Prepared for: McGill Development Services 311 Byron Street N. Whitby, Ontario L1N 4N4 Tel Fax

Transcription

1 Stage 3 Archaeological Resource Assessment of the Morrison Creek Site (AiGw-501), Argo Development, Part of Lot 15, Concession 1, North of Dundas Street, Town of Oakville, Regional Municipality of Halton, Ontario Prepared for: McGill Development Services 311 Byron Street N. Whitby, Ontario L1N 4N4 Tel Fax Archaeological Licence P117 (MacDonald) MCL CIF P ASI File 08TE-12 July 2009

2 Stage 3 Archaeological Resource Assessment of the Morrison Creek Site (AiGw-501), Argo Development, Part of Lot 15, Concession 1, North of Dundas Street, Town of Oakville, Regional Municipality of Halton, Ontario EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Morrison Creek site (AiGw-501) was discovered during the Stage 1-2 archaeological resource assessment of the subject property undertaken in 2007, at which time it was deemed to be of potential cultural heritage value and to warrant Stage 3 assessment to evaluate this conclusion. The Stage 3 archaeological resource assessment of the site, carried out in 2009, entailed completion of a controlled surface collection and the excavation of 37 one-metre-square plough zone test units. This work resulted in the recovery of a total of 38 flaked lithic artifacts, including a reworked, probable Late Woodland projectile point. Artifact patterning suggests that the site represents up to three separate instances of chert tool resharpening or repair. The artifact yields from the test units ranged from 0 to 6 per metre square, with an average return of 0.6 per metre. This extremely low artifact density indicates that the occupation(s) of the site have left only ephemeral traces, and that further investigations will not lead to any further significant insights into either the character of the site or the precontact occupation of the general area. These findings have led to the recommendation that the Morrison Creek site be cleared of any further archaeological concern, with the proviso that the appropriate authorities must be notified should deeply buried archaeological or human remains be encountered during any future work on the property.

3 ARCHAEOLOGICAL SERVICES INC. PLANNING DIVISION PROJECT PERSONNEL Project Manager: Project Director: Field Directors: Field Archaeologists: Artifact Processing Artifact Analysis: Artifact Photography: Report Preparation: Graphics: David Robertson, MA, Senior Archaeologist & Manager, Special Projects Robert MacDonald, PhD, (P117), Senior Archaeologist & Partner Shaun Austin, PhD, (P141), Senior Archaeologist Robert Wojtowicz, BSc, (R291), Staff Archaeologist Matt Black, BA Hons Cara Howell, BA, Research Archaeologist Elizabeth Matwey, BA Hons Aleksandra Pradzynski, BA Hons, (R190), Staff Archaeologist Jennifer Rose, BA Hons Anatolijs Venovcevs Cara Howell Shaun Austin Andrea Carnevale, BSc Hons, (R314), Research Archaeologist David Robertson Sarina Finlay, BA, GIS-AS, GIS/CAD Technician David Robertson

4 TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY...i ARCHAEOLOGICAL SERVICES INC.... ii PROJECT PERSONNEL... ii TABLE OF CONTENTS... iii 1.0 INTRODUCTION BACKGROUND FIELD INVESTIGATIONS ARTIFACT ANALYSIS CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS REFERENCES CITED...9 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: The location of the Argo Development subject property and the Morrison Creek site (AiGw-501)...1 Figure 2: The Location of the Morrison Creek Site (AiGw-501)...3 Figure 3: Results of the Stage 3 Assessment of the Morrison Creek Site (AiGw-501)...4 LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Morrison Creek Site (AiGw-501) Stage 3 Artifact Catalogue...6 Table 2: Combined Morrison Creek Site (AiGw-501) Lithic Assemblage...7 Table 3: Comparison of Debitage Patterns Between the Individual Loci...7 LIST OF PLATES Plate 1: Field conditions during the November 2008 site visit...2 Plate 2: The excavation of unit , looking west. Note the extremely well-weathered surface of the field at the time of the 2009 Stage 3 work...2 Plate 3: The excavation of unit , looking east. Note the extremely well-weathered surface of the field at the time of the 2009 Stage 3 work...2 Plate 4: Typical test unit profile as revealed in unit Plate 5: Reworked projectile point (L34) recovered on the surface in the west locus area (left) and utilized/retouched flake (L7) recovered from the surface in the northeast locus area (right)...5

