Archaeology and the Commemoration of the Irish Famine: A Report from Kingston
Across eastern Canada, Irish Famine commemoration sites remind us that geopolitical tensions are not a modern phenomenon, and they can have horrific consequences. The oldest memorial was erected in 1859, within living memory of the Famine, by railway workers to commemorate the thousands who died in fever sheds at Point St. Charles, Québec. In Kingston, […]
Sentimental Jewelry in Colonial Canada: Conservation of a Sealed Locket from Stanley Barracks
A poster presentation showing the conservation treatments of a locket found at the Stanley Barracks site. The corrosion on this sentimental jewelry piece functioned to seal the edges of the locket, creating a possibility that a photo or lock of hair might be preserved inside. A treatment of mechanical removal combined with swabbing with diluted […]
Encouraging a Broader Lens in Cultural Heritage Conservation: Amplifying Voices and Layering Stories
A decade ago, common concerns related to heritage conservation that we were hearing from property owners, developers, or governmental representatives focused on the economic costs and physical building restrictions perceived to be imposed by cultural heritage policies or protective mechanisms such as designation. These concerns are still very much pervasive today but, as practitioners, we […]
Using Legacy Collections to Investigate Subtle Changes in Tionontaté Ceramic Artifacts
In 2014, ASI reached an agreement with Charles Garrad to assume curatorial responsibility for his archaeological collections, which represent his life’s work as an avocational archaeologist in the Collingwood area of Ontario. The collections are derived from 47 Tionontaté sites that date roughly from the 1450s to 1650. In the fall of 2017, a volunteer […]
Evidence of socio-economic complexity at the Precolumbian Maya site of Coco Chan, Belize
Archaeologists argue that the resiliency of Precolumbian Maya communities during the Terminal Classic collapse (800-1000 AD) in the Maya lowlands was based on their leaders’ ability to navigate the institutional and interrelational changes of the period, especially as they relate to divine kingship. This can be extended to include the leaders’ ability to adapt to […]
Hello from the Other Side: Knowledge Dissemination from CRM Archaeology in Ontario
For the last five years I have been working on disseminating knowledge about heritage and archaeology through my role as Assistant Manager of Communications at ASI, Ontario’s largest Cultural Resource Management company. My goal has been to make information about our current work accessible, by tailoring the messaging to a variety of platforms and audiences. […]
As the Creek Flows: Spatial and Chronological Distribution of Indigenous Artifacts along Seneca Creek, Caledonia, Ontario
The Seneca Creek property located in Caledonia, Ontario contains a large number of archaeological sites that span a broad temporal continuum from the Late Paleo-Indian Period (ca. 10,000 B.P.) to the Late Woodland Period (400 B.P.). Proposed development in the region has allowed Archaeological Services Inc. (ASI) to document several Indigenous lithic sites in the […]
The Exhibit Archaeology Alive! The Jean-Baptiste Lainé Site in Whitchurch-Stouffville
The Jean-Baptiste Lainé site was home to a remarkable 16th-century Huron-Wendat community located in what is now the Town of Whitchurch-Stouffville. The exhibit Archaeology Alive! The Jean-Baptiste Lainé Site in Whitchurch-Stouffville opened at the Whitchurch Stouffville Museum & Community Centre in July 2019. Join representatives from the HuronWendat Nation, Archaeological Services Inc., Ryerson University, and […]
Empathic Traditions: A New Look at an Old Collection
Niagara Falls Museums teamed up with Landscape of Nations 360° (LON) in 2019 to gain a fresh perspective and accurate account of their collection. The direction of the project was to apply Indigenous knowledge and perspectives focused on parts of the collection that had sat dormant for many years. Much of the Indigenous collection at […]
Telling Great stories: A Panel
Archaeology can be synonymous with dry and boring or with adventure and discovery. Which it is depends very much on how we talk about archaeology. When we think about it in terms of artifact lists and trait tables and whether a site has further CHVI…well…yawn. But, when we think about how privileged archaeologists are to […]
