Oldman River Dam Stone Features Study: Prehistoric Archaeology Mitigation ProgramTechnical Series. Occasional Paper of the Archaeological Society of Alberta No. 6 by Barry J.DauReview by: Sheila GreavesCanadian Journal of Archaeology / Journal Canadien d’Archéologie, Vol. 31, No. 1 (2007), pp.115-118Published by: Canadian Archaeological AssociationStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/41103287 .

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Oldman River Dam Stone Features Study: Prehistoric Archaeology Mitigation Program Technical Series

by Barry J. Dau. Occasional Paper of the Archaeological Society of Alberta No. 6, Calgary, xv+256 pp. ISBN 0-9691030-7-7 (paperback) $25. 2005.

1984, the Government of Alberta decided to proceed with the construc-

tion of a dam on the Oldman River in southwestern Alberta. Between 1986 and 1987, Lifeways of Canada conducted a historical resource inventory and assess- ment study of the area to be impacted. The final report (Reeves 1987) outlined a plan for future mitigation, organized into three categories: cultural and land use history (campsites), bison hunting (drive lanes and kills), and stone feature sites (tipi rings, cairns, spiritual circles and effi- gies). The contract for the stone features project was awarded to Ethos Consultants, which carried out the survey and excava- tion portion from 1988 to 1990; the final report (Dau 1997) was completed in 1997. The project's goal was to "focus on issues relating to variations in seasonal land use patterns throughout the reservoir, archaeological interpretation including group sizes and structures, on-site activity patterning and chronological variation where possible" (Dau 1997: 3).

The publication reviewed here is a revised version of the 1997 report. It is part of a series published by the Archaeo- logical Society of Alberta, an organization that is to be commended for publishing the results of historical resources impact mitigation studies that would otherwise remain in the "grey literature" of CRM

reports. Unfortunately, this volume suffers from an uneven editorial hand, and thus its usefulness for students and researchers is compromised. One does not expect that editors will remove or alter organizational features, or reword sentences so that the outcomes are unclear or ungrammatical, yet that is what appears to have happened to Dau's document. The original CRM report (Dau 1997) is clearly organized, with four numbered sections ("Introduc- tion," "Summary of Yearly Field Studies," "Individual Site Discussions," and "Stone Features at the Oldman River Dam -

Analysis and Discussion"), each with several numbered sub-sections. The 2005 revision contains four sections: "Introduc- tion," "Summary of Yearly Field Studies" (individual site discussions appear to be included with these summaries), "Stone Features at the Oldman River Dam - Anal- ysis and Discussion," and "Conclusions" (the final subsection of the fourth section in the original). Capitalization appears to be random. As well, most pages contain grammatical and punctuation errors that are not present in the original report. These vary from dropped letters to miss- ing or extra portions of sentences; in many cases the errors are sufficiently significant to hamper the reader's understanding. A brief comparison of the two versions pro- duced the following examples:

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Canadian Journal of Archaeology/Journal Canadien d'Archéologie 31: 115-118 (2007)

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116 • GREAVES

In the original report, Dau (1997: 97) states: "Reeves (1987) suggests the stone alignment(s) in the site were drive lanes employed to direct animals (probably bison) south- east, to the kill locale in DjPm 50. Although the orientation of Stone Alignment 1 suggests a pattern of directing animals to the northeast, no clear evidence exists to assume Reeves' suggestion is incorrect." In the volume under review, however, this appears as: "Reeves (1987) sug- gested the stone alignment(s) in the site were drive lanes employed to direct animals, probably bison, southeast, to the kill incorrect." (p. 47).

The original report (Dau 1997: 252) states: "Two samples of charcoal from Occupation 2 were submit- ted for radiocarbon dating... One sample returned a date of 300± 100 years BP . . . and the other returned a date of 350±100 years BP." This appears in the 2005 version as: "Two samples of charcoal were submit- ted for radiocarbon dating . . . One sample indicated a date of 300- 2100 years BP . . . and the other a date of 350-2100 years BP." (p. 129).