5 Regional Municipality of Halton, Ontario Page INTRODUCTION Archaeological Services Inc. was retained by McGill Development Services to conduct a Stage 3 Archaeological Resource Assessment of the Morrison Creek site AiGw-501 (Figure 1) found during the course of the original Stage 1-2 assessment of the property in 2008 (ASI 2008). The project was conducted under the project management of Mr. David Robertson and the project direction of Dr. Robert MacDonald under archaeological license P117 (MCL Figure 1: The location of the Argo Development subject property and CIF P ) pursuant to the the Morrison Creek site (AiGw-501). Ontario Heritage Act (RSO 2005). Base map: NTS Sheet 30 M/5, Edition 10, Dr. Shaun Austin (P141) and Mr. Robert Wojtowicz (R291) were the field directors. McGill Development Services granted Archaeological Services Inc. permission to access the subject property and to carry out the activities necessary for the completion of the assessment on May 27, BACKGROUND The Morrison Creek site was discovered during the course of a Stage 1 and 2 archaeological resource assessment of property undertaken in November of 2007 (ASI 2008) as a scatter of lithic artifacts on the tablelands along the southern bank of a seasonal tributary of Morrison Creek. This site was approximately 50 metres in diameter and consisted of 14 Onondaga chert artifacts, all of which were collected at the time. This material included four secondary knapping flakes of which two were thermally altered, one biface fragment, eight fragments of shatter, of which one was thermally altered, and one core fragment. 3.0 FIELD INVESTIGATIONS The field in which the site is located was ploughed in early November of 2008, in part to facilitate the completion of the Stage 3 controlled surface collection at the site. The first attempt to carry out the controlled surface collection took place on November 26, 2008, which was a cold overcast day with snow flurries. Despite the fact that the field surface was well-weathered as a result of numerous heavy rains in the intervening period, with 100% surface visibility, no artifacts were encountered at the site. A second pedestrian survey for the Stage 3 assessment was carried out on April 17, 2009, which was a day of mixed

6 Regional Municipality of Halton, Ontario Page 2 sun and cloud. As the field had weathered over the late fall, winter and early spring, but had not yet begun to regenerate, survey conditions were optimal, with surface visibility remaining at 100% (Plate 1). All surface investigations were carried out at survey intervals of one metre, within an area of 75 metres in all directions from the centre point of the site as recorded by GPS during the Stage 2 assessment. The April visit resulted in the discovery of 14 surface artifacts (Figures 2 and 3), the locations of which were recorded using an optical transit and measuring tapes relative to the datum established in the approximate centre of the site area and tied by bearings to landmarks located beyond the limits of the subject property. Plate 1: Field conditions during the November 2008 site visit. Three additional surface artifacts were recovered following the additional weathering that occurred between the April controlled surface collection and the excavation of the test units. The surface material was distributed over an area of approximately 4,065m 2, but consisted of three individual concentrations, each consisting of five to seven lithic artifacts. Two of the concentrations were comparatively diffuse while the third was quite compact. The more diffuse ones were located in the northeast and west sectors of the general site area and measured approximately 300m 2 and 450m 2 respectively, while the denser cluster in the south of the site area measured approximately 40m 2. The individual concentrations were separated from one another by distances of 25 to 50 metres. Given these results, the subsequent ploughzone test unit excavations focused on each of the individual artifact clusters or loci (Figure 3, Plates 2 and 3). This work was carried out between May 11 and May 20, Weather conditions on all days were sunny and clear. Plate 2: The excavation of unit , looking east. Note the extremely well-weathered surface of the field at the time of the 2009 Stage 3 work. Plate 3:The excavation of unit , looking west. Note the extremely well-weathered surface of the field at the time of the 2009 Stage 3 work.

