donate their artifacts, but that is one option. What is more important is that we are able to document the discovery and record the location where it was found.

For example, last year, a man and his daughter brought in an arrowhead they had found in their garden. I determined that it was a "Nettling" type, characteristic of the Early Archaic period circa 8000 - 6000 B.C. I recorded the discovery and returned the arrowhead to them. They had a hard time believing it was really that old, so I wrote out a little description of it and a chronological chart, which the daughter used for a brief presentation to her school class.


Does your Museum buy artifacts?

Absolutely not! There is no monetary value attached to an artifact or collection of artifacts. Rather, the importance of the artifact lies in what it can tell us - what it is (artifact type); how old it is (chronological period or cultural affiliation); and, where it was found (precise location). It is also important to know the association - was it a single, isolated discovery, or were other artifacts found with it or beside it?