Today’s post comes from Breanna Hall, past park interpreter at Sleeping Giant Provincial Park. Special thanks to Clarence Surette, archaeologist at Lakehead University, for sharing his knowledge.
Unearthing the past often involves piecing together stories from what others left behind. This study and practice is known as archaeology.
Think of it like the most complex jigsaw puzzle you’ve ever assembled; pieces are missing, you’re not sure where the edges are, and you don’t always have the picture on the box.
Artifacts and sites are puzzle pieces that fit together to show us how humans lived on and interacted with the land.
So, how old are these pieces?
Good question!
Archaeologists divide the past into time periods based on changes in technology.
In North America, the periods between the retreat of the glaciers and European contact are known as Pre-Contact Periods.
In archaeology, pointed tools called projectile points (that were often used for hunting or butchering) changed through time from large thrusting spear points to dart points (thrown with a handheld dart thrower known as an atlatl) to much more recent arrowheads.
It takes archaeologists lots of time and research to put objects like these in chronological order.
Imagine if you were from the future and were presented with a box of old phones. Could you order them from oldest to newest? From old rotary style to flip phone to smartphone?
When is a rock not just a rock?
When it’s an artifact!
Artifacts are materials that have been modified and used by people.
In the 1940s, Jorgen Brohm, a farmer at Pass Lake (bordering the north end of Sleeping Giant Provincial Park) turned up odd-shaped stones when tilling his fields.
Archaeological investigations at the “Brohm Site” unearthed one of the oldest known areas of human occupation in what is now Ontario.
Archaeologists uncovered stone tools at the Brohm Site that had been worked on both edges (called bifaces) including spear points, atlatl dart points, hide scrapers, choppers, and a drill.
These tools were made of a stone called taconite, local to the area known today as Thunder Bay. The dig also exposed an ancient cobble beach 61 metres above Lake Superior’s current shore!
All these puzzle pieces hinted that this area was once a workshop for a critical activity.
Stepping back in time 9,000 years, the “Sleeping Giant” was taking a bath as a string of islands in Lake Miniong (the precursor to today’s Lake Superior). Melting glaciers filled the ancient lake to levels much higher than we see today.
The Brohm Site was a strategically narrow point on the ancient lake. From there, where the land acted like a natural funnel, people could hunt caribou, critically providing people with food, clothing, and tool-making materials in a time before you could just go to the store.
Archaeologists cannot say for sure who these people were because they lived thousands of years ago. The communities closer to contact are likely the ancestors of present-day Indigenous communities in the area.
Let’s learn how technologies changed in the Pre-Contact Period:
Stone and bone: early Pre-Contact Period
+/- 10,000 to +/- 7,500 years ago
This period is defined by large lanceolate shaped points for thrusting spears and later, atlatls (a device for throwing a dart or spear).
Points were crafted from local stone and bone, although acidic soils on the north shore have all but erased the bone pieces.
Copper culture: middle Pre-Contact Period
+/- 7,500 to +/- 2,300 years ago
A copper gaff hook pulled up while net fishing off Silver Islet. A tempered knife unearthed at a property on the Peninsula’s southern shore. A projectile point washed up on the beach.
These fragile clues dated 3,000 – 5,000 years old represent the rich culture in this area.
Relieved of the weight of glacial ice, the land slowly rose from then to now, changing lake levels and submerging many middle Pre-Contact sites.
Stepping back 5,000 years, climate and landscapes transformed from barren ground to forests and lake levels have dropped since the remaining ice dams broke.
During this period, communities worked with local copper to craft tools. Copper was likely acquired from nearby areas known today as Isle Royale and the Black Bay Peninsula.
Projectile point styles are also unique in this period and some were crafted out of copper instead of stone.
Ground stone tools also appear in the archaeological record. Individuals would use rough materials like sandstone similar to how we use sandpaper to shape fine cutting edges on tools.
These ground stones were likely attached to wooden handles, creating axes known as celts and adzes.
Pottery and trade: late Pre-Contact Period
+/- 2,300 to +/- 400 years ago
Fast forward in time, communities are using local clay to make pottery.
The earliest styles were crafted from coils of clay smoothed to make cone-shaped pots.
As communities and cultures changed, their pottery did too. Woven bags supported and shaped later style pottery, leaving distinct patterns in the clay.
Over time, an extensive trade network developed.
Projectile points found on Sleeping Giant’s south shore were crafted from Onondaga chert from the Niagara Peninsula and obsidian (volcanic glass) from Wyoming. A portage across the Peninsula likely helped individuals avoid paddling the treacherous waters around Thunder Cape.
Items left behind
Though it may seem we have a good grasp of our history, archaeologists are still trying to fit pictures together and fill in holes with more artifacts. These puzzles are not yet complete.
If you find an artifact along the shore or a trail, it is an invaluable clue to the stories of the past. Chance-find artifacts should be left where they are.
Take photos and GPS coordinates and report it to the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport.
Remember that cultural heritage sites are protected under the Ontario Heritage Act and disturbing sites or artifacts is unlawful.
Archaeology on Lake Superior’s north shore reminds us that humans have lived in the area known today as Sleeping Giant Provincial Park for over 9,000 years.
The next time you are out paddling, hiking or relaxing on the beach we hope you are inspired to reflect on the rich cultural landscapes that have existed since time immemorial.
Imagine the patience, workmanship and expertise needed to make these objects. And they are just a piece of the puzzle!
Sleeping Giant Provincial Park is located an hour’s drive east from Thunder Bay along Highways 11/17 and 587.
