Abstract

A survey was undertaken in 1967, under support of the National Museum of Canada, to determine the nature of the archaeological remains along the virtually unknown shores of the most northerly of the Upper Great Lakes, Lake Nipigon. The shores are dominated by crystalline rock and the boreal forest of the Hudsonian biotic province. Here twenty-one Middle and Late Woodland sites were located. They included seven Middle Woodland, six Late Woodland, five multi-component sites, two stratified sites, and one historic burial. It is suggested that lack of evidence of earlier assemblages reflects the selection of locations examined and the extensive recent shore erosion. Most sites revealed only a thin veneer of artifacts scattered on sandy terraces four to six feet above the present shore line. Primarily on the basis of ceramics, the Laurel Tradition, with some suggestions of blending of Hopewellian, predominates in the middle period. Nutumik focus ceramics blend into Blackduck and Selkirk focus ceramics which predominate in the late period. Unlike the north shore of Lake Superior, a hiatus between periods is not evident, nor are there strong evidences of eastern ceramic mixture; rather the affinities are dominantly western. In the late period they are considered to be largely one ceramic tradition. Trade goods of the post-1600 period were also recovered with Late Woodland ceramics, including ceramics with uniformly poor paste and course grit considered to be Ojibwa as distinct from the known ceramic traditions. This situation appears to be characteristic of the region lying south of the height of land and extending west to Rainy Lake. The establishment of definite evidence of continuities and whether the assemblages represent Obibwa or Siouan peoples rests on future excavation of both sites and burials.