The land that the Redeemer Campus is situated on has been home to First Nations for many thousands of years. The elevated plateau above the Niagara escarpment provided a gentle descent to water sources and abundant natural resources supporting hunting, fishing, forging of edible plants and, eventually, agriculture. Because of these natural features and resources, this was, and remains, an ideal location for people to gather and prosper.
Redeemer’s Property
Between the assessment and excavation of the Redeemer site between 2005 and 2008, a total of 46, 887 artifacts were recovered. Archaeologists determined that four longhouses were on the north side of the site, with a fifth longhouse potentially found on the south side. Through a lending agreement with the First Nations communities in the Hamilton region (Six Nations of the Grand River, the Haudenosaunee Development Institute, and the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation), facilitated by Archaeological Research Associates Ltd. (ARA), Redeemer has established a display of some of the artifacts that were found. Below, see images and descriptions of some of the most common categories of artifacts.
The most common tools found on Indigenous sites are manufactured by skilfully flaking lithic materials, such as chert. Lithic tools were made to complete a variety of functions — as hunting projectiles or tools to scrape, perforate, incise, or chisel. Lithic tools could also be multi-functional or repurposed for new activities as they were resharpened.
Archaeologists use the concept of seriation, that is, changes to artifact styles and manufacturing techniques over time, to develop a chronology of tool forms and traditions. Associating a tool with a particular form or tradition allows archaeologists to assign cultural and temporal affiliations to the site where it was found.
At the Redeemer site, triangular projectile points dominate the assemblage. This style of projectile point is typical of Late Woodland sites and can be notched to assist in fastening the tool to a handle or arrow shaft.
Most lithic tools are made from chert, a type of silica-rich sedimentary rock. Chert can be quarried from thinly bedded layers or found as small cobbles dispersed by glacial and fluvial systems. Each chert has unique characteristics, and some were favoured more than others for their durability, flaking quality, or aesthetic. Correctly identifying chert sources helps to reconstruct trade networks and the movement of past peoples.
Most chert types found at the Redeemer site are considered locally available, however, there were also small quantities of a chert called Upper Mercer. The presence of Upper Mercer chert on the Redeemer site indicates that the people living there had connections with people from the midwestern Great Lakes region (present-day Ohio), as this is where Upper Mercer chert is found.
Ground stone artifacts are tools or ornaments manufactured from rocks that have been heavily modified by flaking or pecking into the desired shape and then ground smooth. This includes tools such as axes and adzes as well as adornments such as beads and pendants. Rough stone tools are also manufactured from rock; however, these are minimally modified by rough chipping, wear, or pitting from use and do not exhibit the smooth, polished surfaces typical of ground stone tools.
Bone, antler, and shell were all utilized for a variety of tools and ornaments. A range of shell and bone tools could be used to smooth out and decorate pottery. Practical items such as fishing hooks, harpoons, hide scrapers, projectile points, and needles could all be carved from bone and antler. Awls were often formed from splintered long bones and used to punch holes in hides.
Tips of tools could be sharpened and strengthened through a “fire hardening” process that involved repeatedly exposing the bone to fire and then polishing the slightly charred surface with oils using an abrader or whetstone. This process could also be applied to wooden tools, though these are rarely preserved on archaeological sites.
Ornamental items like combs, pendants, and beads were often drilled, polished, and incised with decoration. A bead type commonly found on Late Woodland sites like the Redeemer site is tubular bird-bone beads. Bird bones work well for beads because they are hollow and light. Segments of bird long bones were cut, polished, incised with decoration, and strung onto cord.
Pipes found on archaeological sites in Ontario are made of stone or ceramic. Stone pipes were extremely time-consuming to make as bowls were hand-carved out of materials like banded slate, catlinite, and steatite (soapstone). Ceramic pipes were manufactured by shaping clay around twine or wood, which would then be burnt away during firing, leaving the borehole.
