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Kazan River

A survey of the lower Kazan River was conducted by Andrew Stewart in part of the proposed Fall Caribou Crossing National Historic Site area, between Thirty Mile Lake and Kazan Falls. The survey was commissioned by Baker Lake's Harvaqtuuq Historic Site Committee, chaired by Joan Scottie. It follows a detailed place name study of this area by the Harvaqtuurmiut Elders, Darren Keith, Joan Scottie and Ruby Mautara'inaaq (Parks Canada, Canadian Heritage). The inventory of cultural features resulting from this and previous archaeological work will help to document the importance of fall caribou hunting in the lives of the Harvaqtuurmiut and other groups who lived around the Kazan River.

Archaeological features (structures and artifacts) were described, photographed and precisely mapped by a field crew of four people (Roy Avaala from Baker Lake and Andrew Stewart, Max Friesen and Lyle Henderson all from Ontario). The task of recording the locations of features was accomplished with Global Positioning System (GPS) equipment (employing differential correction) and Geographic Information System (GIS) software. This equipment made it possible to record locations to the nearest metre. The system was set up and operated by Parks Canada archaeologist Lyle Henderson and technician Dan Paget, both working full-time on this task.

Information about animal bone in archaeological contexts was also documented. Zoo archaeologist Max Friesen of the University of Toronto made observations in the field on type, context and condition of animal bone. Preliminary results suggest that there are some unusual contexts for the survival of caribou bone visible on the ground surface. The bone has the potential to provide a more complete interpretation of hunting and food preparation and disposal activities at former campsites.

About half the proposed historic site area along both sides of the Kazan River (a linear distance of about 30 km) was investigated during three weeks in August. More than a thousand features were recorded this year, including tent rings, qarmaq rings, hearths, caches, standing boulders, hunting blinds or waiting places, graves, qajaq stands, boulder traps, artifact and bone concentrations and other, unidentified boulder features. Most of the features occur on the south side of the river, the side towards which people expected caribou to swim during fall migration and where most settlement occurred, according to Harvaqtuurmiut elders who lived along this part of the river until the 1950s. Two inuksuit drive systems were found at different places on the north side of the river. Evidence of pre-contact settlement consisted of two quartzite projectile points (possibly Pre-Dorset or Thaltheilei) and numerous quartzite bifaces.

The work of this cultural resource inventory within the proposed historic site boundaries continues. The upper part of this area, including the east half of Thirty Mile Lake, remains to be surveyed, as does the interior, up to 10 km inland from the river. Detailed investigations of specific features may resolve the question of the age of some of the qarmat which are unusually large and appear to be older than many of the tent rings. The result of this work will be a comprehensive database of archaeological features, showing their locations and condition and incorporating photographs. This will be used by the Harvaqtuuq Historic Site Committee and Parks Canada to monitor archaeological features and to aid in presentation and interpretation of the history of this area.

Northwest of Contwoyto Lake

Gloria Fedirchuk of Fedirchuk McCullough and Associates Ltd., Calgary conducted a survey of the area proposed for the Jericho Mine (Lytton Minerals) located northwest of Contwoyto Lake. The study area consists of a variety of land forms including eskers, lake environments, and bedrock hills. A few selected locations along a potential all-weather road between the Jericho Project and Lupin Mine were also examined for archaeological materials. Terrain inspected along the proposed road included eskers, bedrock outcrops, and shore of Contwoyto Lake. Inuit elders from Coppermine visited the Carat Lake camp and were shown some of the sites.

Thirty-four sites were identified. All were exposed either through wind action and animal use of eskers or in bedrock localities. Twenty-four of these are located in the immediate vicinity of the mine and associated facilities. The remaining ten were identified in areas along the potential road route. Eleven of the sites represent single artifact finds. The artifacts at these sites range from unmodified flake discards, to cores from which flakes were detached, to tools. Seventeen sites are artifact scatters consisting primarily of flake discards. Two sites have been identified as camps because of the presence of tools commonly associated with camping activities or evidence of cooking activities. The remaining four sites are quarries associated with veins of quartz in bedrock exposures.

