Calgary archeology program sheds light on province's pre-contact history

CBC

2 days ago

With a history spanning well over 10,000 years, Alberta is a prime location for those looking to uncover ancient ways of living.
A Calgary archeology program is shedding some more light on that history while giving aspiring archeologists hands-on experience in the field.
Running from May 15 to June 4, the program is a partnership between the university and the City of Calgary. Last year's field school took place in Nose Hill Park, while this year brought students to Edworthy Park in southwest Calgary.
It's a great opportunity to both train students and educate the public about the long-term history of Calgary and Alberta, said Lindsay Amundsen-Meyer, assistant professor with the University of Calgary anthropology and archeology department.
"This site actually has been known since the '70s. It's just never been excavated," she said of the Edworthy Park dig.
"A big part of why we're doing it in park spaces is so we get the random dog walkers coming by, and we can talk to them about the history that's here," said Amundsen-Meyer.
The findings have yet to be radiocarbon dated for a precise age, but according to Amundsen-Meyer, it's an Indigenous pre-contact site.
"Right now we don't know how old this site is, but we do know that within the city of Calgary, there are sites that stretch back from the contact. Fort Calgary, all the way back eight, even nine thousand years … if we look at the province as a whole, we're talking 13,000 years or more."
Many people going for walks in Edworthy Park might not realize the archeological significance of sites like this, or other sites across the province, which makes outreach a central part of the program.
"That's older than Stonehenge, older than the pyramids, right? So there is a time depth here that I think is really important to understand," said Amundsen-Meyer.
Findings at the site include bifaces (used as knives), choppers (designed to disarticulate carcasses), scrapers (meant to remove meat from hides) and other stone tools. They're fascinating, but nothing out of the ordinary for a site like this, she said.
"Most of what we're finding is what we call lithics. And lithics are basically both stone tools and the garbage from making stone tools," she said.
By giving students hand-on experience, they're joining the work force with a significant head start.
"There's actually a labour market shortage in archeology and cultural resource management right now," said Amundsen-Meyer. "So we're feeding a lot of students straight into industry and straight into jobs. If we can train them better here, they're better prepared."
Indigenous engagement is key focus
Working with Indigenous partners is a central aspect of the program, with every dig being preceded by a ceremony and guidance from elders representing multiple First Nations communities playing a key role in shaping participants' understanding of Indigenous culture.
"All of those pieces are showing how those descendant communities still have connections to this land, to this place and to sites like this," said Amundsen-Meyer.
"I've had elders tell me more than once: you have to have truth before reconciliation," she said. "Part of that is definitely about residential schools, but I think part of it is also about educating people about the long term history of this place."
Joining the University of Calgary archeology students at the Edworthy Park site are three Indigenous youth hired to work alongside the team and train as archeologists.
"In my opinion, we shouldn't be doing archeology without connecting to those descendant communities," said Amundsen-Meyer.
One of those young archeologists, Taren Crowchief of the Siksika Nation, is now in his fourth year with the program.
"It helped me see my history and the past, and just everything about Alberta a lot differently ever since I started doing this," he said.
His work with the program has helped him look at his people and ancestors in a new light.
"I'd always be going through fields back at home on the reserve, and I wouldn't really think much of it. But now when I do go through it, I can't help but just look at every little thing, every little detail," he said. "It's honestly so amazing just to see things so differently."