Abstract

Dr. George Frederick Clarke (1883–1974), a dentist and author, and an avocational archaeologist and historian, wrote the first book-length work devoted largely to the pre-contact archaeology of New Brunswick, and was awarded an honorary PhD by the University of New Brunswick. In 2006, his collection of 2700 artifacts and associated notes and records were donated to UNB by the Clarke family. Dr. Clarke's archaeological activities coincided with a time when little professional archaeological work was being conducted in the province, and many of the sites he found and explored were submerged, subsequently, beneath the head-ponds of hydro-electric dams. Thus, his work is important for its potential contributions to constructing regional archaeological history and for its place in the history of Canadian archaeology. One potential contribution is the light the Clarke collection may shed on the portage route between the headwaters of the Tobique and Miramichi river systems, which spans the traditional territories of the Wolastoqiyik and the Mi'kmaq.