Vihtr'iitshik
A Stone Quarry Reported by Alexander Mackenzie on the Lower Mackenzie River in 1789

Résumé

L'analyse de la collection archéologique obtenue en 1988 au site MiTi-1, situé à l'embouchure de la rivière Thunder, dans la bas Mackenzie, témoigne de l'exploitation de l'argillite silicifiée qui s'y trouve. En effet, les récits de voyages ainsi que les toponymes autochtones suggèrent que cette localité fut celle indiquée à Alexander Mackenzie comme l'endroit où les Indiens et les Inuits venaient trouver de la pierre pour fabriquer leurs outils. Les collections archéologiques de la plaine d'Anderson recellent de cette argillite silicifiée prélevée de dépôts géologiques primaires ou retrouvée sur les plages sous forme de galets. Dans les régions avoisinantes cette argillite silicifiée ne se rencontre que rarement et très souvent prends la forme d'outil ou de microlames. Il est surtout intéressant de noter la présence de ce type lithique dans plusieurs gisements néo-esquimaux du delta du fleuve Mackenzie. Une lecture critique des écrits de Mackenzie démontre que ce dernier était un observateur fiable, du moins en ce qui concerne cette source de pierre.

Abstract

The analysis of archaeological specimens gathered in 1988 at the mouth of the Thunder River (MiTi-1), lower Mackenzie Valley, indicates that the locality's primary function was as a quarry/workshop. Historical and toponymic data show that this was likely the quarry identified by Alexander Mackenzie on July 24, 1789. Collections from the southwest Anderson Plain contain high proportions of Thunder River siliceous argillite, some obtained from beach gravels or till deposits while some was obtained from primary geological deposits. In collections from peripheral areas, Thunder River siliceous argillite is occasionally found and often consists of the end-products of lithic reduction. It is especially interesting to confirm the presence of Thunder River siliceous argillite in Mackenzie Delta Inuit sites. A critical evaluation of all available data shows that Alexander Mackenzie's journal was relatively accurate with respect to this lithic source.


Introduction

The Northern Oil and Gas Action Programme (NOGAP) is a federal government initiative aimed at acquiring baseline data in a number of environmentally sensitive fields. This information, it is hoped, will permit a sounder approach to the management of oil and gas resource development within the NOGAP regions: the Mackenzie Valley, the Beaufort Sea and the Northwest Passage. One of those areas of concern is heritage resources. The Archaeological Survey of Canada, Canadian Museum of Civilization, working in conjunction with territorial government agencies (Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre and Yukon Heritage Branch) and heritage contractors, undertook the task of identifying and assessing the significance of the archaeological resources within the NOGAP areas.

Much of the field work in the lower Mackenzie Valley (Pilon, 1985; 1987; 1988; 1989) was carried out in the southwestern portion of the physiographic region known as the Anderson Plain (Bostock, 1964). Previous archaeological surveys within the general area had identified 107 archaeological sites (MacNeish, 1954; Millar and Fedirchuk, 1975; Cinq-Mars, 1975; Morrison, 1984), but only one, the multi-component Whirl Lake site (MjTp-1), had ever been systematically studied (Gordon and Savage, 1973).

One other site stands out from among the relatively meagre sites located prior to NOGAP: MiTi-1, discovered and tested in 1973 at the mouth of the Thunder River (Millar and Fedirchuk, 1975:239) within the context of the Mackenzie Valley Archaeological Survey. In all, the combined collection included more than 600 pieces of debitage along with 3 blades, 3 unifaces, 7 bifaces, 4 scrapers and an unspecified number of cores and utilized flakes. Unfortunately, the only available information pertaining to this collection is contained in a brief description of the site and two artifact plates (Millar and Fedirchuk, 1975:239-241). Although revisited by Hanks and Winter in 1982 (Hanks and Winter, 1984) no additional materials were collected from the site.

Since very little was known about prehistoric uses of the resources of the lower Mackenzie River, the apparently rich site at the mouth of the Thunder River was targeted for additional study. In 1988 the MiTi-1 site was visited in order to determine whether much remained of the site, to assess the damage which may have resulted from a major forest fire in the area in 1986, and to collect an artifact sample.

The primary objective of this article is to bring together a relatively broad range of archaeological, historical, geological, and toponymic data which relate to MiTi-1 and permit a better understanding of the potential significance of this archaeological site.