David Lamb - his final portage February 17th 2012

David's enthusiastic interest in all things historical and his zest for learning always provided a breath of fresh air to our group. His crafts in which he replicated artifacts of the past are true works of art and are inspirational to those seeking a better understanding of the way we were. His passion for understanding the Aboriginal way of life is reflected in his art and will remain as part of his legacy.
I only wish that we had been able to share in the building of that birth bark canoe that he so desired to create - have a good voyage my friend.
John Raynor
President
Huronia Chapter of the Ontario Archaeological Society
http://www.steckleygooderham.com/obituaries/David-Lamb/  

Photo of some of David's work by William Gibson

Obituary for Mr. David Lamb

Lamb, David
Passed away at the Southlake Health Centre, surrounded by his family on Friday February 17, 2012 at the age of 65. Beloved husband of Mary. Loving father of Paul and his wife Andrea, Stephen and Jeffrey. Proud Grandad of Jacob and Olivia. Dear son of Doris and the late Frank Lamb. Loving brother of Jennifer and her husband David, Graham and Pat. Uncle Dave will be sadly missed by his nieces and nephews. Friends may call at the Steckley-Gooderham Funeral Home, 30 Worsley St. Barrie, from 2-4 and 7-9 p.m. Monday. Funeral Service in the Chapel on Tuesday February 21, 2012 at 1:00 p.m. Interment St. Mary’s Cemetery. Condolences may be forwarded through www.steckleygooderham.com.

Metal Detecting: Numbers and Questions

Metal Detecting: Numbers and Questions

British Archaeology in its January February 2012 issue has an interesting article in the Spoilheap  department entitled: “Metal Detecting, ban or befriend: the evidence”.

This article looks at the effect of the Portable Antiquities Scheme.  “The premise of the scheme is that voluntary regulations, free, informed advice and national recording of metal detector finds are better for archaeology than laws which ban collecting.”

Municipal Cultural Planning in the North Simcoe Area

http://midlandmcpiworkshop.eventbrite.ca/
The above link will take you to the details and registration info for the Municipal Cultural Planning Workshop being hosted by Midland March 21st at the North Simcoe Sports and Recreation Centre next to the Huronia Museum.
This workshop may enable us to raise the question of archaeological site preservation and the need for archaeological master plans as part of the cultural planning process.
I am looking forward to seeing what is presented and participating in the process if it is deemed appropriate.

Feb. 9th Huronia Chapter Mting talk: "8 Weeks in the Nam"

Dayle Elder

Dayle Elder has generously agreed to make a presentation at our February 9th 2012 members meeting. His topic: "8 Weeks in the Nam: The Archaeology of the Namewaminikan River." He will focus on archaeological research conducted on the Namewaminikan River and Lake Nipigon from the 1980's until the present time, including the work he did this summer on the archaeological sites Twin Falls I (DkJa-7) and Twin Falls II (DkJa-8). Dayle Elder's talk is open to the public.  The chapter business meeting which follows his talk is open to chapter members only.

7 pm at the Huronia Museum

549 Little Lake Park Rd. Midland, Ontario

(705) 526 2844

Latest news on Cumberland Beach Ossuary.

Discovery a glimpse into a ‘completely different’ life

By MIRANDA MINASSIAN Orillia Packet Times

Updated 1 day ago

Life on the shore of Lake Couchiching was dramatically different 500 years ago for the First Nations communities that inhabited the area.

This was a place covered in golden cornfields as far as the eye could see — an idyllic spot dotted with villages across the region that each supported about 1,500 inhabitants.

That long-forgotten part of northern Simcoe County’s past was brought back into the light after an ancestral Huron ossuary was discovered Nov. 2.

The bones were discovered buried together in a circular pattern, said chief archeologist Ron Williamson, who was sent to the area to identify the bones and their current descendants.

“They are ossuaries, which are Huron-Wendat features,” he said. “They are the folks in that area that buried their dead in pits (where burial took place after the grave’s initial construction).”

Unearthed during the development of the West Shore Beach Club in Cumberland Beach, the Wendat bones hint at a community long-since forgotten; one whose history played out before European settlers arrived.

“When the Jesuits arrived in Huronia in the 1600s, they would get lost moving from one village to another, but instead of being lost in the forest, they were lost in the cornfields,” said Williamson.

“It is a completely different life to have to imagine.”

In the matriarchal society of the time, life and labour were divided down gender lines. While women tended the massive expanses of cornfields, did the sewing and reared young, men would hunt, fish and clear the forests of wood, said Williamson.

