2016-2017 A Season of Loss

This is my first post in six months. While I have been busy, I have also been putting this off because I didn't know how to start it. On Christmas Day 2016 we lost a colleague and friend, Ken Reynolds. Since then the archaeology community in Newfoundland and Labrador has suffered several losses. Ken began his …

The Curtis site, a Maritime Archaic cemetery

One of the best known archaeological sites in Newfoundland and Labrador is the Maritime Archaic cemetery at Port au Choix. The site was found in 1967 during the excavation of a building. Dr. James Tuck of Memorial University investigated this discovery in the fall of 1967 and returned to the site for the next two …

Urve Linnamae in Placentia Bay in 1970

From June 26 to August 3, 1970, Dr. Urve Linnamae and her crew carried out an archaeological survey of the Placentia Bay area of Newfoundland while she was under contract to the National Museum of Canada. Prior to this Dr. Linnamae conducted excavations at the significant Palaeoeskimo sites of Cape Ray Light in 1967 and the Pittman site …

Labrador South Coastal Survey: 1992

Two weeks ago I told you about the 1991 season of the Labrador South Coastal Survey (LSCS). This was a two year archaeology project which started in 1991 and covered more than 600 kilometres of previously unexamined Labrador coastline. The 1991 survey area was between Cape St. Charles and Seal Island, Labrador. It was directed …

Labrador South Coastal Survey: 1991

The Labrador South Coastal Survey (LSCS) was a two year archaeology project which started in 1991 and covered more than 600 kilometres of previously unexamined Labrador coastline. The 1991 survey area extended from Cape St. Charles to Seal Island (near Frenchmans Harbour), Labrador, and was directed by Marianne Stopp and she was assisted by Doug …

The Bank site, Terra Nova National Park: Part 2

This post is a continuation from two weeks ago dealing with the Bank site (DdAk-05) in Terra Nova National Park. Parks Canada archaeologist Dr. Jenneth Curtis revisited several Terra Nova National Park archaeology sites in 2007, including the Bank site. During that visit three Dorset artifacts, six flakes and a single piece of calcined bone …

The Bank site, Terra Nova National Park: Part 1

The Bank site (DdAk-05) was found by Dr. James Tuck during his 1979 survey of Terra Nova National Park. The site is inside Chandler Reach and is strategically situated at the juncture of three major channels, offering fine views down Clode Sound to the west, Chandler's Reach to the east, and Goose Bay to the south. At that time of …