In Ontario, the first pipes appear at the end of the Archaic period, circa 1000 BC, though they do not appear frequently on sites until the end of the Middle Woodland period, circa 900 AD. As tobacco is not a native plant to Ontario, the increase in pipes found on sites corresponds to the arrival of tobacco into Ontario through trade systems stemming from South America.
Tobacco is one of the four sacred medicines and, to this day, smoking or burning tobacco has a number of social and ceremonial purposes for Indigenous peoples. By analysing the burnt accumulations on the inside of pipe bowls, archaeologists know that tobacco was not the only plant that was used in pipes. Mixtures of herbs, including sumac leaves, dogwood bark, and bearberry were also consumed.
Archaeologists study the size, shape, and decorative motif of pipes to assign cultural and temporal affiliations. The pipes from the Redeemer site are a form familiar today with a stem, bent elbow, and bowl. Bowls are often barrel-shaped or flared "trumpet” styles with incised linear designs.
Ceramic vessels include many forms for food storage, cooking, and serving. They are made of fired clay, and the advent of this technology marks the beginning of the Woodland period, circa 900 BC. Complete vessels are rarely found, so archaeologists often have to piece together fragments that have been scattered across a site.
Archaeologists analyse the manufacturing method, shape, decorative technique, and design to determine cultural or temporal affiliations. The Late Woodland vessels from the Redeemer site are made using a technique called paddle and anvil. This method involves the use of a small stone “anvil” held against the inside of the vessel while a wooden paddle is used to beat the exterior. Caught between the paddle and anvil, the malleable clay can be stretched into the desired shape. Many of the vessels from the Redeemer site were formed using a paddle with a “check-stamped” pattern resulting in a grid of small squares across the pottery surface. The pottery surface could also be smoothed using bone, shell, or stone tools to prepare it for incised or stamped designs.
Vessels from the Redeemer site most commonly have rounded bodies and bases, with constricted necks and prominent collars at the top of the pot. Collars are frequently decorated with incised or stamped designs using cord, bone styli, reeds, or carved wood and shell. Designs are often linear and display a mixture of parallel horizontal, vertical, and oblique lines. Scalloped edges or pointed vertical projections, called castellations, could also be added to the collar. While certain decorative techniques and designs are often associated with specific time periods and cultural traditions, the creative freedom of the maker should always be considered!
Sometimes, small vessels with uneven surfaces and irregular application of decoration are found. These are called “juvenile” or “learner” vessels by archaeologists and are considered to be manufactured by younger craftspeople practising pottery-making techniques. Occasionally, accumulations or food residue found on the interior can be used to carbon date the vessel or provide insight into what the owner of the vessel was cooking!
Several copper artifacts were found on the Redeemer site, though none are on display. The presence of copper in the village indicates trade systems reaching to the north shore of Lake Superior. Though the First Nations had access to an abundance of copper, and were making projectile points, axes, knives, fishhooks, and awls many thousand years ago, copper artifacts are rare finds on sites. One potential reason for the minimal use of copper is that bone and stone tools show similar effectiveness as those made from the pure, soft, copper of the Great Lakes region. Copper continued to be used in small quantities, denoting status through possession of copper beads and ornaments, until the contact period.
Semi-subterranean sweat lodges, sometimes called “Turtle Pits” for their turtle-like shape, are often found connected to longhouses. They are shallow pits dug into the ground and lined with a layer of organic material, such as bark and grass, to cover the floor. A ramp on one side provided easy access in and out of the sweat lodge. Many of these features were later converted into refuse pits after they were no longer in use. Sweat lodges served many functions, including personal hygiene and bathing, spiritual and ceremonial practices, as well as social spaces.
Longhouse inhabitants dug holes inside these structures to store food and other items. These were often lined with bark and grass for insulation, and covered with mats made of bark. Due to the organic composition of the stored materials, these pits were mostly used on a short-term basis and routinely filled in as new pits were dug and used.
