Fig 7 View south across burial area (A) with Big Trout Lakeand the partially submerged esker in the background. Theburial area is no more than 1 metre above the currentshoreline of Big Trout Lake, suggesting that the currentlake level was achieved about 5,000 years ago. This indicatesa comparatively rapid post-glacial recovery and the earlyachievement of the modern configuration of the landscapeand stream systems.

A

A 5,000 year old human burial at Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug, Big Trout Lake, n. Ontario.Scott HamiltonDept. of AnthropologyLakehead University

El MoltoDept. of AnthropologyUniversity of Western Ontario

IntroductionIn the spring of 2004, human skeletal remains were discovered along

the north shore of Big Trout Lake at Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug(K.I.), (formerly known as Big Trout Lake F.N.) (Fig 1, 2). They wereinitially exposed when a shoreline gravel ridge was quarried for localroad construction. Subsequent surface erosion revealed bones thatwere discovered and excavated by Mr. Terry Childforever. Chief DonnyMorris contacted the senior author to evaluate the nature and historicalsignificance of the finds prior to their reburial in the community. Thedeceased was a young adult Amerindian male. AMS radiocarbon datingof a foot bone yielded a date of 4,450 ± 50 yBP (TO-11878), with calibrationcorrection indicating death and burial over 5,000 years ago. The sitehas been designated the McKay Burial site. Along with the ca. 7,000yBP human burials recovered from the nearby Wapekeka F.N.(Fig 2)(Hamilton 2004), these discoveries represent some of the oldest humanremains yet found in far northern Ontario. With the permission of theChief and Council, the junior author conducted skeletal analysis atLakehead University to document the vital characteristics, with ongoingchemical analysis to reconstruct diet and nutrition. The remains werereturned for reburial in the spring of 2005. As part of the researchagreement, a report and a public education poster were produced forKitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug.

The Site LocationBig Trout Lake is the primary headwater lake of the Fawn River, a

tributary of the Severn River in far northwestern Ontario (Fig 1). Theregion is currently within the northern limits of the boreal forest, about100 km south of the Hudson Bay Lowlands. Given the age of the burial,the regional ecology was likely very different at the time of interest.Very little is known about the early post-glacial landscape, and evenless about the human cultures of this northern region. The discoveryof human remains is an important first step for developing a moredetailed understanding of early Aboriginal occupation of the northernPrecambrian Shield.

The burial was located within a 20 metre long low gravel ridge that,before quarrying operations, ran parallel to the north shoreline of BigTrout Lake, immediately north of Post Island (Fig 2, Fig 3: loc 1). Severalsuch gravel and sand ridges are reported along the shoreline, and localinformants indicate that past gravel quarrying in a nearby ridge led tothe accidental discovery of at least two other human graves (Fig 3: loc2, Fig 8). The skeletons from location 2 were reburied in the communitycemetery without investigation some time ago.

Post Island contains the balance of the Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwugtown site, and is connected to the mainland by a partially submergedesker ridge that is now developed as a roadway (Fig 3). The shorelinegravel ridges likely formed as part of this esker complex. Throughoutnorthern Ontario these eskers are a common feature, and in a ruggedlandscape mantled with lakes, rivers and muskeg, offered attractivewell-drained travel corridors and ecologically diverse micro-habitats.The ancient burials at both Wapekeka and Big Trout Lake were recoveredon or near esker features, and other similar burials might lie undiscoveredin the region.

The locality containing the burials is near the mouth of a small streamthat drains into Big Trout Lake. Local informants indicate that the rivermouth, with the protection offered by the Post Island, was a favouredspring encampment zone. The antiquity of these human remains, coupledwith a small collection of artifacts from the beach (Fig 9 and 10), indicatesthat the place was attractive for human settlement for thousands ofyears.

The lake shore adjacent to the gravel ridges is overgrown with willows,with a narrow beach exposed at times of low water (Fig 4). Localresidents have collected a small number of stone artifacts from thisbeach, but their relationship with the nearby burials is not clear. Thiscollection contains at least one projectile point that may date to between2,000 and ca. 6,000 years ago. This suggests that some of the artifactsrecovered from the beach may have been associated with the burialson the gravel ridges.