Martyrs' Shrine and Recycling Plant - CBC radio

The following link will take you to CBC radio one broadcast aired this AM re the Shrine vs Midland.

http://www.cbc.ca/ontariomorning/2012/02/03/martyrs-shrine-and-recycling-plant/http://www.cbc.ca/ontariomorning/2012/02/03/martyrs-shrine-and-recycling-plant/

resuming blogger's dynamic view template

We are retrying the dynamic view template for this blog.  Leave any feedback as comments to this post, thanks.

Bruneauville?

While doing research regarding historical/archaeological sites that might be threatened by a change to the cultural landscape as a result of the proposed development of some industrial land across the Wye River from the Shrine and Ste. Marie I came across references to the settlement of Bruneauville. Bruneauville was a registered plan of subdivision for a village on the west side of the Wye River in the west 1/2 of lot 16 con 3 of Tay Township.

CBC follow up re Shrine vs town planning

A CBC radio and television crew spent much of the day in our area yesterday doing background research and interviews at the Shrine and Ste. Marie. I was asked to participate as a local historian and reiterated my concern over the need for responsible planning that includes consultation with all stakeholders and more attention to the need for historical/archaeological assessments (whether required by the law or not) in Huronia due the the richness and density of our area's cultural resources.
I am pleased to see this process is still moving forward and has not lost the attention of the national media.

http://www.martyrs-shrine.com/

Do archaeological assessment at recycling site, Hunter urges

By DOUGLAS GLYNN

Jamie Hunter holds a restored Huron pot that was found at a local archaeological excavation

Huronia museum curator Jamie Hunter this week reiterated his suggestion that a comprehensive archaeological assessment should be carried out before development of a proposed recycling facility at 1001 Franke Kindred Rd.

Hunter made the suggestion to Wes Crown, Midland's director of planning and development, in a letter dated Oct. 28, 2011. The letter was discussed earlier this month at the planning and development committee meeting.

"I would respectfully request that the developer/proponent of the re-cycling plant do a comprehensive archaeological assessment of the property before serious development on the site commences, and as town Planner you do have the ability to see that this takes place," the letter said.

Coun. Pat File said when the re-zoning application was made the committee was told it had been done. "There could be important stuff there," she said.

Another documentary on our friend Etienne.

http://www.radio-canada.ca/regions/dossiers/2011/etienne_brule/
We have a tentative booking for our May or June chapter meeting for another presentation on Tiny Township's first European resident. Mr. Bode has just returned from Paris where he made a presentation on Etienne Brule to the Historical Society of Champigny sur Marne, the birthplace of our friend Etienne (or Steve, as you wish…).
Stay tuned for confirmation of the date for this presentation - this one I would like to promote to the public.

C.W. Jefferys’ concept of “Re-enactment of Past Experience” for the arrival of French adventurer Étienne Brûlé in Huronia, early 17th century

photo slide show link test

This is a preliminary test to add more photo resources to the blog.

The link is to my set of Archaeology related photos stored on my flickr account online.   If this proves to be a good method, the chapter will look into setting up its own flickr account to store and make available photographs.


slide show link  some 50 images

controls for the slide show:

• towards the top right of the slide show screen you can select show info which will reveal the caption for each photo as you go through the slide show.
• use the options menu also near the top right to change the speed of the slideshow to slow, medium or fast 
• to view an individual photo outside of the slide show, you have to click on its title -- once you pop out one image you will find when you return to the slide show that you will need to advance the show to the next slide by clicking the next button at the top centre of the screen.

Comments on how useful this sort of photo access is to you would be welcomed,  please leave any feedback on this blog post by using the comment feature.

Thanks, Bill Gibson

2000 year old Roman cavalry helmet reassembled

some one thousand metal fragments have been reassembled to restore a two thousand year old Roman cavalry helmet found in the UK   this article has an excellent photo of the helmet

Water Levels in Old Huronia

As noted in numerous previous posts this past fall, the Martyr's Shrine and Ste. Marie among the Hurons joined forces in mounting a campaign to stop the development of an industrial site that they are concerned would detract from their operations and possibly destroy some sites that relate to Huronia's well documented past. In preparation for this I was asked to provide what information I could regarding sites in the vicinity of this proposed development. As no archaeological assessment had been requested by the Town of Midland I resorted to my database and what ever other documentation at my disposal to assist these historic sites in building their case.

