DATING AND PROVENANCING OF SHERDS FROM FIVE BALSAM LAKE AREA SITES

Abstract

<p>This thesis provides additional insight on the occupation of the upper Trent River valley of Ontario by Iroquoian people during the period of approximately one hundred years that preceded the eventual consolidation of the Huron Confederacy in Simcoe County. The data are obtained by means of an archaeometric analysis of ceramic sherds recovered at late Iroquoian sites located in the Balsam Lake area. The results of the research support the hypothesis that these communities were impacted by the early effects of European trade. Dating of the ceramic by thermo luminescence confirms and refines the chronological sequence for these sites suggested previously by others through stylistic analysis. Determination of ceramic fabric composition by trace element analysis supports the proposed transition of the interactions between the local population and the St. Lawrence Iroquois from trading relationships to eventual absorption of the latter into the local Huron communities.</p>