The Nature of the BurialVery little can be said about the physical nature of the grave because

of the lack of professional excavation and documentation. The remainswere completely collected at the time of discovery, and no additionalbones were encountered at the site during Hamilton’s visit. No evidenceof the grave pit remained, nor were there any burial inclusions recovered.Information provided by Mr. Childforever indicates that the body wasplaced in the grave on his right side in a ‘flexed’ position, and facingsouth towards the lake (Fig 5). The bones appear to have been in theirproper anatomical position at the time of discovery, suggesting intermentshortly after death. The skull and several of the other bones are broken,likely from earth settling, or from mechanized removal of the graveloverburden.

The actual discovery location is defined by a wooden stake withorange flagging ribbon in Figures 6 and 7. The remnant of the gravelridge is noted in Fig 6 at location B. The approximate position of thegravel ridge at location 2 that yielded two burials is illustrated in Fig 8.

Dating of the BurialThe burial was radiocarbon dated to 4,450 ± 50 yBP (TO-11878), with

a calibration estimate between 5,100 and 5,300 years ago. A time chartthat relates the Big Trout Lake and the Wapekeka burials to other eventsand processes in northern Ontario history is presented in Figure 11.

Figure 11, coupled with maps illustrating glacial melting and biologicalrecovery, demonstrate that the human remains from Wapekeka and BigTrout Lake fall in the first half of the time span when humans occupiedfar northern Ontario. They are the oldest currently known human remainsin far northern Ontario, and collectively provide the earliest evidenceof human habitation in the early post-glacial period.

Early Aboriginal Occupationof Northern Ontario

Archaeological investigation of far northern Ontario is in its relativeinfancy, and is heavily dependent upon interpretations drawn fromelsewhere (Fig 11). Initial Plano occupation occurred after ca. 8,500years BP, (best known with the Lakehead Complex between GlacialLakes Minong and Agassiz) (Fig 12). It appears that these groupswere attracted north as the glaciers retreated and the huge meltwaterlakes drained (see also Pilon and Dalla Bona 2004). This differs fromthe idea initially proposed by J.V. Wright (1995:121 citing Wright1972:69) that initial occupation derived from the northwest andinvolving northern Plano technological change. Instead, we proposeexpansion northward of populations from the Eastern Woodlandsorigin of much other Archaic technology.

As the land recovered from deglaciation, forest spread northward,and humans adapted to the changed circumstances. The Shieldpeople were generalized hunters, fishers and plant gatherers inkeeping with the ecology of this developing northern coniferousforest. The technology and lifestyle likely involved a political economybased upon highly mobile kin-based hunting bands whose land usewas scheduled to take advantage of seasonally abundant resources.It remains to be seen whether the apparent ‘clustering’ of humanburials on localized uplands overlooking lakes is related to seasonallyscheduled group aggregation, or early development of ‘burial places’.

During Shield times, some populations in the lower Great Lakesalso began using ground stone technology, a technology rarelyfound with Shield Archaic (Fig 13). One such heavy woodworkinggouge was recovered in disturbed context at the Wapekeka airstripduring salvage recovery of the human burials (Hamilton 2004).

This individual, coupled with the early Holocene remains fromWapekeka, represent the earliest human remains currently knownin far northern Ontario. They speak to early human adaptation tothe emerging forested environment of the Holocene Subarctic. Ifthis individual is confirmed to have had leukemia, then this will bethe earliest case of this disease in antiquity.

Forest- Tundra

Hudson Bay Lowlands

Boreal Forest

Great Lakes- St. Lawrence Forest

Deciduous Forest

THUNDERBAY

SH/02

± 50

Near North

ContinuousPermafrost

DiscontinuousPermafrost

Far NorthBig Trout Lake

Fig 1 Modern vegetation zones in Ontario. Big Trout Lake is a majorheadwater lake that drains north into the Severn River system, and islocated at the northern l imit of the Precambrian Shield.

Fig 8 View northeast across a former ridge (Loc 2) that yielded at least two human burials overlooking the creek mouth (the waterbody in the background).

Fig 6 View east along the former ridge at loc 1. The orange-flagged stake (A) marks the burial location. Note the remnantof the gravel ridge (B) at the east edge of the clearing.It isnot clear whether this gravel ridge is a portion of an esker,or reflects along shore redeposition of sediment.

Fig 4 View east along the gravel beach at low water levels onBig Trout Lake. This gravel beach has yielded a few artifacts,including at least one projectile point of probable Shieldcultural affiliation.