It is not a simple task to convert a two volume, single-page format report with almost 300 tables and figures into a one volume, two-column format publication. However, careful editorial proofreading and final oversight before publication would have ensured that the revision retained the contents of the original.

The first section of the 2005 revi- sion sets out the goals of the report: to summarize the data recovered during the Stone Features Study and to analyze the nature of stone features within and

adjacent to the area to be flooded by the Oldman River Dam. Sub-sections outline the physical environment and resources, the terms of reference, field method- ology, and cataloguing and analysis specifications. A table presents the total number of "cultural materials" (cultural stones, artifacts, FBR, and bone) found. A definition of most terms is provided in the Glossary, although there is no refer- ence to this glossary in the text itself.

The second section summarizes the goals and strategies of the three years of field work, as well as the results of the assessment/mitigation work completed at each site. Detailed accounts of the sites are provided, with tables providing data on the number of shovel tests, auger holes, and square metres excavated, as well as totals of cultural materials. In 1988, 19 sites were tested, of which 18 were interpreted as briefly occupied, non-winter camps requiring no further work. The remaining site (DjPm-115) contained over 44% of all cultural mate- rial collected; subsequent work in 1989 and 1990 was limited to this site.

The second section also contains site descriptions organized around four topics: the nature of the site during the initial survey, the natural and cultural stratigraphy, mitigation results, and summary and discussion. Site descrip- tions are enhanced by maps showing site location and arrangement of stone fea- tures and by clear photographs. Tables organized by stone feature and by CMU (Cultural Material Unit, defined in the glossary as "groups of cultural material recovered from a site defined by an inves- tigator, generally on the basis of their stratigraphie and special [sic; "spadai" in original report] context") provide statis- tics on cultural stones, FBR, bone, stone tools and debitage, historic materials, and worked bone and shell items.

Canadian Journal of Archaeology 31 (2007)

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OLDMAN RIVER DAM STONE FEATURES STUDY • 117

The bulk of this section, and indeed of the entire report, is devoted to DjPm-1 15, also known as the Blakiston site. Reeves (1987) located three circles and a hearth, and described the site as regionally sig- nificant. By the end of the 1990 field season, nine stone circles, nine surface hearths, two cairns and a large camp area to the south of the stone circles had been located and investigated. Rich buried components were uncovered, indicating the site was larger and more complex than originally thought. The actual results of the excavation are quite astonishing: 60 stone projectile points, 326 other stone tools, 3,422 cores and pieces of debitage, 1,125 ceramic fragments, historic artifacts, and almost 180,000 bone fragments. Bone and shell preservation is exceptional, resulting in the retrieval of large amounts of rare foetal bison bone, bone and shell beads, and bone tools that offer a glimpse into the richness of lifeways long gone. Results are presented in detail, by year, by investigation method, by feature type, and by block excavation. Description and anal- ysis of results is organized by CMUs. Four of the nine circles contain rich deposits that indicate at least two occupations dating to the Late Prehistoric and Proto- historic/Early Historic periods. Areas A to L, to the south of the stone circles, also contain evidence of multiple occupations dating to the same periods.

The summary and discussion subsec- tion for the Blakiston site addresses issues of chronology and seasonality of occupa- tion, the nature of activities carried out there, the use of lithic resources, patterns of use within the stone circles, subsis- tence patterns, and ethnicity of the occu- pants. Dau's suggestion that most of the site was occupied from mid-September to mid-April, primarily during the Protohis- toric/Historic period but also during the Late Prehistoric period, is well supported

by radiocarbon dates, as well as ceramic and lithic artifacts. The major activity was apparently food processing (i.e., bone grease preparation for preservation and storage of meat). Although the main source of food was evidently bison, other species included deer and antelope, and perhaps dogs. Dau proposes that prelimi- nary tool production and tool sharpening occurred throughout the site, and that non-local stone was probably obtained by trade, but data to support these hypoth- eses are sparse. Ceramic fragments are identified as belonging primarily to the Saskatchewan Basin Complex (Period II, dating to AD 1150-1700). Dau suggests that the vessels were used for storage and cooking, although no residue analysis was conducted. He emphasizes an apparent strong similarity between the Late Pre- historic and Protohistoric occupations, but without clearly organized evidence it is impossible to assess this hypothesis. Finally, although Blackfoot and Kutenai occupations are suggested, Dau does not incorporate archaeological data into his discussion.