7 WEST LOCUS MORRISON CREEK SITE (AiGw-501) (DATUM 17T ) NORTHEAST LOCUS SOUTH LOCUS SUBJECT PROPERTY LIMITS BASE: 528 Bathurst St. Toronto, Ontario Canada, M5S 2P9 T F info@iasi.to/ 100m 0 RADY-PENTEK & EDWARDS SURVEYING LTD. OCTOBER 2007 Figure 2: The Location of the Morrison Creek Site (AiGw-501). SCALE ASI PROJECT NO.: 08TE-12 DATE: JUNE 25/09 DRAWN BY: DAR FILE: 08TE-12 FIGURE 2.AI

8 NORTHEAST LOCUS WEST LOCUS (POINT) (DATUM 17T SOUTH LOCUS Bathurst St. Toronto, Ontario Canada, M5S 2P9 T F info@iasi.to/ LEGEND n n PLOUGH ZONE TEST UNIT & ARTIFACT YIELD SURFACE ARTIFACT AND IDENTIFIER Figure 3: Results of the Stage 3 Assessment of the Morrison Creek Site (AiGw-501). 0 10m SCALE ASI PROJECT NO.: 08TE-12 DATE: MAY 21/09 rev JUNE 25/09 DRAWN BY: SF/DR FILE: 08TE-12 figure 3.ai

9 Regional Municipality of Halton, Ontario Page 5 In total, 37 test units were excavated. Thirteen units were excavated in each of the larger, more diffuse clusters and 11 units were excavated in the smaller area of greater artifact concentration. All test units were provenienced within the recording grid established across the general site area and tied to the datum used to map the surface artifacts. All test units were excavated five centimetres into subsoil. All soils were screened through six millimetre mesh to facilitate artifact recovery and all test unit profiles, which consisted of centimetres of dark greyish brown loam plough zone soils over reddish-brown clay subsoil, were examined for the Plate 4: Typical test unit profile as revealed in unit presence of buried soil horizons (Plate 4). Likewise, the floors of all test units were trowelled in order to identify any potential subsurface features. Despite careful scrutiny, no cultural features or strata were encountered. All test units were backfilled upon their completion. Overall, this work resulted in the recovery of an additional 21 artifacts. In the northeast sector the 13 units yielded one artifact, which was found in unit , for an average return of less than 0.1 artifact per metre square. In the west locus, five artifacts were recovered from five of the 13 units ( , , , , and ) for an average return of 0.38 artifact per metre square. The 11 units in the south concentration produced a total of 15 artifacts, with yields ranging from 0 to 6 artifacts and average return of 1.36 artifact per metre square. 4.0 ARTIFACT ANALYSIS The Stage 3 assemblage (Table 1) consists of 38 flaked lithic artifacts including: one projectile point (2.6%), six secondary knapping flakes (15.8%), 11 secondary retouch flakes (28.9%) and 20 shatter fragments (52.6%). All the material is Onondaga chert. One of the secondary knapping flakes has been retouched or utilized on two margins (Plate 5). Three of the secondary knapping flakes, six of the secondary retouch flakes and 16 of the shatter fragments are thermally altered. Plate 5: Reworked projectile point (L34) recovered on the surface in the west locus area (left) and utilized/retouched flake (L7) recovered from the surface in the northeast locus area (right).

