Before Ontario: The Archaeology of a Province (McGill-Queen's Indigenous and Northern Studies, 72)

by Marit K. Munson, Susan M. Jamieson

Before Ontario there was ice. As the last ice age came to an end, land began to emerge from the melting glaciers. With time, plants and animals moved into the new landscape and people followed. For almost 15,000 years, the land that is now Ontario has provided a home for their hundreds of generations of First Peoples. With contributions from the province's leading archaeologists, Before Ontario provides both an outline of Ontario's ancient past and an easy to understand explanation of how archaeology works. The authors show how archaeologists are able to study items as diverse as fish bones, flakes of stone, and stains in the soil to reconstruct the events and places of a distant past - fishing parties, long-distance trade, and houses built to withstand frigid winters. Presenting new insights into archaeology?s purpose and practice, Before Ontario bridges the gap between the modern world and a past that can seem distant and unfamiliar, but is not beyond our reach. Contributors include Christopher Ellis (University of Western Ontario), Neal Ferris (University of Western Ontario/Museum of Ontario Archaeology), William Fox (Canadian Museum of Civilization/Royal Ontario Museum), Scott Hamilton (Lakehead University), Susan Jamieson (Trent University Archaeological Research Centre - TUARC), Mima Kapches (Royal Ontario Museum), Anne Keenleyside (TUARC), Stephen Monckton (Bioarchaeological Research), Marit Munson (TUARC), Kris Nahrgang (Kawartha Nishnawbe First Nation), Suzanne Needs-Howarth (Perca Zooarchaeological Research), Cath Oberholtzer (TUARC), Michael Spence (University of Western Ontario), Andrew Stewart (Strata Consulting Inc.), Gary Warrick (Wilfrid Laurier University), and Ron Williamson (Archaeological Services Inc).

Genres: Archaeology, Canada, History, Nonfiction

262 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2013

Reviews

[A.J.]

This was a really interesting introduction to the post-Ice Age world in Ontario and its people. The final chapter, written from an Aboriginal viewpoint, was particularly interesting, appealing as it did for cultural sensitivity and sharing of plans with aboriginal communities. Overall, a fascinating read for the non-specialist.

[Claire]

This painted a very good picture of an ancient Ontario. This history should be built more into our educational curriculum to build a better understanding of the truly ancient, deep history of Ontario and the First Nations people that live here.

The only complaint I would have about the text was the lack of indigenous archaeologists or knowledge keepers. Also, despite being published rather recently, they still used the term "Aboriginal" which isn't in circulation these days. They did include one fellow's perspective at the end, but I feel they could have interspersed indigenous knowledge throughout.

[Amanda Bright]

Very interesting read. Looks at environmental changes from a long perspective and shows the impact of humanity on the land along with how it has accelerated in the last 200 years.