As you read this story, you will learn the following:
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The discovery of an 11,000-year-old Aboriginal settlement in Saskatchewan is reshaping our understanding of North American civilization.
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Evidence of long-term settlements rather than temporary hunting camps overturns the previous view that Aboriginal people were simply nomadic peoples.
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The findings also contradict previous beliefs about the length of residence in North America.
Now extinct but once abundant antique bison— a larger, taller relative of the bison we know today, weighing up to 4,400 pounds each — and a good meal if you can manage to catch one. In a discovery that upends our view of early North Americans, the meat was apparently enough for a group of First Nations to make their home near what is now Prince Albert, Saskatchewan.
Researchers have discovered evidence of a long-term settlement dating back 11,000 years near Sturgeon Lake in the Canadian province. It could rewrite what is known about North America’s indigenous history, providing evidence that a more sedentary lifestyle predates the nomadic lifestyle that experts have long believed was the way of life for these early peoples.
“This discovery challenges the outdated notion that early Aboriginal people were simply nomadic pastoralists,” University of Saskatchewan archaeologist Glenn Stewart said in a statement released by the Sturgeon Lake First Nation through the university. “Evidence of long-term settlement and land management suggests a deep-rooted presence. It also raises questions about the Bering Strait theory, which supports oral histories of Aboriginal communities living here for countless generations.”
Researchers say the discovery makes the site one of the oldest known indigenous sites on the continent, a pre-contact settlement, indicating that organized society existed in the region much earlier than previously thought.
Researcher and archaeologist Dave Rondo originally discovered the trove of artifacts revealed by erosion in the North Saskatchewan River. “The moment I saw the layers of history peeking out through the soil, I felt the eyes of generations watching me,” Rondeau said. “Now the evidence has confirmed my first instinct, that this site is shaking up everything we thought we knew and potentially changing the narrative of early indigenous civilizations in North America.”
The team found stone tools, fire pits and stones used in tool making. The charcoal layers show that residents engaged in fire management and that the site was in long-term use rather than as a temporary hunting camp.
Another key difference is the discovery of large bison remains. The landscape features buffalo leaps, cliffs used by Aboriginal people to drive large herds of animals to facilitate hunting, and the team believes the site may have contained multiple bison enclosures and other hunting sites. Findings suggest hunters strategically harvested now-extinct animals antique bison.
Finding evidence of bison can also provide insight into early hunting techniques and the evolution of the species.
“This discovery is a powerful reminder that our ancestors were here, building, thriving and shaping this land long before the history books acknowledged our existence,” Chief Christine Longjohn said in a statement. “Our voices have been silenced for too long, but this site speaks for us, proving that our roots run deep and remain unbroken.”
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