The third section, which reviews the data from all 19 sites, focuses on the following topics: function of each type of stone feature; site location; site size, group size and seasonality; cultural material types and distribution; tempo- ral and cultural affiliation; and regional comparison. Although Dau offers some interesting interpretations, the data are not presented in a way that clearly sup- ports or rejects any of his hypotheses. For example, in a discussion relating site type to physiography, Dau refers to a table of frequency and percentage data that includes all cultural material; the per- centage figures in this kind of table are skewed by the number of cultural stones and FBR in each feature. Although alter- native explanations are not explored,

Journal Canadien d'Archéologie 31 (2007)

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118 • GREAVES

Dau interprets the most numerous type of feature - stone circles - as tipi rings. Dau also assesses a model proposing that precontact Aboriginal groups used major river valley bottoms more inten- sively than other areas on the Plains. The results of this study are suggestive, but only one site (DjPm-115) is located within a major river valley, indicating that more research is needed to evaluate the model. Four of the 18 short-term, non-winter sites contain projectile points dated to the Middle Prehistoric (Besant or post-Avonlea) and are situated outside the major river valley; this is intriguing, but further work is need to confirm this as a precontact settlement pattern.

The final section of the report con- cludes that the Oldman River Dam Study Area has been utilized by Aboriginal peo- ples since at least the onset of the Besant Phase some two thousand years ago. It points to the need for more research on the Oldman River Dam sites in particular, and Northern Plains sites in general.

As Dau indicates, Aboriginal camp- sites spanning the Late Prehistoric/Early Historic periods are extremely rare in Alberta. This report offers a wealth of data for current and future archaeologists interested in the Late Prehistoric/His- toric transition. The exceptional bone preservation also makes the Blakiston site important for anyone interested in Plains prehistory. The general reader will be intrigued by the richness of the materials found at Blakiston, described in detail in this report. Hopefully, pub- lication of this volume will encourage archaeologists to use these exceptionally well-preserved materials to enhance our understanding of Aboriginal lifeways. Although the Archaeological Society of Alberta is to be commended for taking on the task of revising and publishing CRM reports, this particular publication

contains too many errors to be useful for professional research. Anyone approach- ing this project with further research in mind is advised to read the original report, on file with Archaeological Survey of Alberta. Finally, it should be noted that no comprehensive synthesis of the Oldman River Dam projects is available, despite reference in this volume to a 1993 "report in preparation" (Brumley 1993) that is apparently still outstanding (Brian Ronaghan, personal communication, 2006) . One hopes that a resolution to this situation is forthcoming.

REFERENCES CITED Brumley, J.H. 1993 Prehistoric Culture History and Land Use in Southwestern Alberta: A Synthesis of the Oldman River Dam Prehistoric Archaeology Mitigation Program. Report in preparation for Alberta Public Works, Supply and Ser- vices Reservoir Development by Ethos Consultants Ltd., Medicine Hat.

Dau, B.J. 1997 Oldman River Dam Prehistoric Mitigation Program, Technical Series, No. 3: Stone Features Study. ASA Per- mits 88-34, 89-42, 90-18. Final Report. 2 volumes. Prepared for Alberta Pub- lic Works, Supply and Services Reser- voir Development by Barry Dau, Ethos Consultants, Medicine Hat.

Reeves, B. O.K. 1987a Oldman River Dam Phase II Archaeological and Historic Resources Inventory and Assessment (ASA Permit 85-47C). Parts I and II. Prepared for Alberta Environment Planning Division, Edmonton, Alberta by B. O. K. Reeves, Lifeways of Canada Ltd., Calgary.

Sheila Greaves Athabasca University Athabasca, Alberta

Canadian Journal of Archaeology 31 (2007)

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