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The history of early Indigenous peoples in Canada has varying explanations both outside of and within the field of archaeology. Many Indigenous Oral Traditions state that Indigenous peoples have been on the land that is now known as North America since time immemorial. There is a debate within the field of archaeology on the first arrival of early Indigenous peoples, with dates ranging from as recently as 12,000 years ago to as long ago as 130,000 years ago.
Early Indigenous Peoples
Some discoveries at the Bluefish Caves and the Old Crow Basin in the Yukon trace the occupation of these two sites to around 25,000 to 40,000 years ago, based on dates obtained from sediments and mammoth bones that have most likely been modified by humans. While some archeologists contend that early Indigenous peoples may have been in the region for many more thousands of years, others believe that the earliest humans most likely crossed Beringia from East Asia and set foot in the Americas less than 15,000 years ago. First known as the Northwest Palaeo-Arctic culture, evidence of their presence was mainly found in Alaska and the Yukon and included typical tools such as microblades, burins and bifaces.
Early Indigenous Peoples, Since Time Immemorial to 10,000 Years Ago
The descendants of Palaeo-Arctic groups undertook a long journey, bypassing the ice mass that covered most of Canada during this period (see Ice Age) and reaching Eastern Canada. While some theories suggest earlier dates, this human migration likely occured by around 12,000 years ago at the latest. By this time, the Laurentide ice sheet would have begun retreating, allowing easier passage. There are very few sites from the this time frame, and most of those discovered are located in southern Ontario and Nova Scotia.
The lithic industry of this time differed from that of their predecessors, the Palaeo-Arctic, in that they made lanceolate projectile points of the Clovis type, usually from chert or chalcedony. These points were fluted and could be hafted to the extremity of a lance. The presence of this typical hunting tool allows archaeologists to easily identify the components or sites associated with this period.
In addition to projectile points, the early Indigenous peoples had a variety of other stone tools, mainly scrapers and knives to handle carcasses from which they obtained food and made clothing suited to the harsh climate that prevailed at that time. The groups that occupied Western Canada belonged to another cultural tradition that manufactured pebble tools and microblades.
Early Indigenous peoples during this time lived in a tundra environment, on the fringes of deserts left by retreating glaciers. They lived in small, highly nomadic groups composed of a few families and probably totaling less than 20 individuals and moved over large areas based on the availability of food resources. Although megafauna remains were found on sites from this period, including those of mastodons and mammoths, in the State of New York, the sustenance of early Indigenous peoples was most likely based on the hunting of big game, especially caribou and bison in Western Canada, and occasionally small mammals such as the Arctic fox and the hare. They also occasionally fished for salmon on the West Coast.
Early Indigenous peoples were skilled hunters of such animals as caribou, who possess fine hearing and a particularly well-developed sense of smell, especially since their hunting technology consisted of spears topped with a stone point. When pursued, caribou can reach a top speed of nearly 60 km per hour and maintain a pace of 40 km per hour for nearly an hour. Yet, early Indigenous hunters were successful in getting their favorite game by tricking the animals and using natural traps, such as suggested by the environmental context of the Debert site in Nova Scotia.
Early Indigenous Peoples, 10,000 to 8,000 Years Ago
The groups associated with the later period of early Indigenous peoples (about 10,000 to 8,000 years ago) shared the same way of life as their predecessors but at a time when the climate was much more favourable and gradually less influenced by the northern regression of the continental glacier.
Their tools included slender and regular lanceolate projectile points with parallel-sided flake scars (known as Plano points). Drills, bifacial tools, scrapers and abraders are also present in the lithic assemblages found on sites from this period. Chert was still the main raw material used by these groups.
Although caribou was still part of the sustenance of early Indigenous peoples, particularly in Eastern Canada, bison is one of the best-documented species on sites located in the Canadian Prairies, where evidence of slaughtering sites were found, at the Eden Heron Site for instance. Their diet at this time also included small mammals, based on the availability of regional resources. Sites from this period are mostly found on terraces near the margins of proglacial lakes (which develop from meltwater along the front of glaciers) in the western prairies, northern Ontario and the St. Lawrence River estuary.
As the climate became less restrictive and vegetation started to grow on the lands freshly emerged from the retreating ice sheet, early Indigenous peoples gradually regionalized and adapted to their new environment. These conditions gave way to a period of greater stability, which saw the emergence of the Archaic culture.
Early Indigenous Peoples, 8,000 to 3,000 Years Ago
During the most recent time period in the history of early Indigenous peoples in Canada (what archaeologists call the Archaic period), the cultures of Indigenous peoples continued to diversify further based upon region. The environment was more diverse as the glaciers retreated, allowing for a more permanent territory upon which Indigenous peoples could live. For example, peoples living in what is now the Maritime region of Canada had diets and ways of life connected to marine resources.