10 Regional Municipality of Halton, Ontario Page 6 Table 1: Morrison Creek Site (AiGw-501) Stage 3 Artifact Catalogue Cat. No. Provenience f Artifact* Comments L5 Surface 10 1 Secondary Retouch Flake L6 Surface 13 1 Secondary Retouch Flake L7 Surface 12 1 Secondary Knapping Flake Retouched/Utilized L8 Surface 8 1 Shatter Thermally Altered L9 Surface 6 1 Secondary Retouch Flake L10 Surface 7 1 Shatter L11 Surface 2 1 Shatter Thermally Altered L12 Surface 1 1 Secondary Retouch Flake Thermally Altered L13 Surface 4 1 Shatter Thermally Altered L14 Surface 3 1 Shatter Thermally Altered L15 Surface 11 1 Secondary Knapping Flake L16 Surface 9 1 Secondary Knapping Flake Thermally Altered L17 Surface 14 1 Secondary Knapping Flake Thermally Altered L18 Surface 5 1 Shatter L Shatter Thermally Altered L Shatter Thermally Altered L Secondary Retouch Flake Thermally Altered L Shatter Thermally Altered L Secondary Knapping Flake Thermally Altered L Shatter Thermally Altered L Shatter Thermally Altered L Secondary Retouch Flake Thermally Altered L Secondary Retouch Flake L Shatter L Secondary Retouch Flake Thermally Altered L Shatter Thermally Altered L Shatter L32 Surface 16 1 Shatter L Secondary Retouch Flake L34 Surface 15 1 Projectile Point Lanceolate Form; Concave Base, One Basal Corner Reworked; Other Corner Missing; 31mmx15mmx3mm L35 Surface 17 1 Secondary Knapping Flake TOTAL 38 * All artifacts are Onondaga chert The only formal tool recovered during the Stage assessment is a lanceolate-shaped projectile point, missing one tang and a portion of its base. The specimen measures 31 mm in length, 15 mm in width and 3 mm in thickness (Plate 5). It has a concave base, one of its basal corners has been reworked, and the other is missing. The reworking appears to have been carried out to facilitate hafting. It resembles Late Woodland Daniels or Glen Meyer forms.

11 Regional Municipality of Halton, Ontario Page 7 The Stage 3 artifact assemblage is generally consistent with the debitage sample collected during the Stage 2 assessment, as the latter consisted of four secondary knapping flakes and eight pieces of shatter (ASI 2008). The incidence of thermal alteration is considerably higher within the Stage 3 sample (65% versus 21%). The Stage 2 sample also included a biface fragment and a core fragment. Table 2 provides an overall summary of the combined stages 2 and 3 assemblage by artifact type. Table 2: Combined Morrison Creek Site (AiGw- 501) Lithic Assemblage Artifact f % Projectile Point Biface Core Secondary Knapping Flakes Secondary Retouch Flakes Shatter Total The fact that the site resolved itself into three discrete loci suggests that each represents a single activity area. The small number of artifacts recovered from each locus inhibits meaningful comparisons between them in terms of distinguishing the events that occurred at each (Table 3). The strong presence of secondary flakes within the northeast locus suggests that semi-refined or refined biface reduction and/or formal tool re-sharpening was the major activity carried in this area. There may have been less emphasis on these types of tasks in the west and south loci, but overall, the small quantities of artifacts recovered from each area suggests that the occupation(s) were brief in all probability each locus represents a single event. If the projectile point recovered from the west locus of the site is a Late Woodland specimen, it would appear that at least one of these knapping events took place between the eighth and seventeenth centuries A.D. Glen Meyer type projectile points have a date range of circa A.D , while Daniels type points date circa A.D In the absence of any diagnostic material from the other loci, there is no reason to assume that the uses of the three areas were contemporaneous, or related to one another by anything other than general site selection criteria, which remained constant for such sites for thousands of years. Table 3: Comparison of Debitage Patterns Between the Individual Loci Secondary Knapping Secondary Retouch Shatter Total Thermal Alteration f % f % f % f % f % Northeast West South CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS The Stage 3 assessment of the Morrison Creek site (AiGw-501), located on Part of Lot 15, Concession 1 NDS in the Town of Oakville, Regional Municipality of Halton, was carried out to sample, inventory, identify and describe the archaeological resources associated with the site, to precisely define its character, extent and integrity and to provide a basis for the evaluation of its cultural heritage value. The assessment involved a controlled surface collection and the excavation of a series of one-metre-square test units within the three areas of artifact concentration that manifested themselves on the basis of the surface distributions. In no case during the test unit excavations did artifact yields exceed six items, and overall, the average return for the 37 test units that were excavated is 0.6 artifact per one metre square, ranging from less than 0.1 to 1.36 per metre within the three loci that make up the site.

