I wonder how many of you can recall what you were doing a 100 days ago, or perhaps one year ago?

Good evening and thank you for being with us. It's nice to see so many of you from my other talks this summer.

Now that's a tough question I asked. Trying to visualizing an archaeological site during the Paleo-Indian era some 8,000 years ago requires some well known time references or period markers. Perhaps the best known are the Egyptian pyramids that date back to around 4600 years before present. Actually, there were around 110 of them built, and the earliest versions weren't pyramids as we usually know them, but low tombs to which extra levels were gradually added to give it a step like appearance. However these monuments were nearly 4,000 years after the Price site existed and are a bit distant for our purposes.

Somewhat closer was the glacier sheet that covered our area around 12,000 years ago. Unfortunately or perhaps fortunately for us it didn't leave any lasting monuments as period markers but did leave considerable evidence of its passing and disappearance, such as the Mi'hmaq terrace that I mentioned in my first talk, numerous glacier erratics, and other geo morphological markers.

The archaeological tools found at the Price site, on the other hand, are improved versions dating back to the Clovis era, a prehistoric Native American culture that first appeared in the archaeological records around 13500 years ago in New Mexico. By the time the Appalachian ice sheet had receded and eventually disappeared around 8000 years before present, the nomadic natives had spread northwards and into our area. They brought with them the knowledge gained over 5,000 years needed for sub arctic wilderness survival. They might not have been 21st century geologists or archaeologist but they certainly had gained the required skills for selecting raw lithic material to make all the tools they needed for their day to day requirements. As a footnote I'd like to mention those same natives were competent navigators able to use the sun, moon and stars to get around surprisingly distant locations without a map or other aids.

Our knowledge of recent post colonial archaeological goes back some 150 years. The emigrants and settlers, after clearing and ploughing the land along the Mitis River, came across numerous artefacts which they recognized as such; some they gave to their friends and kept some for themselves. Not knowing the prehistoric significance or importance, these artefacts were forgotten over time. In 1970, the archaeologist Jean Yves Ross, was given several artefacts located on the ploughed land by the son of Edelbert Caron who owned the land on the west side of the Mitis river falls. While this was documented in an official report, little interest seems to have been taken in further surface investigation.

By 1972, l’abbé Roland Provost, an amateur archaeologist visiting the Caron site, did a few test pits and found over a hundred artefacts documented in his report. Several other reports quoting those I've just mentioned, filled the period until 1986, when Pierre Desrosiers did a visual inspections of the area but didn't add much to the existing archaeological knowledge of the area. In the autumn 1995, Hydro Québec had started working on installing metal fences for security purposes along both sides of the Mitis River near Price when the bulldozer used to cut the sod, brought up artefacts to the surface. Under this situation Hydro Québec had a legal and moral obligation to stop the project to allow an archaeological assessment. However the fences were later installed as they only touched the outer edges of the archaeological site.

Usually archaeological research has 5 basic stages.

1. Preparing potential studies, including consulting maps, aerial surveys, unpublished field reports, published papers etc.

2. Reconnaissance, including visual examination and test pit land zones and localities that have been designated as being of high or moderate archaeological potential.

3. Excavation include selected site for more intensive investigation that are subjected to detailed excavation.

4. Laboratory analysis that describes, classifies, analyzes, compares with data from other already excavated site, and written up.

5. And lastly, publication in the form of a monograph that combines the archaeological, geological, geographical and other relevant data to arrive at a final interpretation.

6. Occasionally a museum is constructed to present to the public a display and interpretation of the artefacts collected.

The Price prehistoric archaeological site by April of 2005 was in a rescue excavation state soon to be destroyed for the construction of a used water treatment plant for the municipality of Price. Although after 35 years of reports and test pits, the archaeologist Jean Yves Pintal did a thorough review of the documentation before leaving Québec . With a valid permit from the Ministère de la culture et communications to do the visual surface observations and test pits he arrived with his team of four technicians, students at Laval University, in various stages of academic studies. May 4th they began by a surface visual examination, when the 16.67cm biface knife was located lying at the surface of a ploughed hayfield. Little else was found on the open section even with some 200 test pits conducted.

I asked the technician who found the biface knife how often artefacts in such excellent condition were located. He suggested an archaeologist with a 30 years career might find 2 or 3 of that quality if he was lucky, and then perhaps none at all.

The remaining 75 test pits were done on Hydro Quebec property covered with sparse spruce, the odd cedar and other shrubs. Undisturbed for the last 8,000 years they located several hundred artefacts, mostly flakes and chips and a few interesting tools. Test pitting completed they returned to Quebec May 7th after doing other preliminary tests, where further analysis were done on the artefacts.

For the next two weeks nobody knew exactly what to expect. I checked in several times with the municipal office at Price, who didn't seems any better informed on what was about to happen. However, I got word they would be back May 21st to prepare four small sites selected from the test pit results with an actual starting date of May 24th.

During those few days they laid out reference markers, installing pickets every two meters, cutting branches and the odd tree that would interfere with the operation.

