Syphilitic Skull of Frederick Davis
In 2007, ASI was retained to exhume and identify a group of hanged prisoners from the Don Jail cemetery site in Toronto. This particular individual is Frederick Davis, who was convicted of a gruesome murder in 1920. He was executed on May 9, 1922 at about 46 years of age. Prior to his arrest, the Toronto […]
Queen’s Wharf 3D Artifacts
A 3D view of the caulking iron recovered with the schooner at the Queen’s Wharf site. Queen’s Wharf Caulking Iron by ASI on Sketchfab A 3D view of a mallet recovered with the schooner at the Queen’s Wharf site. Queen’s Wharf Mallet by ASI on Sketchfab A 3D view of a pulley block recovered […]
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 […]
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, […]
Camp Coffee
The lab has been working on washing the artifacts from a 19th century farmstead in Durham and found this completely intact aqua bottle with embossed lettering on the exterior. The bottle is inscribed with the words “Glasgow”, “Paterson’s” and “Camp Coffee & Chicory”. It contained a coffee and chicory syrup that was the first form 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 […]
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 […]
