[Xelebes]

Meant to post this earlier as I heard it on the morning radio, but eh - better now than never.

From the University of Calgary press releases, full version within link. (http://www.ucalgary.ca/news/june2008/firstnationdig)

Dig reveals unknown First Nations group

June 19, 2008
NEWS RELEASE
Ancient fort opens new chapter in First Nations' history

A fortified village that pre-dates European arrival in Western Canada and is the only one of its kind discovered on the Canadian plains is yielding intriguing evidence of an unknown First Nations group settling on the prairies and is rekindling new ties between the Siksika Nation and aboriginal groups in the United States.

This spring, students from the U of C's Department of Archaeology are spending several weeks working on a dig near Cluny, about 120 kilometres east of Calgary, as part of a project that is expected to continue for several years unearthing one of Alberta's most significant archaeological sites. Known as the Cluny Fortified Village, the site on the Siksika First Nation reservation next to the Bow River is more than 250 years old and is an enigma to archaeologists who say it may have been home to a small band of normally-sedentary people from North Dakota.

[Kevin_foster]

Awsome, I would love to see pics. I'm a archaeology nut...

[crooked rain]

Fascinating. Pehaps they were not too far off from developing an agricultural society here.

[Xelebes]

Apparently, this burg is close to Blackfoot Crossing and Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump. Apparently what was found in the burg was a lot of sales of pemmican with farmed goods. We now know why the Blackfoot were jumping so many bison off the cliff - bison was a commodity and they were using it to trade, not to survive.

[Hillbillary]

Apparently what was found in the burg was a lot of sales of pemmican with farmed goods. We now know why the Blackfoot were jumping so many bison off the cliff - bison was a commodity and they were using it to trade, not to survive.

That's not what I got from the article at all, are you basing that on a different source?


June 19, 2008
NEWS RELEASE
Ancient fort opens new chapter in First Nations' history

...Similar to the fortified villages of agrarian First Nations groups in central and eastern North America, the Cluny Fortified Village includes evidence of a living area surrounded by a trench and wooden palisade along with pits often seen in communities where farming was a way of life. This year's archaeology field school uncovered bone and stone tools, arrowheads, pottery and glass trading beads that also point towards the inhabitants being descended from the Middle Missouri region people...."

sounds more like a midwestern tribe (or a branch of) migrated here and were using the local resources in situ. No doubt there was trade between various Nations, but I don't see where the article substantiates any claim of "Bison as a commodity"

[onishenko]

*waiting for pics or a google maps link of sorts.....*

[Xelebes]

That's not what I got from the article at all, are you basing that on a different source?



sounds more like a midwestern tribe (or a branch of) migrated here and were using the local resources in situ. No doubt there was trade between various Nations, but I don't see where the article substantiates any claim of "Bison as a commodity"
Oh yeah, I'm drawing some information from the CBC interview. It is not substantiated by the article, it's more of a conjecture or a hypothesis drawn from those two pieces.

[mersar]

Not sure the exact location, but they mention its near Cluny on the Bow River, which can be found here (http://maps.google.ca/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=cluny,+ab&ie=UTF8&t=h&ll=50.821987,-112.859802&spn=0.146182,0.300751&z=12&iwloc=addr) (east of Gleichen, west of Bassano along the transcanada)

[Calgarian]

Interesting...

[freeweed]

Not sure the exact location, but they mention its near Cluny on the Bow River, which can be found here (http://maps.google.ca/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=cluny,+ab&ie=UTF8&t=h&ll=50.821987,-112.859802&spn=0.146182,0.300751&z=12&iwloc=addr) (east of Gleichen, west of Bassano along the transcanada)

That's not exactly "close" to Head Smashed-In. Perhaps some seasonal trade, which indigenous peoples did aplenty, but I'd find it hard to believe they'd set up a regular trading post over 100km away from a main supply source. That's a long ride.

[lubicon]

That's not what I got from the article at all, are you basing that on a different source?



sounds more like a midwestern tribe (or a branch of) migrated here and were using the local resources in situ. No doubt there was trade between various Nations, but I don't see where the article substantiates any claim of "Bison as a commodity"

I believe the report also mentioned that they found traces of maise or corn which is not native to this part of the world. This also lead them to believe the people may have been from what is now the US Midwest.

[Calgarian]

That's not exactly "close" to Head Smashed-In. Perhaps some seasonal trade, which indigenous peoples did aplenty, but I'd find it hard to believe they'd set up a regular trading post over 100km away from a main supply source. That's a long ride.

Especially considering that there probably weren't any horses in Alberta at that time.

[Wrecker]

So does this mean American Indians can now make claims, etc here?

[Xelebes]

They don't know who this is, but if this tribe settled here, then they are a Saskatchewan tribe not a Missourian tribe. (I use the terms "Saskatchewan" and "Missourian" as general chunks of North America with names made by the natives themselves.)