West of Walmsley Lake

An overview of the potential facility locations associated with the Kennaday Project (Mountain Province Mining Inc.) located west of Walmsley Lake was conducted by Gloria Fedirchuk of Fedirchuk McCullough and Associates Ltd. of Calgary. Specifically, a potential road route over bedrock outcrops, alternate all-weather road routes, two possible airstrip locations, and a portion of an esker which may be used for borrow material. Ernest Betsina of the Yellowknives Dene participated in part of the field work.

Three sites were identified in association with the esker system. One consists of an historic site containing axe-cut spruce and a related circular stone hearth feature. The remaining two sites contain primarily stone flake discards. One of these sites is located on the top of the esker whereas the other is on the shore of a small lake adjacent to the esker.

North of Lac de Gras

Jean Bussey of Points West Heritage Consulting Ltd., Langley, B.C. conducted an assessment north of Lac de Gras for BHP NWT Diamonds. Malcolm James, also of Points West, Jonas Lafferty, of the Dogrib Nation, and Brian Tobie, of the Yellowknives Dene Nation assisted with the field survey.

In 1994 and 1995, examination of proposed development areas had resulted in the recording of 62 new sites. In 1996, 25 new sites were added to the inventory of this area; in addition, most of the sites recorded in 1994 and 1995 were revisited during the 1996 investigations.

The emphasis of this project has been on surveying areas near proposed development and exploration. As a result, the shores of large and small lakes and a variety of different landform types have been examined. Repeatedly in the three years of field investigation, the results have indicated that the larger, more continuous eskers have the greatest potential to yield archaeological sites, especially near medium and large lakes. Sites are found on smaller, less continuous sections of esker and on other landform types, but not with the same frequency.

The sites found in 1996 were scattered throughout the claim block. Nine sites were found near previously recorded sites. They were all located on eskers; one on the south side of Exeter Lake, one south of the mine camp and north of Lac de Gras, four on the large esker west of Lac du Sauvage, and three near an unnamed lake in the northeastern portion of the study area.

New areas of investigation yielded 16 sites. Examination of a small portion of a large north-south oriented esker yielded three new sites, while investigations of two sections of an associated east-west esker yielded an additional three sites. The former esker was paralleled by a section of the Coppermine River and contained a very large site. Three more sites were discovered on a section of esker north of Ursula Lake and four on another esker west of Ursula Lake that, although discontinuous, eventually connects with Exeter Lake. Another esker that connects with Exeter Lake, but further south, yielded two more new sites.

Investigations of limited sections of lake shore of Lac de Gras and landforms adjacent to a number of smaller, unnamed lakes had generally negative results. One site was found in association with a small lake near the more southerly Exeter Lake esker. This site was unique in that it consisted of a cache of unworked chunks of quartz that were likely collected in order to make stone tools but were never used. All other sites found in 1996 were characterized primarily by unworked stone flakes; these sites ranged in size from very small to very large and contained light to dense concentrations of artifacts. A number of sites contained one or more stone tools and all but one site appeared to be pre-contact in time. The one exception was a site that contained a very light scatter of flakes and one chunk of firewood that had obviously been imported to the area and could represent post-contact or modern use.

Ulu Lake

Echo Bay Mines Ltd., based at Lupin, is undertaking the development of a new mine near Ulu Lake, north of the Hood River. Preparatory to the development, the company commissioned an archaeological impact assessment of the mine locality and the potential winter haul road routes. This assessment was conducted by Sid Kroker, Quaternary Consultants Ltd. of Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Due to logistics, the project was divided into two phases: Phase I was the investigation of the mine locality and Phase II was the investigation of potential haul route corridors. During Phase I, portions of the north and south banks of the Hood River were examined as well as the mine locality and permanent camp. The mine locality is a massive glacially-modified, bedrock outcrop with little inducement for animal or human use. The survey of the Hood River recorded two sites - a chipping station and an occupation site which contained a fragment of a projectile point tentatively identified as Thaltheilei (ca. A.D. 100 to 1000). The site, revisited during Phase II, also contained a complete projectile point identified as Dorset (ca. 200 BC to 1000 AD.).

