Hartley Site (FaNp-19) : interpreting a transitional Avonlea/Old Women's faunal assemblage

Abstract

The Hartley site (FaNp-19) is a Late Prehistoric multi-component habitation site containing a Mortlach and an Avonlea/Old Women's occupation. The faunal assemblage from the Avonlea/Old Women's occupation contains at least 22 species of vertebrates and at least four genera of invertebrates. These materials have been analyzed to establish the seasonality of the occupation as well as the palaeoenvironmenat and biogeography of the site area. Analyses of the faunal material helped to establish that the occupation was a single event. The occupation began in the late fall/early winter and continued through to the late winter/early spring. The environment of the region appears to have been similar to the modem environment although the site area itself may have been slightly damper.

Several factors, including the site positioning and the wide diversity of faunal species, may relate to the season of occupation. Faunal assemblages from sites such as Amisk, Long Creek, Lucky Strike, Tschetter, Lebret and Miniota in Saskatchewan and southern Manitoba show some similarities to the Hartley site remains. It is proposed that the procurement and settlement strategies in this region reflect the season of occupation. Sites with a winter seasonality are associated with areas of trees such as the Aspen Parkland or valley complexes and are often occupied for extended periods of time. These occupations may begin with a single large bison kill, but this may be followed through the winter by smaller attritional style kills. Sites which are occupied into the spring will exhibit a particularly diverse range of species.