A comprehensive study of the Osprey Beach Site (48YE409/410) located on the south shore of the West Thumb (Yellowstone Lake) in south-central Yellowstone Park. The Osprey Beach Excavation Locality is the location of a major Cody Complex archaeological component approximately 9,400 years in age. The Cody Complex assemblage gathered between 2000 - 2002 provides a data set which allows to both answer and pose new research questions concerning the nature and significance of the occupation. The data is used to interpret seasonal activities at this locale, as well as the rest of Yellowstone Lake and for the park and Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem in general. The Osprey Beach Locality was a specialized residential campsite occupied during the summer months when a variety of tasks were performed (including tool manufacture and maintenance; hunting, skinning, carcass dismemberment, and butchering; animal hide preparation; wood and bone working; and faunal, floral, and/or mineral processing). Additional study of raw material sources (including ten distinct obsidian sources) and blood residue analysis assist with creating a model of the Cody Complex seasonal occupancy and resource harvesting patterns. 

Part of the Environmental Impact Assessment for the proposed development of a limestone quarry by Birch Mountain Resources Ltd., this report describes over 40 new archaeological sites within the Muskeg Valley Quarry study area located approximately 60 km north of Fort McMurray, east of the Muskeg River and south of the Kearl Lake Road. The sites are distributed around two outcrops of siliceous rock and consist of quarry sites, workshops, campsites, and scatters dating between ca. 9500 and 5000 BP. The occurrence and the exposure of a good quality toolstone in sufficient abundance was a central, if not causal, factor in the intensive Early Precontact settlement of the region and represents a Prehistoric behaviour pattern never before documented in the region. 

This final report is a comprehensive study of archaeological and historical research methods undertaken as part of the EPCOR Burial Ground Relocation Program (2001-2003). Situated on Edmonton’s Rossdale Flats, the exact location of the Fort Edmonton Burial Ground in relation to existing roadways and structures was largely unknown. Aspects of study including archival research, archaeological excavation, and assessment of previous disturbances have contributed to the successful identification of partial boundaries and actual locations of at least two phases of the burial ground fence. Further study of Hudson’s Bay Company Edmonton Post journal archive information and oral histories, as well as examination of previously conserved skeletal remains has lead to positive identification of ninety-one individuals buried there.  

This work chronicles the historical resource studies undertaken prior to the expanded development of Syncrude’s Aurora Project (south of the Fort Hills, west of the Muskeg River). Over eleven square kilometres of land was surveyed during the course of this HRIA, with over sixty new archaeological sites recorded. These included various isolated finds, artifact scatters, campsites, small workshops, and an historic cabin. A number of sites recorded were deemed significant based on their elevation and apparent period of occupation immediately after the Lake Agassiz Catastrophic Flood (ca. 9900 years ago). This study represents an intermediate report that clears certain low-potential areas for development, while recommending further mitigative excavations at other high-potential locations. 

In 2000, a Historical Resources Impact Assessment and Mitigative Archaeological Excavations were undertaken of the Cougar Ridge Off-Site Sewer Servicing Project located on East Paskapoo Slopes south of the Bow River in the City of Calgary. Previous identification of the East Paskapoo Slopes as an area of regional and provincial historical significance warranted the need for detailed study of those areas to be affected by sewer-line construction. Eight (8) Pre-contact archaeological sites were located and evaluated along the right-of-way, four of which could not be avoided. These included a small campsite dating ca. 2000 – 2500 years ago (EgPn-343); another campsite dated to 2290+70 years (EgPn-598); a regionally significant bison pound site (EgPn-362) dating to 2360+60 years; and a multi-component, large, regionally significant campsite occupied as early as 4000 years ago, to as recently as 200 years ago (EgPn-506). These compiled studies have substantively added to the knowledge of Native resource harvesting and occupancy on the East Paskapoo Slopes and is of continuing value to future professional and public interpretations. 

Weldwood’s Forest Management Agreement area, located in west-central Alberta within the Foothills and Rocky Mountain region, is over 10 million hectares in size. A significant set of Precontact archaeological sites were previously known to exist in the area. In order to efficiently record and study these sites, a Historical Resource Management Plan was executed. Previously identified archaeological sites and report databases were incorporated into developing a predictive model for establishing unknown site locations based on locational and/or environmental variables. Airphoto interpretation was then undertaken to evaluate, classify, and map the potential of FMA lands to hold Precontact archaeological sites. The resulting overview is presented with background information on Alberta’s Prehistoric Native Culture History, the potential and variability of archaeological sites, and methods used to study site significance. This is a seminal study intended to further the understanding and appreciation of Alberta’s Native culture history and streamline industry approval processes with equal regard. 

This summary study identifies eight hundred and thirty five Native archaeological sites that had been recorded within City boundaries as of December 1999. Included in a site database containing locational information, each site was noted for its significance, current preservation status and disposition. The history of Native occupation within the Calgary area dates back to at least 10,000 years ago. Campsites, stone features, bison kills, and processing camps have been found throughout the municipality (35% of which are still extant today). The inventory also includes recommendations intended to further preserve, interpret, and develop this incomparable cultural resource that is unique to Calgary. 

Archaeological studies at the Hawkwood Site (EgPm-179) were initiated in response to the planned construction of a residential subdivision (Hawkwood) in northwest Calgary. Mitigative excavations in two separate sedimentary basins resulted in the identification of a multi-component campsite/processing area. The earliest component was dated to 8,250 B.P., including a tool assemblage transitional between Plains/Mountain and Mummy Cave Complexes. Three intermediate components indicating both early and late Mummy Cave occupations were also identified ( 6,800 – 6,500 B.P.), along with a more recent Oxbow occupation (4,000 B.P.). The information collected suggests a consistent pattern of land use over the past 8,000 years. Faunal material collected suggests late winter/early spring occupations of the site, possibly involved with processing meat from isolated kill sites nearby. The Hawkwood study demonstrates a significant approach to archaeological research and interpretive potential that is influential to this day.