Sawdust Bay-2: The Identification of a Middle Woodland Site in the Ottawa Valley

Abstract

<p>Attention in this thesis is directed towards the analysis, description and identification of Sawdust Bay-2, a small prehistoric site located on the Ottawa River, in relation to the previous classification of Middle Woodland groups for the Ottawa Valley.</p> <p>The assemblage recovered from Sawdust Bay-2 includes ceramic, lithic and faunal material. Ceramics are characterized by grit tempered, coil manufactured vessels, featuring a predominance of 9seudo scallop shell impressions and a relatively moderate incidence of interior brushing. A small number of finished chipped stone tools, made of chert, were identified. A majority of the faunal material identified from the collection is mammalian with minor amounts of reptilian remains and only two fish elements.</p> <p>The assemblage is comparable to assemblages identified for other Middle Woodland groups, including those of the Laurel, Saugeen and Point Peninsula Traditions. Specific similarities with those features identified by Ritchie (1969) for the Point Peninsula Tradition have resulted in the assignment of Sawdust Bay-2 to this tradition.</p> <p>Observable differences in attribute frequencies between Ottawa River Drainage Basin sites, represented by Sawdust Bay-2 and the ceramic assemblage from the Kant site, and other contemporary Point Peninsula sites in New York State have led to the identification of the Ottawa Valley Phase. This phase, extending approximately from 100 B.C. to A.D. 200, is suggested to be distinguished by a predominance of pseudo scallop shell and dentate ceramic impressions, with a moderate incidence (25%) of interior brushing. The lithic inventory features a predominance of chert chipped stone tools with very few rough stone tools. Existing faunal data and the absence of such tools as net-sinkers, harpoons and fish hooks suggests that fishing may not have been as important a subsistence activity as it appears to have been for northern Laurel groups and southern Point Peninsula populations.</p>