Ontario Archaeological Society

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The Ontario Archaeological Society is a Canadian organization that has existed since January 1951 and deals with the archeology of Ontario and thus makes significant contributions to the history of the province . It publishes the biannual journal Ontario Archeology and twice a month the Arch Notes ; there are also monographs. Its headquarters are in the Ashbridge Estate in the east of Toronto , the capital of the province. President is Jean-Luc Pilon.

history

Archeology has long been a scientific discipline in the province of Ontario that was barely noticed by the Canadian public. The history of Ontario began at best with its discovery by Europeans in the early 16th century. Inspired by lectures by John Norman Emerson (1917–1978), the leading archaeologist in anthropology at the University of Toronto , a group of interested people came together who wanted to change this situation. To this end, a publication organ should be set up, collaboration and the exchange of information promoted, as well as teaching. In addition, illegal excavations should be prevented.

Emerson gained his first excavation experience with Philleo Nash in 1938/39 when he supported the excavation at the Pound site in southwestern Ontario. The first publication with the title Digging Up the Past with Grapefruit Knives followed in 1939 . That same year, he accompanied Kenneth E. Kidd to Rock Lake in Algonquin Provincial Park . The next year he went for Fay Cooper Cole from the University of Chicago to the Kincaid site in Illinois , where he dug a mound , a large man-made mound. Norman rejected appeals by Yale , Harvard and Pennsylvania from to in Anthropology to a doctorate (1954). After the war he became a lecturer in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Toronto. He initiated, supervised and led almost 50 excavation campaigns as a Supervisor of Archaeological Studies , founded an archaeological laboratory and an archaeological society to increase the impact and raise funds.

From 1960 he conducted the first archaeological field schools, which are now common throughout Canada, where students could learn in practice how to carry out excavations in the complex economic and cultural field together with the First Nations (Pic River 1960, Cahiagué 1961-1967). His specialty were the Middle and Late Woodland phase (Middle and Late Woodland) and the Iroquois . In 1968 he became vice president of the Canadian Archaeological Association , 1975–76 its president. In 1970 he became president of the Ontario Archaeological Society and received the Smith-Wintemberg Prize from her in 1978 for exceptional contributions to Canadian archeology.

The first edition of Ontario Archeology could not appear until 1958 due to lack of funds. Before that, five editions of the New Pages of Prehistory appeared in 1956–1962 . Later came the Arch Notes , which distribute technical news twice a month. The growing number of members and finally the support of the provincial government made it possible for them to move into their own office and hire full-time workers. There are now separate associations in Hamilton , Huronia , London , Thunder Bay , Ottawa , Toronto and Windsor . Workshops , courses and seminars are held regularly, as are congresses . Our own library and excavation database provide significant support for research and teaching.

Web links

Remarks

  1. This and the following from: J. Norman Emerson , first in: Canadian Journal of Archeology 3 (1979) 240-244 (archive.org, March 21, 2015).
  2. ^ Search mask for the articles in Ontario Archeology
  3. ^ List of contributions.