Robert Pihl, MA

Robert H. Pihl is the Manager of ASI’s Environmental Assessment Division, responsible for the completion of all archaeological assessments the firm carries out in advance of utilities-based projects in the Province. His other archaeological responsibilities include the analyses of precontact ceramics and the preparation of all types of project reports.

Rob joined ASI as a Senior Archaeologist in 1989 and specializes in managing and implementing archaeological resource assessments and excavations pertaining to gas and water pipeline facilities, hydro facilities, transportation corridors, housing and industrial developments, waste management facilities, and recreational facilities. His professional experience spans 30 years and includes hundreds of completed Stage 1-3 projects and dozens of Stage 4 mitigation excavations. Notable projects include the survey of the Ontario Hydro’s Longwood TS to Nanticoke GS transmission line and the excavation of the Middle Iroquoian Finch site in southwestern Ontario, survey of Ruthven Park for the Lower Grand River Land Trust Foundation, survey and test-excavation of three multi-component sites for the Indian and MacGregor Flood Control Project in Chatham, survey of Ontario Hydro’s Lennox GS x Bowmanville TS transmission line in eastern Ontario, excavation of the Transitional Woodland Holmedale site for the Brantford Public Utilities Commission, a master plan of heritage resources for the Temagami Timber Planning District for the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, and an inventory of archaeological resources associated with the St. Lawrence Islands National Park for Parks Canada. He was also the Project Archaeologist for salvage excavations of the Wellington and Holly sites, two pre-contact Iroquoian village sites near Barrie.

Rob regularly presents his findings at conferences and symposia, such as those sponsored by the Ontario Archaeological Society, Canadian Archaeological Association, and the Midwestern Archaeological Conference. He has co-authored several publications including a section on the Early and Middle Woodland Period in Southern Ontario in The Archaeology of Southern Ontario to A.D. 1650 (1990) and his analysis of the Middle Iroquoian Finch site published in Ontario Archaeology (1997).

Rob’s PhD dissertation (in preparation, Toronto) focuses on the Middle Woodland Point Peninsula Culture centred on the St. Lawrence drainage. Rob obtained his Master of Arts in Anthropology from the University of Toronto (1976), and his Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology from Lawrence University in Wisconsin (1974). Before joining ASI, he was Vice-President, Managing Director and Senior Archaeologist for Mayer, Pihl, Poulton and Associates Incorporated. This was preceded by a position as Curator/Contract Archaeologist at the Museum of Indian Archaeology (London), the University of Western Ontario (now the London Museum of Archaeology). In the past, he has taught courses at the University of Toronto, Erindale Campus, and the University of Western Ontario. His main research area is the Great Lakes with a focus on the Middle Woodland period (ca 2000 B.P.).

Rob is active in a number of major archaeological organizations, including the Canadian Archaeological Association, Ontario Archaeological Society, and Society for American Archaeology, and is a Former Secretary of The Canadian Association of Professional Heritage Consultants. Rob is a member of Optimist International and Scouts Canada.