12 Regional Municipality of Halton, Ontario Page 8 Despite the fact that an incomplete, reworked projectile point that likely represents a Late Woodland specimen was recovered from the surface in the west locus area, there is no evidence to suggest that the Morrison Creek site represents more than a few limited episodes of tool maintenance or repair carried out at a very short-term camp site, possibly occupied on three separate occasions by very small travelling parties or perhaps just a single individual. Not all of these events necessarily date to the Late Woodland period. The Stage 3 results indicate that the material traces of the occupations of the site are highly ephemeral, in keeping with the apparently transient character of its use and the limited range of activities that took place. The sparseness of the artifacts stands in contrast to another Late Iroquoian camp, the Shagbark site (AiGw-307), documented approximately two kilometres to the northwest of Morrison Creek (Woodley 1998; personal communication 2009). This site was not plough-disturbed and yielded a total of 224 pieces of debitage, primarily primary reduction and bifacial thinning flakes and a possible Daniels point. The vast majority of this material came from a 20m 2 area and likely represents a single knapping event. Further investigation of the Morrison Creek site, on the other hand, is unlikely to result in a meaningful contribution to our understanding of the precontact occupation of the region. This evaluation of the significance or heritage value of the site is consistent with the requirements of the June 2009 draft of the Standards and Guidelines for Consultant Archaeologists (MCL 2009: Section 3.4.1, pp ), which with respect to small or diffuse lithic scatters note that sites that merit Stage 4 mitigation exhibit at least one of the following characteristics: one or more test units yielding ten or more artifacts; one or more test units yielding five to nine artifacts, including at least one diagnostic artifact; one ore more ceramic sherds; or one or more subsurface cultural features. The Morrison Creek site meets none of these criteria. In light of these findings, the following recommendation is made: 1. The Morrison Creek site (AiGw-501) may be considered clear of any further archaeological concern. No further archaeological assessment or mitigation activities area required. The following conditions also apply: This report is submitted to the Minister of Culture as a condition of licensing in accordance with Part VI of the Ontario Heritage Act, RSO 1990, c The report is reviewed to ensure that the licensed consultant archaeologist has met the terms and conditions of their archaeological licence, and that the archaeological fieldwork and report recommendations ensure the conservation, preservation and protection of the cultural heritage of Ontario. Should previously undocumented archaeological resources be discovered, they may be a new archaeological site and therefore subject to Section 48 (1) of the Ontario Heritage Act. The proponent or person discovering the archaeological resources must cease alteration of the site immediately and engage a licensed consultant archaeologist to carry out archaeological fieldwork, in compliance with sec. 48 (1) of the Ontario Heritage Act.

13 Regional Municipality of Halton, Ontario Page 9 The Cemeteries Act requires that any person discovering human remains must immediately notify the police or coroner and the Registrar of Cemeteries, Ministry of Small Business and Consumer Services. The documentation related to this archaeological assessment will be curated by Archaeological Services Inc. until such a time that arrangements for their ultimate transfer to Her Majesty the Queen in right of Ontario, or other public institution, can be made to the satisfaction of the project owner(s), the Ontario Ministry of Culture, and any other legitimate interest groups. 6.0 REFERENCES CITED ASI (Archaeological Services Inc.) 2008 Stage 1 and 2 Archaeological Assessment of the Argo Property, Part of Lot 15, Concession 1 NDS, Formerly in the Township of Trafalgar South, now in the Town of Oakville, Regional Municipality of Halton. ASI File 07TS-193/ MCL CIF P Report on file, Ontario Ministry of Culture, Toronto. MCL (Ontario Ministry of Culture) 2009 Draft Standards and Guidelines for Consultant Archaeologists, June Ontario Ministry of Culture, Toronto. Woodley, P.J Excavation of the Shagbark Site (AiGw-301), Highway 407. Report of file, Ontario Ministry of Culture, Toronto.