The MacLeod Site (AIGr-1) and a Preliminary Delineation of the Lake Ontario Iroquois

Abstract

<p>The present work describes the archaeological material recovered from excavations at the MacLeod site, a Late Ontario Iroquois site in Oshawa, Ontario, which were carried out between 1968 and 1972. In comparing ceramic and non-ceramic data from the MacLeod site with other sites in southern Ontario, the existence of a distinct group which has been named the Lake Ontario Iroquois is tentatively defined. This group extended along the north shore of Lake Ontario from the Rouge River in the west to Prince Edward County in the east. The sites of the Lake Ontario Iroquois shared similar frequencies of certain ceramic attributes and similarities in their non-ceramic assemblages. It is suggested that the Lake Ontario Iroquois may have formed a group similar to the historically described tribes of the Huron. It is also recommended in this thesis that students turn their attention to the analysis of previously existing collections over the excavation of further unthreatened sites.</p>