The Shamblers Cove site, located near Greenspond on the north side of Bonavista Bay, gains prominence in Newfoundland and Labrador archaeology due to the unique characteristics of its Dorset component. It should also be recognized for its multiple instances of First Nation occupations. The Historic Resources Division first became aware of this site in June ..read more

The Archaic period begins around 9000 years ago in Newfoundland and Labrador with the oldest recognized Archaic site in the province at Pinware Hill in the community of Pinware, radiocarbon dated to 8850+/-100 (SI-2309). Prior to the late 1960s little was known about the Archaic occupation of the province. This drastically changed with the excavation ..read more

Seventeenth- and eighteenth-century English observers maintained either that the Beothuk had no religion, or that it “the religion of this people rises but little above such harmless trifling observances.” (Howley 1915:39) Beothuk world view and their religious practices as described by Shanawdithit, however, appears to have constituted a pervasive force in their lives, influencing individual ..read more

Sadly, after recently being diagnosed with cancer, Martha has passed away. This post is a synopsis of a PAO Review (Vol. 18) article written by Assistant Deputy Minister Gerry Osmond and Jamie Brake who replaced Martha as the Provincial Archaeologist after she retired. Their article provides a nice summary of her career, role in the ..read more

The first post I ever wrote for this blog was about the French establishment in West St. Modeste, Labrador known as the Old French Fort EjBe-60. Continuing north along the highway the next community is Pinware, a small town of under 100 people but archaeologically it plays a huge role in the Province’s past. There ..read more

In 1981, the Historic Resources Division of the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador produced the first volume of Archaeology in Newfoundland and Labrador for the 1980 field season. This journal and subsequent volumes quickly became a reliable source of information dealing with archaeology in this province. Printed copies of this journal were produced up to ..read more

A recent CBC radio interview on the subjects of Oderin Island and the pirate Peter Easton caught my attention. During the interview there were claims of Easton burying treasure in the pond on Oderin. Based on a review of mostly publicly available evidence it seems these claims are patently false. In fact, Easton’s very brief ..read more

After John Cabot’s 1497 voyage (and likely before it) the abundant cod stocks off the Province’s shores became well known and attracted several European nations. For centuries after those European fishing fleets crossed the Atlantic annually to engage in the fishery. French fishers were amongst those international fleets coming to the island from at least ..read more