Terminal Woodland
Early Farmers
Agriculture based on corn, and later squash and beans proved to be a reliable way of obtaining food, although fishing and hunting still remained important. By the time of the Late Woodland Period (A.D. 900 - 1,550) the bow and arrow had replaced the atlatl and spear.
During the Terminal Woodland Period archaeologists recognize a cultural development which eventually led to the Historic Period tribes: The Huron, Petun, and Neutral. This development, called the ONTARIO IROQUOIS TRADITION, is subdivided into three phases: early, late, and middle.
During the Early Phase (A.D. 900 - 1,300) settlements became year-round bases of operation for some or all of the population. These early villages consisted of LONGHOUSESsurrounded by a row of posts serving as PALISADES. MIDDENS or garbage dumps were scattered throughout and contain abundant evidence of the farmers' tools, smoking pipes, food, and ceremonial objects. Small hamlets were erected near the villages and were seasonally occupied to exploit specific resources (chert outcrops, fishing grounds, etc.).
During the Middle Phase (A.D. 1,300 - 1,400), houses became very long (up to at least 44 meters) and were carefully arranged within the villages. Mass burials were performed where the bones of the dead were collected and placed in a large communal pit called an ossuary.
Evidence of warfare increases during the Late Phase (A.D. 1,400 - 1,550): villages surrounded by multiple rows of palisades and earthworks/ditches, skeletal remains of enemy captives, and small percentages of foreign pottery show up on the sites. It is assumed that these encounters were with people to the west.
The Lawson Prehistoric Indian Village is a Late Woodland settlement which is continuously excavated and partially reconstructed near the Museum of Ontario Archaeology.
