oa 74 part 01 pilon layout - Ontario Archaeological Society

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Pilon A Stone Tool Cache from the Hudson Bay Lowlands 7finished tools versus blanks and performs.Seasonality is also a factor that can influence theinventory of implements being used. It mayresult in the presence of implements associatedwith task or gender-specific kinds of activities.One has only to think of the fall caribouhunt=skin preparation=scrapers=women scenario.Many of these interpretations are based oncircumstantial evidence and inference, on generalassociations that cannot be easily demonstrated.Ouissinaougouk Site SeasonalityIn the past, historians and archaeologists thoughtthat if people did in fact use the Lowlands priorto the arrival of European traders on the shores ofHudson Bay, this presence was restricted to thewarm season (Bishop 1972; Dawson 1983). Atthis time of the year, it was thought that migratingwaterfowl would have provided the requiredfood resources. However, with the departure ofthe myriad of ducks and geese, human groupswere also believed to have retreated south to theShield where, although far from being abundant,resources could be found. A corollary to thisproposition is that the Lowlands were a dangerouslyimpoverished area during the wintermonths.This scenario has since been shown to beflawed, primarily in its fundamental underestimationof the ecological potential of the HudsonBay Lowlands (Julig 1982, 1988; Lytwyn 1993,1994, 2002; Lister 1988; Pilon 1987, 1988).While the spectacular migrations of waterfowlthrough the Lowlands represent an undeniablemanna in both the spring and the fall, otherimportant resources also collectively present considerablepotential value. These include a numberof fish species, moose, small and mediumsizedgame including muskrat and beaver, andespecially caribou. We should also add sea mammals(beluga, seals and in certain areas, walrus) tothe list since they are present in significant quantitiesin the immediate Coastal Zone. However,it has not yet been demonstrated that these maritimeresources were ever exploited in pre-contacttimes.This more complete assessment of the region’secological potential served as the basis for theresearch that led to the discovery of theOuissinaougouk site, among others (Pilon 1984,1987). This work showed that people did in factremain within the Lowlands on a year-long basis,exploiting a wide range of resources, which, however,appeared centred on one focal resource,woodland caribou. This adaptive pattern hasbeen shown to be several thousand years old andmore recent discoveries in the Big Trout Lakearea to the south suggest that it may have begunas early as 7,000 years ago (Hamilton 2004).There was a marked dichotomy between thefaunal assemblages of those sites located withinthe Coastal Zone (roughly defined as the regionbetween the shores of Hudson Bay andWhiteseal Falls, the last rapids on the SevernRiver, some 35-40 km upstream from the mouthof the river) and those found within the InlandZone (in this particular case at the confluence ofthe Ouissinaou and Sachigo Rivers). While thewarm weather occupation of the Coastal Zone isattested to by the broad spectrum of animalresources utilized (including migrating waterfowl)and a number of key seasonal indicators,such as medullary tissue in bird longbones(indicative of the death of a female during thespringtime), a cold weather occupation is indicatedin the Inland Zone by the heavy relianceupon caribou. This interpretation is strengthenedby ethnographic accounts of the locationsof wintering caribou, biological data regardingthe seasonal movements of caribou, the presenceof caribou antler in winter condition in faunalassemblages from inland sites, and the totalabsence of waterfowl from the inventories ofthese same sites. The seasonal interpretation ofthe Inland Zone sites is important in that itallows us to anticipate some of the forecastedneeds of the person who left the Ouissinaougoukcache behind.Archaeologists are often quite well aware of thefood, fuel, and housing requirements of humans,but lithics are often treated as a constant, thekind of material readily available from the immediateenvironment or through trade. While theremay be consideration given to raw material types
8 Ontario Archaeology No. 74, 2002and the trade networks involved in obtainingvarious exotic stones, rarely is it acknowledgedthat, especially in northern latitudes, access tolithic raw materials is restricted to but a fewmonths of the year. Supplies of suitable lithicresources must therefore be carefully set aside forthose long months during which ice and snowmake their collecting virtually impossible. In thiscontext then, it is highly informative to review thecontents of the cache and some of the features ofthe objects making up this unique snapshot.The Ouissinaougouk CacheThe tools, tool blanks, flakes and lithic detritus thatcomprise the Ouissinaougouk cache (Table 1)formed a compact mound lying immediately ontop of a palm-sized piece of birch-bark (althoughthere were a few specimens beneath this bark),within a slight depression (see the middle image ofFigure 5). This group of objects was recovered fromwithin a dark, organic layer measuring 2 to 3 cm inthickness, lying approximately 20-30 cm below thecurrent surface, under a succession of alternatinghumus and overbank sand/silt deposits (Figures 4and 5). Nearby, in this same test unit, some calcinedbone fragments, scattered pieces of charcoal andfire-cracked rocks were found within the samestratigraphic level as the cache and suggested proximityto a hearth feature. Within the area of thecache, the humic matrix appeared darker andTable 1. Ouissinaougouk artifacts.Artifact TypeFrequencyProjectile Points 1Bifaces 3Pièces esquillées 1 4Gravers/perforators 4Core Remnants 2Scrapers 2 62Notches 3 5Retouched/Used flakes 13Flakes 249Total 3431 does not include one made on a scraper2 includes one also used as a pièce esquillée and another thathas a notch3 does not include a scraper with a notch“greasier” than the surrounding humus of this level.As luck would have it, the cluster of stone toolsand debitage was neatly bisected by the wall of theinitial 50 cm x 50 cm test unit, which was laterexpanded in order to fully encompass the cache.I interpret the association of the cluster of lithicspecimens with the birch-bark fragment to indicatethat the 343 pieces of stone had originally been ina birch-bark container (possibly propped upagainst a long stone slab measuring approximately30 cm x 10 cm x 5 cm), which had subsequentlyand slowly collapsed, and eventually been coveredover with silt from floodwaters of the Ouissinaouand Sachigo Rivers. This collection thus representsa single moment in time, a very intentional gatheringof stone tools.The stratigraphic context of the Ouissinaougoukcache, as well as the overwhelming nature of thephysical association of its elements, leave no doubtthat these were objects intended to be kept togetherby their former owner and available for his orher use. As such, we are afforded the unique opportunityof examining and describing associationsbetween different artifact categories and a seasonal,activity-specific site.In attempting to assess the significance of varioustypes or classes of tools, the relative proportionsmust somehow be comparable. This task ismade very difficult when site collections are comprisedof whole, near-complete and fragmentaryimplements. Creative methods have been proposedto rectify and properly account for the presence ofincomplete and fragmentary implements (Shott2000). In the example presented here, such manipulationis not necessary as all of the tools are whole.Ouissinaougouk Cache ContentsProjectile Point (Figure 6a)Only one projectile point was found among the343 items comprising the cache. This point wascarefully thinned and retouched bifacially,although it is proportionately thick. Overall, thepoint’s shape is an isosceles triangle with a slightlyconvex base, low side-notches and straight to verylightly convex blade edges. The tip is somewhatrounded as a result of possible resharpening on oneside. The maximum dimensions are 4.8 cm x 2.6
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