Longhouses were constructed using large posts for the frame, inserted vertically into the ground. Although the posts themselves have long since decayed, archeologists are able to reconstruct the configuration of longhouses and other structures by mapping post moulds. Post moulds are the stains left in the soil after the wooden post has decayed. Some post moulds contain artifacts, such as pottery and stone axes, indicating what may have hung on the posts or walls of longhouses. The longest line of post moulds found at the Redeemer site was over 60 meters. The curve of the line borders the site and indicates the posts may have formed a fence or palisade to protect the village.
Middens refer to waste deposits where an accumulation of shells, bones, or other artifacts are found. Two middens were discovered on the Redeemer site. The first was in the north section of the site and the second in the south section of the site. The north midden was identifiable by its dark, organic-rich soil, visible in aerial photographs. Middens provide insight into what the village inhabitants would have eaten, and their waste habits. Middens were typically found inside the village’s outermost palisade. They could vary in depth according to their usage. For example, if a midden belonged strictly to one longhouse, it would likely be shallower than one used by an entire village. Ceramic vessels, pipes, drills, scrapers, bead fragments, corn, and bone, are all objects found in the Redeemer site middens.
Refuse, ash, and storage pits were some of the most common features on the Redeemer site. It can be hard to distinguish between the three as ash and storage pits were often repurposed as general refuse and waste pits. In total, 111 pits were found on the Redeemer site. Ash pits were typically smaller and had a shorter use life than refuse pits. They were often dug inside longhouses and would have been used to discard ash from fires, general waste, or discarded animal bones leftover from a meal. The largest longhouse on site contained the most refuse pits.
Undetermined archaeological features are features used or made by people in which the function is not clearly identifiable. This can occur due to a lack of contextual artifacts, repurposing of the feature, or disturbance of a feature. Individual human creativity also needs to be taken into account — sometimes people make things that cannot be explained without a time machine!
Hearths are identified as circular red stains in the soil. This soil discoloration is caused by heat from fires, which oxidizes iron in the soil. Typically, hearths are non-intrusive features because the only change to the soil is caused by the heat from the fire. Hearths were most often located along the central corridor of a longhouse. At the Redeemer site, five hearths were found located inside longhouses, and four hearths were located outside longhouses. It is possible that some of these hearths could indicate the interior of other structures not evident by the presence of house walls due to poor preservation. Exterior hearths may also indicate that other activities requiring intense heat took place outside of the longhouses, such as the smoking of meat and fish, firing of pottery, heating of rocks for sweat lodges or outdoor cooking. Hearths can be valuable features for estimating the population of village sites; however, this would not be an effective strategy for the Redeemer site because the settlement data has been compromised by past road construction.
The Royal Proclamation of 1763, issued by King George III after the Seven Years' War, established governance rules for Britain's newly acquired North American territories from France, as per the Treaty of Paris, 1763. It restricted westward expansion by British settlers in Canada and the US to prevent conflicts with Indigenous nations, which later contributed to tensions leading to the American Revolution. The Proclamation also designated areas for British loyalists ("Loyalists") to settle post-Revolution. It was pivotal for Indigenous nations in Ontario, Quebec, and eastern Canada, recognizing their land rights and mandating all land dealings through official treaties. As well, French settlers in Canada became British subjects, with new legal frameworks for governance and land ownership.
This is an early map of Wentworth County and its townships, including the Township of Ancaster. It was published in a 1876 county atlas of Ontario that was part of a larger effort by the Canadian government in the 1870s to produce accurate atlases of the provinces that made up the new Dominion of Canada, for purposes of promoting nationalism, establishing local infrastructure, and encouraging new Canadians to learn about their fellow provinces. Each county atlas included a historical summary of the area, township and town maps, and a patrons’ directory. Prominent residents could also pay additional money to have biographical information, portraits, and sketches of their residences or businesses included in the atlases.
This record shows the 1802 land registry record for Isaac Horning. Prior to 1994, all land registry records in Ontario were written in parcel registry books, which are held in regional land registry offices. Each lot within a municipality had its own book, with some lots having multiple books, if there was a history of more complex records.