While investigating archaeological and historical sites in and around Ste. Marie among the Huron and the Martyrs Shrine I reviewed "Before and Beyond Sainte Marie" (Friends of Sainte Marie - 1995) and was able to use the research contained within this publication to support the identity and location of numerous sites of interest close to the land in question.
While reviewing this report I came across a section that I had highlighted in earlier research regarding the water level of the Wye River at the time of Ste. Marie (top of page 201). This led me to another report commissioned by the Wye Marsh (Ste. Marie's neighbour on the Wye) regarding the origins of the marsh and the water levels over time. http://www.wyemarsh.com/conservation/pdf/Chittenden-1990-OriginoftheWyeMarsh.pdf

January 12th Members Meeting - planning for 2012-15

Our January meeting will be dedicated to planning for what we wish to accomplish, do or address in 2012.
Some of the subject areas that have come forward to date are:

The Twelfth Night in Huronia

Could it be that the French in Huronia celebrated this festive eve with a song or at least a variation on the lyrics of a song we use today.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Twelve_Days_of_Christmas_(song)#Origin
There is a good possibility that the lyrics originated as part of a game from France much earlier than the English version that we are familiar with.The version that I think might have been used here would be;

 "La Foi de la loi," and is sung "avec solennite," the sequence being: a good stuffing without bones, two breasts of veal, three joints of beef, four pigs' trotters, five legs of mutton, six partridges with cabbage, seven spitted rabbits, eight plates of salad, nine dishes for a chapter of canons, ten full casks, eleven beautiful full-breasted maidens, and twelve musketeers with their swords.
I can just imagine the French wintering over with the Wendat in Huronia conjuring up the visions that this song might depict. If the "Order of Good Cheer" was adopted here, this might have been one of their favoured past times.

Who Celebrated the New Year in Huronia and When?

Pope Gregory XIII, Gregorian Calendar comes from him

When one reads the primary source documentation that relates to the First Contact period in the New World it is important to note that these writers used more than one calendar to record events. If the writer was Catholic then events were recorded with dates in the Gregorian calendar;   if Huguenot (Protestant) one would most likely have recorded events on dates from the Julian calendar. At this time of year these calendars would be a year and 11 days apart and would not come close to alignment until March 21st when the Julian calendar New Years would take place. The 11 days however would remain an issue. To add to this confusion, the priests would often record an event using the liturgical calendar so one gets references to events taking place on St. Bernard's day or other feast days unique to the Catholic rhythm of life.

tablets and ereaders out from under the tree

If Saint Nick dropped under your Christmas tree a new piece of technology of the tablet or ereader kind, please post about your experiences with these gadgets.  Especially if you have a particular archaeological angle, app, or appreciation with them to share.

I know John Raynor received a Kindle.  He has set it up as a mobile reference library with Champlain and Sagard texts. I am getting up and running with a Sony E-reader.

I have started experimenting with text documents in MS Word, changing the page size to A6, setting the margins to narrow, and bumping up the font size.

Sites in Tay Twp - OMB Review

I have been informed by the OMB that a Prehearing Conference will be held February 14th 2012 regarding a development on part of lots 12 and 13 Cons 6 and 7 Tay township.
The only site references that I have on my database relates to A F Hunter's site #7 (Vent's site) in his Tay report. This report indicates a landing place at the mouth of the Hogg River that appears to have been used by the Wendat in the 1600's and later by the Algonquin in the 1800's. This site shows up on Hunter's map that accompanied the report and on the A E Jones map of Tay sites in his1908 report.

News From Canada, 1628

Quebec History. David Kirke - England's Honour 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fM7U8EnIHfg&feature=share


David Kirke and His Brothers (1597– 1654)
1628–1632
David Kirke was born around 1597 in Dieppe, France, to a family of merchants. He was the eldest of the five sons—followed by Lewis, Thomas, John and James—of Jarvis Kirke, a wealthy trader who conducted business in France and England.
When war broke out between France and England in 1627, King Charles I commissioned David and his brothers to conquer Canada in the name of England. In 1628, the Kirke Brothers made an unsuccessful attempt to take Québec City. The following year, backed by the Company of Adventurers to Canada and better prepared, the Kirkes reappeared on the St. Lawrence River. Incapable of bearing the siege any longer, Champlain surrendered and was forced to leave Québec, which was occupied by the Kirkes until 1632. The signing of the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye in 1632 forced the Kirkes to restore Québec to the French. David Kirke later became governor of Newfoundland and continued to serve the English Crown in this capacity. In the end, Kirke was imprisoned for various reasons and accusations, and died around 1654 while serving his sentence.
When news of the events that took place from 1628 to 1632 reached France, the French-born Kirke brothers were burned in effigy because their actions were considered treason. Years later, the Kirkes were naturalized as English citizens and knighted in recognition of their exploits that led to the occupation of Québec.