References CitedDawson, K.C.A. 1983 “Prehistory of the interior forest of Northern Ontario” In Boreal Forest Adaptations edited byA. Theodore Steegman jr. Plenum Publishing.

Hamilton, S.2004 “Early Holocene Human Burials at Wapekeka (FlJj-1), northern Ontario” In The Late Palaeo-IndianGreat Lakes: Geological and Archaeological Investigations of Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene Environmentsedited by L. Jackson and A. Hinshelwood Mercury Series Mercury Archaeology Paper 165, Canadian Museum ofCivilization, Gatineau, Québec.

Pilon, Jean-Luc and Luke Dalla Bona 2004 “Insights into the Early Peopling of Northwestern Ontario as Documentedat the Allen site (EcJs-1), Sioux Lookout District, Ontario” In The Late Palaeo-Indian Great Lakes: Geological andArchaeological Investigations of Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene Environments edited by L. Jackson and A.Hinshelwood Mercury Series Mercury Archaeology Paper 165, Canadian Museum of Civilization, Gatineau, Québec.

Wright, J.V. 1972 Ontario Prehistory, an eleven thousand year archaeological outline. Canadian Prehistory Series,National Museum of Man, Ottawa.1995 “A History of the Native People of Canada Vol. 1 (10,000 -1,000 BC) Mercury Series Archaeological Surveyof Canada, Paper 152, Canadian Museum of Civilization, Hull.

Loc 2

B

A

The early Holocene occupantsof northern Ontario confronteda persisting glacial environment.As the glaciers disappeared, thepioneer tundra vegetation likelyattracted herd animals such ascaribou. In turn, Plano hunterswere attracted northward inpursuit of their prey. This wouldhave encouraged the timetransgressive expansion of earlyAboriginal people northward asdeglaciation proceeded. Thus,technologies and adaptationsassociated with the latePleistocene in more southerlylatitudes might have persistedinto the Holocene in the north.

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

1600

1800 La

te S

hie

ld3

,00

0 t

o 1

,00

0 B

C

?

Sel

kir

k

Mis

tik

wa

s

Cle

arw

ate

r L

ak

e

Ka

me

Hil

ls

Sa

nd

y L

ak

e

Du

ck B

ay

1800

1600

1400

1200

1000

800

600

400

200

200

0

Lau

rel

Bla

ckd

uck

Ea

rly

Wo

od

lan

dn

ot

pre

sen

t in

Su

ba

rcti

c

Mid

dle

Wo

od

lan

dL

ate

Wo

od

lan

d

Post Contact Period

AD

BC

?

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

7000

8000

9000

10000

11000

12000

0

yearsB.P.

Late Woodland

Middle Woodland

Shield

Plano

Folsom

Clovis

Human Burialsat Wapekeka

Human Burialat Cummins

SlowDeglaciation

Big Trout LakeHuman Burial

Radiocarbon years Before Present

LatePleistocene(Ice Age)

Holocene(post-glacial)

500

1000

1500

2000

RCyBP

Fig 11 A ‘timechart’ showing the archaeologically-defined history of northern Ontario. Human occupationof northern Ontario likely began after about 9,000 yearsago. The McKay burial site from Big Trout Lake datesto the time of Shield Culture, consistent with the culturalaffiliation of at least one of the projectile points recoverednearby from the gravel beach.

Alberta

Minnesota

South Dakota

North Dakota

Wyoming

Montana

Laurentide Ice Sheet

Saskatchewan Manitoba

Hudson Bay

Ontario

Lake

Kam.

Lake Duluth

Lake

Ontanagan

Lake

Chippewa

Early L.

Minong

LakeAgassiz

North Dakota

Ontario

Lake Duluth

LakeAgassiz

L.

McConnell

Lake

OntanaganLake Duluth

North Dakota

Ontario

Lake Duluth

LakeAgassiz

Early L.

Minong

Early L.

Minong

Montana

Glacial Ice Sheet

Glacial Melt Water

Present configuration ofwater bodies

(after Dyke and Prest 1987,McAndrews et al 1987)

0 100 200 300 400

km

9,900 years BP

Big Trout Lake

The process of deglaciation proceeded comparatively rapidly after ca. 9,000 yBP,with Plano expansion shortly thereafter. However the sequence of meltwaterdrainage, biotic recovery and isostatic rebound effects are not well understoodat a scale useful for regional archaeological analysis.

