The Archaeology of the Dunsmore Site: 15th-Century Community Transformations in Southern Ontario

Canadian Journal of Archaeology, Volume 27, Issue 1, 2003
David A. Robertson and Ronald F. Williamson

Located in southern Simcoe County, Ontario, the Dunsmore site is a two-hectare, mid- to late 15th-century Iroquoian settlement that had a complex history – one that may have included both seasonal tenancies and year-round occupations.The settlement appears to have served as both a seasonal fishing camp and a semi-permanent agricultural village, perhaps involving members of several different communities. Through a review of the settlement patterns, artefacts, and subsistence data recovered from Dunsmore, an attempt is made to explore the role of such sites in the general trend towards community amalgamation which is one of the hallmarks of the 15th-century Iroquoian socio-political organization.

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