Blacker’s Brickworks: A Rare Insight Into the Local Manufacture of Bricks in the Latter Part of the Nineteenth Century
Hidden amongst a rural landscape rich in pre-contact archaeological sites, Edward Blacker and his sons operated a relatively short-lived, later 19th century brick works. Stage 4 archaeological salvage excavations of Blacker’s brickworks, located outside of Brantford, provided a rare opportunity to investigate brick manufacture in 1870s Ontario. This paper discusses how the topographic challenges of […]
“Removes All Obstacles”: The Place of Abortifacients in Nineteenth-Century Toronto
A bottle embossed with ‘Sir J. Clarke’s Female Pills’ was found during the excavation of the original location of Toronto’s first hospital, which opened in 1829 and was in operation at the corner of King and John Streets until 1854. Abortion was a frowned-upon and covert practice that was actively prosecuted. The discovery of a […]
Crocks or Pots? Relating Redware Vessel Forms to Folk Terms in Nineteenth-Century Ontario
This paper presents a type series for lead-glazed coarse red earthenware (or redware), a common artifact recovered from nineteenth-century sites in southern Ontario. Indeed, domestic potters produced a myriad of vessel forms that met the needs of rural consumers, who used the inexpensive redwares in food preparation, food storage and dairying on a daily basis. […]
A 21st Century “Kettle with One Spoon:” Indigenous Engagement Program for the York Region Archaeological Management Plan
The Region of York is undertaking an Indigenous Engagement Program in conjunction with theirArchaeological Management Plan. The Program has involved a number of Indigenous communities (Anishnaabe, Iroquoian and Métis) who have an interest in the Region’s archaeological record. The Region has taken key steps to ensure that there are no barriers to participation. From day […]
A Tale of Three Municipalities: Envisioning the Future through Indigenous Engagement
ASI has been involved in the Indigenous engagement process for numerous municipalities going through various stages of planning including the City of Regina, the District Municipality of Muskoka and the Regional Municipality of York. Despite differing circumstances, the Indigenous communities were asked about their overall vision for the respective municipalities, or more accurately, their traditional territories, […]
Collaborative and Innovative Heritage Impact Assessment for Highway 407 East: Archaeology, Built Heritage, Cultural Landscapes
For the last decade, ASI has been involved in the impact assessment of Highway 407 East with respect to archaeological heritage. It is arguably the largest and most complex archaeological assessment and mitigation project ever undertaken in the Province of Ontario. From our perspective, the primary factor responsible for the on-going success of this fundamentally […]
Reflections on Early Holocene Chert Use in the Niagara Peninsula
Early Paleo-Indians at the Mount Albion West site in Hamilton, Ontario, situated on the brow of the Niagara Escarpment on top of a local outcrop of Lockport-Goat Island Formation chert, chose not to use it in favour of Onondaga and Fossil Hill Formation cherts. A slightly later, more transient, Paleo-Indian site, situated a few kilometres […]
The Geoarchaeology of the Peace Bridge Site, Fort Erie, Ontario
The Peace Bridge site (AfGr-9) is a very large multi-component site situated at the head of the Niagara River in the Town of Fort Erie, Ontario. On-going archaeological investigations have documented occupations from the Late Archaic period (circa 3,580 B.P.) through to the present. Archaeological deposits, sediments, and paleosols exposed through construction activities, bore holes, […]
The Grave Tale of the Riddle Site
This paper outlines the study process and analysis of a unique historic site documented in Markham Township. It was anticipated that the Stage 4 excavation of the Riddle site (AlGt-486), which was visible in the ploughzone as a 40 x 40 meter scatter of mid-nineteenth century domestic artifacts, would reveal the cultural features of an Irish tenant’s homelot. […]
Hidden from View: The Story of an Early Sixteenth Century Iron Tool in Eastern North America
An iron tool was recovered from an excellent sealed context at the early sixteenth century ancestral Huron-Wendat Mantle site near Toronto. It is one of the earliest European artifacts to have been found in the Great Lakes region. Radiographic analyses (x-ray and neutron radiography) of the piece have provided information on the nature and function […]