The second phase relied heavily on helicopter support and all three route options were overflown with foot survey in areas of high potential, such as river banks, lake shores, and eskers. A total of twenty-one sites were recorded, ranging from an isolated find of an incomplete Northern Plano projectile point (more than 5000 years old), to chipping stations, to multiple occupation tent ring sites, to a biological field camp (ca. A.D. 1960). Several of the tent ring sites contained historic material indicating probable occupation after the establishment of trading posts along the coast (A.D. 1916). Many of the sites were located on a major north/south oriented esker northeast of Kathawachaga Lake. This esker would have been a prime location for intercepting the migrating caribou herds, as well as the main travel route between the Hood River to the north and the Burnside River to the south. As well, several sites were recorded on Lake Kathawachaga which is connected to Lake Contwoyto by the Burnside River. Ethnohistorical data show that the Contwoyto/Kathawachaga area was heavily used by people from Coppermine and Bathurst Inlet.

All sites were outside of the corridors of the potential haul roads and no impact is foreseen. If gravel is required for upgrades of the lake/land crossings, there are many sources at the lateral edges of the eskers which will not result in impact upon archaeological sites which are on the crests and upper ridges.

Lac de Gras

Wendy Unfreed and George Chalut, of Fedirchuk McCullough and Associates Ltd., Calgary, conducted a survey of the eastern shore of Lac de Gras, on the eastern mainland and two adjacent islands. The study was assisted by Steven Nitah and George Martin of Detah. The purpose of the study was to continue an examination of the inland areas and eskers that had been initiated in 1995 by Gloria Fedirchuk.

A total of 172 pre-contact activity locales were identified during the study of the three areas. The sites include quarries (88), lithic scatters (68), isolated lithic finds (13), multiple hearth sites (2) and one Pre-Dorset camp. In addition, one set of post-contact travois poles was identified along the shore of an inland lake.

The sites were found to cluster in areas of high relief near inland lake edges or on high bedrock outcrops. Most of the sites were identified on the most central of the two islands studied, and were comprised largely of quartz quarry outcrops surrounded by lithic shatter, debitage and cores. On the remaining island and eastern mainland, quartz scatters were the main activity locale. In addition to these sites, a Pre-Dorset camp was also identified on the mainland, in an eroded sandy area adjacent to the Lac de Gras shoreline. Materials associated with this activity locale consisted of artifacts of fine-grained chert and basalt, and included numerous bifacial thinning flakes, a projectile point, a biface and three scrapers or scraper fragments.

Dogrib elders and Inuit representatives from Kugluktuk examined some of the site areas and share their knowledge about traditional lifestyles. Sites viewed included a meat cache and a possible burial that had been identified in the 1995 survey and the newly-recorded Pre-Dorset camp and quarries.

Roberts Bay, Bathurst Inlet

Gabriella Prager of Points West Heritage Consulting Ltd., Langley, B.C. conducted an inventory and assessment east of Bathurst Inlet. The work was carried out for BHP World Minerals. Specific locations were examined within an area including Roberts Bay and extending approximately 60 km south of Roberts Bay.

Thirty new sites were recorded. Most are situated on elevated ridges or knolls adjacent to water bodies, although some do occur a distance from water or on lower landforms. All are rock feature sites, most with multiple features, including rock rings, hearths/windbreaks, traps, caches, signal rocks and hunting blinds. Some sites contain bone and/or wood artifacts, and most have variable amounts of scattered animal bone consisting largely of caribou and muskox. Historic debris of tin and glass products was also observed at some of the sites. One stone tool was found adjacent to a more recent tent ring site, possibly signifying earlier use of that location.

A brief, but very interesting aspect of the project was a short trip with two Inuit Elders, John Akana of Umingmaktok and Steve Anavilok of Cambridge Bay, to one of the sites found in 1995 on an island in Roberts Bay. They talked about some of the rock features and artifacts, their uses and possible times of use. This helped to provide significant insights into aspects of past life ways.