Douglas Creek Estates home to people for 10,000 years

BYKARENBEST

Friday, November 10, 2006 - 09:00
Haldimand Review

More than 10,000 years ago, FirstNations people lived on the land around McKenzie Creek. It now flows through Douglas Creek Estates.

On a site set back from backyards of homes on Thistlemoor Drive, a series of camps were uncovered during an archeological assessment completed by Henco Industries, said archaeologist Peter Timmins. One significant site dates back 10,000 years, he said to an audience at the Six Nations community centre. Because this spot was graded and disturbed, further investigation will not be done on it, he said.

The people returned to this particular property for thousands of years, he said. He is a principal in Timmins Martelle Heritage Consultants Incorporated, a firm hired by the Ontario government in the spring. He attended the meeting to provide an update on past and present findings.

Based on past archaeological digs and ongoing surveys, Timmins said at least one longhouse or hamlet of 40 to 100 people lived on the Douglas Creek property.

For some time after the recent occupation of the site began on Feb. 28, Six Nations people were concerned about the lack of consultation in earlier surveys and feared burial sites were missed. In mediation talks in May, David Peterson committed to the reassessment, said Timmins.

He assured the crowd of 100 that further searches for burial sites will continue and that mechanical excavation will be used.

In 2004, three significant sites were found in the western area of the subdivision. One near a tall knoll was extensively studied with 1,282 one-metre-square sections dug by hand. Timmins said this was a large Woodland period site dating back to 1000 or 1400 A.D. One pit contained animal bones, ceramics, pottery, tools and arrow chips.

A year later Hencos archaeological firm found two camps, one 4,000 years old and the other 5,500 years old.

Timmins and his partner, Holly Martelle, reviewed the Henco study documents and hired a bone specialist from the University of Western Ontario. He examined the remains dug up by Hencos firm and identified bones as raccoon, rabbit and deer.

Piles of topsoil moved on the site during grading will be examined for artifacts and animal and human remains. Weeds are being cut with a bush hog to make it possible to make visual surveys from an ATV.

This fall archeological work will continue in the northwestern corner where deeper digs have uncovered more artifacts, including flint chips, stone scrapers and spear or arrow heads. Now that the area has been ploughed, the team is waiting for a few rainfalls before beginning test sites, Timmins said.

Timmins said it is very rare to find human remains buried 2,000 or 3,000 years ago because bones disintegrate. The crew will dig in areas around the western section site in search of burials. Usually a community established a cemetery near a village, he said.

Confederacy Chief Arnie General asked why the community is worried about burials when they are on SixNations land.

If the land is transferred to SixNations, you can preserve what is there,said Timmins.