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 […]
The Long Road to Collaboration: A History of ASI Relationships with Indigenous Communities with a focus on the Huron-Wendat Nation
Collaborative and community-based archaeology has been gaining traction over the last few decades. Increasingly, archaeologists are becoming aware that in many cases, they have been acting as stewards, and sometimes gatekeepers, over a heritage and history that was not their own. Engaging and working with descendant communities has been argued by many as a way […]
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 […]
Settlement Change, Urbanism, and Human and Environment Interaction at Lamanai and Ka’kabish: Two Precolumbian Maya sites in Northern Belize.
This book offers us new data about Lamanai and Ka’kabish, two Ancient Maya sites that thrived during the collapse of the Southern Lowlands in the Late to Terminal Classic periods (AD 650-1000). Introducing an interesting and innovative method (relative-risk surface) to analyse changes in Ancient Maya settlements over time. Provides a much-needed synthesis of the […]
From Grey to Print: Early Archaic Components on the East Don River: Archaeological Investigations of the Edgar and Andridge Sites
The Edgar and Andridge sites, situated on headwater streams of the east Don River, were salvage excavated by Archaeological Services Inc. between 2003 and 2006. This article summarizes the subsequent analyses of their settlement data and material culture. An environmental reconstruction was undertaken that included examinations of the geomorphological origin of the area, climate, regional […]
