THE PREHISTORY OF MONTREAL LAKE, CENTRAL SASKATCHEWAN

Abstract

The purpose of this thesis is to present an outline of the culture history of Montreal Lake in central Saskatchewan. This reconstruction is based on material culture remains recovered by a survey and excavation program carried out in the region during the summer field seasons of 1972 and 1973. The culture history of the Montreal Lake region consisted of a number of occupations which occurred sporadically and which varied in distribution and duration. Most of the occupational prehistory was represented by northern Plains related complexes and traditions. The earliest identified occupations included Oxbow, McKean, Duncan and Hanna complexes of the early Meso-Indian period, possibly dating to 2000 B.C. in this region. Succeeding complexes, including Pelican Lake and Besant materials, were also Plains affiliated although some unidentified cultural materials could have been derived from other areas. Around A.D. 1500, occupations indicative of a boreal forest cultural tradition, the Clearwater Lake complex, appeared and persisted until the contact period. The sites located in the Montreal Lake region constituted a settlement pattern which clustered around the entrance to the Montreal River. The sites in this locality were slightly larger than sites located around the lake, and also evidenced a greater density and temporal range of cultural materials. The analysis of faunal remains from one site in this locality permitted inferences to be drawn concerning subsistence resources and seasonality of occupation.