Fig 12 Initial occupationreflects ‘Plano’ culture,best known for thelanceolate spear tips.

Fig 5 Artist’s sketch of theburial based upon Mr.Childforever’s descriptionof what he encountered.The ‘flexed’ burial facedsouth towards the lake, withthe head to the west. Noartifacts were recoveredwith the burial.

Fig 10 A biface produced from Hudson BayLowland chert. It is a general purpose cuttingand scraping tool of a non-diagnostic sortproduced and used for thousands of years.The raw material is widely distributedthroughout northwestern Ontario in graveldeposits and glacial drift. Since it wasrecovered from the beach zone, there is noway of knowing whether it dates to the timeof the nearby human burial.

Fig 9 A surpisingly large collection of formaland expedient tools were recovered fromthe gravel beach in the vicinity of the twoburial find areas (Fig. 3 and 4). With theexception of item 9b, all are produced fromHudson Bay Lowland chert that was readilyavailable from stream beds and rockyshorelines, or from the eskers foundthroughout the region.

Some of the tools are slightly polished andwater-worn in keeping with their depositionwithin Big Trout Lake. The collectionincludes notched and unnotched projectilepoints (9a, b, f). These stone tips werehafted on light spears, and likely date tobetween 2,000 and 5,000 years ago. Item9a is superficially similar to a late Planoprojectile point (Fig 12), but the midsectionthickness and low quality of knapping isnot consistent with Plano techology.Instead, it may be a knife, or alternatively,a presently undocumented unnotchedprojectile point type. This latter possibilityis very real given the lack of archaeologicalinformation about far northern Ontario.

Also of note are items 9c, d and g whichare unifacially chipped ‘side scrapers’. Item9e is a flake that was used as an expedientcutting tool. All of these materials are froma local private collection, and briefinspection by Hamilton did not yield anyother cultural material on the exposedgravel beach. Interestingly, no flake debitageor pottery is represented in the privatecollection.

Summary of the Skeletal Examination

Fig 14 shows the recovered skeletal elements in red.Although the burial is well preserved, key elementsare missing (sternal ends of the ribs, the os pubes andthe base of the skull).

This male was likely in his mid to late 20s at the timeof death. Age was determined on the basis of fusedmedial clavicular epiphysis, fused illiac crest ephisises,and the unfused S1-S2 bodies, in addition the moderateattrition of the teeth is consistent with the young adultmale status. Sex was determined on the basis of therobust nature of the skull, well developed musclemarkings (i.e. deltoid and teres major), and on basisof pelvic traits (i.e. narrow sciatic notch). Both humerihave benign cortical depressions where the teres majormuscle attaches to the bone (Fig 15). This indicateschronic heavy work. We speculate that the bilateralsymmetry of these depressions might derive fromactivities such as canoe paddling.

The most significant morphological trait present arethe well developed shovel shaped incisors (Fig 16).This and the antiquity of the skeleton support anAmerindian status for the skeleton.

All the teeth were recovered and show no caries, buta moderate degree of fractures and chips were notedin the enamel (Fig 17). These features are consistentwith traditional non-agrarian diets. Future stableisotopic analysis will offer clues regarding theproportion of animal protein in his diet. We can concludethat the diet of this individual was abrassive as expectedof a foraging diet, and that the carbohydrates presentwould not have been refined.

This individual suffered a chronic illness characterizedby pitting of the bone cortex in many areas of theskeleton. It is most evident in the ribs, vertebrae,scapulae, pelvis, cranium and mandible (Fig 18). Post-depositional natural bone degradation is ruled outbecause of the unusual distribution of pitting on theskeleton.

These bone modifications suggest a systemicpathology originating within the marrow cavities of theaffected bones, hence a blood and/or lymphatic baseddisorder. Possible diseases include acute myelocyticleukemia and lymphoma. The diagnosis is ongoingand involves a series of scientific imaging techniques(x-rays, CT, microCT, MRI) and molecular (DNA andprotein) testing.

Fig 2 The McKay Burial Site along north shore of Big Trout Lake. (Alsonote Wapekeka Burial Site (FlJj-1).

