Category: Special Finds
By Corey Cookson
April 10, 2018
Features of a Flake
Back in 2015 I was dropped off by a helicopter in the middle of a large muskeg to assess a cutblock for Alberta-Pacific Forest Industries. After trudging my way through the swamp to the cutblock, I found a very prominent but small hill. I put my shovel in the ground and I found one large,
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By Reid Graham
April 4, 2018
We Know How Old Stone Points Are, Right?
Back in September of 2017, I found what would probably be one of the coolest artifacts that I will ever find in my field survey career. My coworker Vince and I got up one fateful morning and set out on our four hour quad ride into one of the most beautiful areas in Northern Alberta:
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By Corey Cookson
January 30, 2018
Peace River Chert Biface
In the summer of 2016, this tool was identified while inspecting the exposures along an in-block road for Boucher Bros Lumber. It is likely the bottom portion of a biface that broke during manufacture or use. It is made from Peace River Chert, a material common to the Peace River region.
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By Corey Cookson
December 11, 2017
Find the Flake (Part 2!)
While we always prefer to survey areas prior to any impacts, the identification of artifacts in post-impact contexts can be easier because of large areas of exposed sediments. Instead of targeted shovel tests that excavate a very small percentage of a high potential area, we can potentially see everything that is under the ground. However,
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By Madeline Coleman
November 1, 2017
What do you see?
Everyone will interpret shapes and lines their own way. But once someone points out an image they see, sometimes you wonder “how did I not see that?”. A member of the Paul First Nations group took one look at this biface (from the Brazeau Reservoir) and saw a Bison. Can you see it? Scroll down
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By Reid Graham
May 15, 2017
The One That Got Away
In this blog series, we will be reviewing and summarizing recent archaeological research occurring in the province and around the world. To see the original article, and others like it check out the Blue Book Series presented by the Archaeological Survey of Alberta. When we find animal bone in an archaeological site, we can usually tell whether that animal
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By Corey Cookson
March 30, 2017
Bison Jaw and Horse Tooth
At our Archaeological Roadshow event in Lac La Biche, AB Allan and Juanita Gaudreault brought in a collection of fossils. The fossils were fragments of a darkly stained bison jaw and a set of blueish grey horse teeth. Mr. Gaudreault told us the specimens were found in a low area near a lake. We came up
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By Corey Cookson
March 6, 2017
Ground Stone Artifact
At our Archaeology Roadshow in Lac La Biche, AB in fall 2015 a local resident brought in an interesting artifact that was found on a farm near Camrose, AB in the 1940s. The artifact is a 5 and 1/2” round stone with a wide, shallow depression on one side and a smaller lipped depression on
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By Reid Graham
June 16, 2016
Bone Needle
This week we showcase a very unique artifact, a bone needle. This tool is very long and thick compared to the modern steel needles that we are more familiar with, but it still very sharp at the tip. The eye of the needle is diamond-shaped and tapered, which shows us that the eye was made by
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By Teresa Tremblay
June 8, 2016
End Scraper
This week we feature a stone tool found upstream on Fall Creek, about 55 km west of the community of Caroline, AB. We were undertaking an assessment for Sundre Forest Products and testing a flat area overlooking the creek (shown below) when Ryan found the end scraper shown above. A “scraper” is a type of
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