When I arrived May 24th, they had started excavating the first site to a depth of about 20cm when they hit beach sand deposited during the Goldthwaite period. During the two days required to excavate the site, a few hundred artefacts and several tools were found in the two layers created by deposits of leaves, branches, decomposed grass and such.

The second site, considerably richer with a wider variety of tools, produced a few thousand artefacts, several dozen tools and a very curious depression, much deeper than the normal 20 cm level they had been working at. The team was very tight lipped as if nothing unusual had occurred and wouldn't say a peep. Since the beginning of this operation, I generally got relatively good descriptions of what was going on. Very very curious. Luckily, by this time, I had been in contact with several archaeologists across Canada and by the second or third e mail query, I had received several suggestions on what to look for and what it might turn out to be. Unfortunately my curiosity had to wait a few more days, as the archaeologist had left for Quebec with strict orders that nobody would excavate anywhere near that depression.

I spent an average of two hours each day watching the operation, taking digital images whenever anything looked interesting. On the third day Jean Yves Pintal was back and put three of his technicians to work on the next site. Between his senior technician and himself, they started, very carefully scraping and brushing away the earth in a manner very different from what I'd been watching at the first site. A darkish circle appeared within the first few centimetres below the sod. Very carefully, the archaeologist excavated the interior of the circle for some 30cm when he arrived at the bottom of a fire pit. Several tiny charcoal remains were scooped into small Glad bags sealed and well identified. Later I found out they were potential carbon 14 samples to be sent to a laboratory in Florida for analysis and dating. Note: I have a copy of the carbon 14 analysis for anyone wanting to look at it. Since fire pits are simply a hole or hollow in the ground originally made to keep the embers and coals from spreading outwards towards the tipi sides, they are very fragile, easily damaged or destroyed. They are also very rare in this area, as the closest archaeological site west of Price is at Rimouski and to the east St Anne des Monts. There were tiny bone fragments, probably the remnants of seals, walrus or other large marine mammal. which I was told would be sent to a laboratory somewhere in Québec and probably get the results in a few years. The usual documentation for an excavated meter square site normally took the technician 15 or 20 minutes. However the fire pit took nearly half a day with measurements and angles that I hadn't seen before.

Generally archaeological activity remains obscure until the site excavation is completed cleaned up and picture perfect, suitable for photos in any archaeological journal. But why was I allowed continuous access with no restrictions during the entire operation? Back in early 2004 I was researching Métis prehistory as I mentioned in my first talk, and had been given permission to transcribe and use two lengthy technical articles on the Métis Paleo-Indian site published in 1994 and 2000. In late 2004, I learned that the dormant native community based at Mont Joli was about to reopen. At the first meeting I mentioned that a potential world class archaeological heritage site from the Paleo-Indian era existed on their door step, that was about to be destroyed and obliterated by the installation of a waste water treatment plant. Advised of certain irreversible desecration of their ancestry and lineage of the earliest human life in Quebec, I was mandated to represent their interests at all levels and departments. Once these departments learned we were some 125 Métis natives, dead serious in preserving our heritage and couldn't be shooed away with a few bags of coloured beads, empty promises, money or anything else, they were moderately cooperative. While we couldn't stop the excavation, we did succeed in having the work done by one of Québec's top archaeologist. The 10,300 artefacts including 130 or so tools will remain preserved at the Archaeological Conservatory in Quebec. Should we succeed in collecting sufficient funds to build, administer and promote a modern museum worthy of holding these prehistoric artefacts our principal goal will have been accomplished.

As I mentioned in my last talks you might take a peek at the arts and handicraft collection on the other side of the building. On behalf of us all I want to thank Chantel and her mother, plus Steeve for their kind gesture in leaving us use their dining room free of charge and giving us coffee and deserts. I've left a bottle on the table to your right on your way out where you might leave a small contribution to help off set the trouble and expense of cleaning up after we have left.

My next talk being the last for this year will be on Wednesday August 22nd at 7:30PM here at "Au Coin de la Baie" covering Maritime History between 1860 & 1870. That period covers 1800 pages so I will give only an outline of the major changes and improvements of that era.

I brought along a few documents, mainly unpublished field reports relating to the Price archaeological site for consultation.

My preliminary annotated chronology and bibliography of Métis including correspondence, e publications, collections, maps & charts, surveys, reports, photos, diagrams notes, ethno history etc. has grown considerably over the last two weeks. At 29 pages its only a start. We have so much documented history on Métis that few are familiar with even the most elementary files. The basic idea is to create a catalogue or inventory on Métis files so persons doing research don't have to spend days or weeks searching. Since I put it up on internet we've had 84 visits. Anyone wanting a copy can either download it from internet at http://autochtone.bravehost.com/bibliography/biblio.htm or send me an email at metisbosse41@netscape.ca I brought along a copy with me tonight if you want to take a look.

Thank you and now I'll take your questions.

Gilbert R. Bossé,

Métis-sur-Mer, August 8th, 2007.

Note: Since this was presented, our historical collection has grown to 1,600 documents, in which 800 or so are originals. The index has grown to 110 pages. While cataloguing the collection advances slowly, the project itself is expected to grow considerably in the coming years.