Big Trout Lake Region0 5 10

kmderived from portions ofNTS 53G & 53H

90

˚ W

53˚ 45’ N

N

McKay Burial

WapekekaBurial Site

BigTroutLake F.N.

Fig 14 Skeletal inventory of therecoveries. Unshaded bones orportions may have been lost duringgravel quarrying, naturally displacedor decomposed, or missed duringexcavation.

Fig 18 Some bone surfaces that illustrate theunnatural pitting noted on many parts of theskeleton. These pits are thought to relate toa disease, perhaps a form of cancer.

A: Outer surface of two articulating vertebrae.

B: This pitting is widespread throughout thesurfaces of many of the vertebrae.

C: Detail of the outer surface of one of theribs showing the holes. The plural surface ofthese ribs have an intact cortext, confirmingthat the holes are from a pathological processand not deriving from taphonomy.

A

Fig 15 Detail of the maxilla. The incisorteeth are ‘shovel shaped’.

Fig 15 Humeri with broken proximalarticulating ends. Note the deep linear‘cortical depressions’ where the musclesof the upper arm attach. Both arms areaffected.

a

b

c

d

e

fg

Fig 3 Burial Locality along the Big Trout Lake shoreline (notethat the UTM grid lines are based upon NAD’27 as per NTSmap 53H/13, while GPS-derived coordinates use NAD’83).Note the esker that connects Post Island to the mainlandimmediately to the west of a small stream mouth.

1

2

100 metres

TN

GladysMcKay

location of former house

gravel ridge (approx)

Big Trout Lake

artifact yielding section of beach

Docks

N 5969000

E 3

10000

roads

1,2 gravel ridges

Far northern Ontario was fully deglaciated only about ca. 8,000 years ago,whereupon much of the Hudson Bay Lowland (north of white dashed line) wasinnundated by the Tyrrell Sea. The Big Trout Lake region is within the northernlimits of the Precambrian Shield, but is a comparatively low relief area dottedwith many lakes and muskegs. No detailed Pleistocene thematic mapping isavailable to aid in documenting the early Holocene landscape, and how itmight have been used for human occupation. The accidental discovery ofmultiple early Holocene human burials on well-drained but subtle local uplands(eskers, gravel ridges) is strongly suggestive of the importance of such featuresfor early human settlement.

In light of anticipated development (mining, all-weather roads, hydro-electrictransmission corridors, etc), these burials have considerable CRM implicationsin a huge area with very little extant archaeological information.

Wapekeka

McKay

Between 2 and 5 burials were disturbed during construction of the Wapekekaairstrip. They were buried within water-laid sand on a stranded beach featurebuilt on the north flank of a sand esker, one of the most prominent topographicfeatures in the region. It is not known whether the interments occurred whenthe beach was active, but the dating of the remains to ca. 7,000 BP issuggestive. Particularly important for the interpretation of these early burialsis the eventual collection of data regarding late Pleistocene deglaciation, theage and expanse of glacial meltwater lakes, and ecological recovery of theearly Holocene landscape.

A ground stone gouge was recovered from disturbed context at theWapekeka Burial Site (Fig 13). It is more consistent with Laurentian Archaicthan with Shield Archaic. As it cannot be directly associated with the humanburials, it remains undated.

While the McKay burial site dates about 2,000 years later than Wapekeka,raised, well-drained coarse sediments remained important as part of theburial ritual.

N

Wisconsin

Minnesota

South Dakota

North Dakota

Wyoming

Montana

NebraskaIowa

Michigan

IllinoisIndiana Ohio

New York

Pennsylvania

Québec

0 300km

SH/03

Hudson BayAlberta Saskatchewan Manitoba

Ontario

Shield Archaic

LaurentianArchaic

Old CopperCulture

north boundaryCanadian Shield

south boundaryCanadian Shield

Big Trout Lake

Between 6,500 and 2000years ago, a series ofc u l t u r e s w e r e f o u n dthroughout northeasternNorth America. The mostgeographically extensive(and least well-known) is theShield (Shield Archaic)culture. The burial at theMcKay Site is likely affiliatedwith Shield Culture.

Fig 13 Wapekeka Gougerecovered from mixedcontext from Airstripquarry pit.

B

C

Fig 17 The right portion of the mandibular molar tooth rowillustrating the antemortum enamal chipping (arrows).

Loc 1

Loc 1

Manitoba H.R.B.