Bison bone found in Prince Albert, Sask., area points to human life there more than 8,000 years ago | 24CA News
Community-oriented historian David Rondeau discovered a bison shoulder blade that’s greater than 8,000 years outdated at a lower financial institution close to the North Saskatchewan river in Prince Albert, Sask.
“It’s in itself quite surprising. It’s about a thousand years older than what was previously thought for habitation in our area,” Rondeau, additionally a session co-coordinator for Crutwell Metis Local 66, stated.
“The dark lines in the hill, or paleosols, are indicative of human life. They are organic remains from habitation. There is a lot of evidence indicating that this was a large-scale bison processing area.”
The website had been on Rondeau’s radar for years, as he would typically uncover debitage — materials produced through the manufacturing of stone instruments and weapons — on the floor stage.
Artifacts like an ovoid knife discovered on the website point out folks used to course of animals there, eradicating the hides or flesh, Rondeau stated.
Rondeau confirmed CBC many lithic and bone supplies from the location, illustrating the evolution of habitations there. There was debitage materials about 2,500 years outdated discovered slightly below the floor, and far older animal stays a lot additional under the bottom.
“This site is already telling the history, but there’s no record of it in any history book, and I’m honoured to put this on the map to make it real for the people and children who live here.”
Rondeau suspects the hill may have been a bison soar. He stated holding the bone of a bison makes it actual for him and the close by group of Sturgeon Lake First Nation, connecting them with the historical past.
Oldest intact human website in Prince Albert space
David Meyer, professor emeritus of archaeology and anthropology at University of Saskatchewan, inspected the location together with Rondeau final yr.
Meyer stated the thick layer of outdated black soil had bits of bison bones protruding of it and sharp quartz flakes, indicating human presence. He stated a chunk of the bison shoulder blade was eliminated and despatched for radiocarbon relationship at a University of Ottawa laboratory.
“It came back as some 8,200 years old. I knew it was old and was thinking in the 6,000 years range, but this is remarkably old,” he stated.
“It’s the oldest intact human occupation area that has been found in the Prince Albert area.”
Meyer stated equally outdated materials had additionally been discovered alongside the South Saskatchewan river at St. Louis bridge, 35 kilometres south of Prince Albert, prior to now.
Up to 11,000 years in the past, the entire central Saskatchewan space was coated with glacial ice. Meyer stated it will have develop into hospitable for human habitation round 10,500 years in the past.
He stated round 8,000 years in the past, a cultural group known as Nipawin complicated, from the Great Plains, lived in these areas.
“Certainly, these people seemed to have been the first really widespread, well-established societies, and hunter and gatherers of course,” he stated.
“They were hunting the older species of bison and buffalo with spear throwing or atlatls [a spear or dart throwing device], as bows and arrows were not yet invented.”
Some atlatl dart factors relationship 8,500 to 11,000 years have been discovered near the Montana border and round southern Saskatchewan. Similar atlatl factors have been discovered at Besnard Lake and Buffalo Narrows in northern Saskatchewan.
“The Prince Albert find will provide important information about that region.”
Rondeau stated a geoarcheologist from the University of Calgary is anticipated to evaluate the location within the spring. Among different issues, she is anticipated to take samples of soil, historic pollen and phytoliths, which can illustrate what the panorama was like at the moment.
“This is pretty early,” Meyer stated of the work being executed on the website. “It is quite significant but more needs to be found.”
