Jump to content

Mantle Site: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Content deleted Content added
Tags: Mobile edit Mobile web edit Advanced mobile edit
GreenC bot (talk | contribs)
Rescued 2 archive links; reformat 2 links. Wayback Medic 2.5 per WP:URLREQ#nbcnews.com
 
(21 intermediate revisions by 9 users not shown)
Line 6: Line 6:
| image_size = 250px
| image_size = 250px
| alt =
| alt =
| caption = Mantle Site looking west from Byers Pond Way, [[Whitchurch–Stouffville]] over storm water pond towards Stouffville Creek and James Ratcliff Ave.: site of largest-known 16th-century Wendat ([[Wyandot people|Huron]]) ancestral village
| caption = View of the site looking west from Byers Pond Way.
| map =
| map =
| map_type = Canada Ontario
| map_type = CAN ON York#Canada Southern Ontario
| map_alt =
| map_alt =
| map_caption = Location within Ontario today
| map_caption =
| map_size =
| map_size =
| relief =
| relief =
Line 61: Line 61:
}}
}}


The "Jean-Baptiste Lainé" or '''Mantle''' site in the town of [[Whitchurch–Stouffville]], north-east of [[Toronto]], is the largest and most complex ancestral [[Wyandot people|Wendat-Huron]] village to be excavated to date in the Lower [[Great Lakes]] region.<ref>Toronto Museum Project, [http://www.torontomuseumproject.ca/Stories/Details.aspx?ID=30 Dunsmere Pipe] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706205629/http://www.torontomuseumproject.ca/Stories/Details.aspx?ID=30 |date=2011-07-06 }}. An exhaustive archaeological study of the Mantle Site is provided by Jennifer Birch, "[https://www.academia.edu/687496/Coalescent_Communities_in_Iroquoian_Ontario Coalescent Communities in Iroquoian Ontario]," unpublished PhD Thesis, McMaster University, Hamilton, 2010.</ref> The site's southeastern access point is at the intersection of Mantle Avenue and Byers Pond Way.
The "Jean-Baptiste Lainé" or '''Mantle Site''' in the town of [[Whitchurch–Stouffville]], north-east of [[Toronto]], [[Ontario]], Canada, is the largest and most complex ancestral [[Wyandot people|Wendat-Huron]] village to be excavated to date in the Lower [[Great Lakes]] region.<ref>Toronto Museum Project, [http://www.torontomuseumproject.ca/Stories/Details.aspx?ID=30 Dunsmere Pipe] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706205629/http://www.torontomuseumproject.ca/Stories/Details.aspx?ID=30 |date=2011-07-06 }}. An exhaustive archaeological study of the Mantle Site is provided by Jennifer Birch, "[https://www.academia.edu/687496/Coalescent_Communities_in_Iroquoian_Ontario Coalescent Communities in Iroquoian Ontario]," unpublished PhD Thesis, McMaster University, Hamilton, 2010.</ref> The site's southeastern access point is at the intersection of Mantle Avenue and Byers Pond Way.


Formerly thought to have been active 1500-1530, the prime period of the site has been shifted to 1587-1623, based on radiocarbon dating and Bayesian analysis. This has influenced new interpretations of migrations and population movement in the region among the Iroquoian peoples prior to the coalescence of the Wyandot.
Formerly thought to have been active 1500-1530, the prime period of the site has been shifted to 1587-1623, based on radiocarbon dating and Bayesian analysis. This has influenced new interpretations of migrations and population movement in the region among the Iroquoian peoples prior to the coalescence of the Wyandot.


==The site==
==The site==
In 2002, remains of a [[Wyandot people|Huron]] village from the late Precontact Period (i.e., immediately prior to the arrival of Europeans) was discovered during the construction of the new subdivision in Whitchurch–Stouffville along Stouffville Creek, a tributary of West Duffins Creek, on a section of Lot 33, Concession 9.<ref>Compare [[Archaeological Services Inc.]]'s "[http://asiheritage.ca/portfolio-items/the-mantle-site/ The Mantle Site Plan]" with Google [https://maps.google.com/maps?t=h&q=43.965278,-79.2375&ie=UTF8&ll=43.963496,-79.236601&spn=0.001815,0.004823&z=18 satellite view]; compare also the 1878 map of the [http://digital.library.mcgill.ca/countyatlas/images/maps/townshipmaps/yor-m-markham.jpg Township of Markham], ''Illustrated historical atlas of the county of York and the township of West Gwillimbury & town of Bradford in the county of Simcoe, Ont'' (Toronto: Miles & Co., 1878); the house "foundation" and "disturbed area" on the [http://www.iasi.to/web.nsf/440449a51715af27852565d800835186/305c608faf52107b852578ec00112791/Body/0.46C!OpenElement&FieldElemFormat=gif Mantle Site Map] are the farmstead and mill of Sam. Byer, Lot 33, Concession 9; see also [https://maps.google.com/maps?t=h&q=43.965278,-79.2375&ie=UTF8&ll=43.96377,-79.235244&spn=0.001815,0.004823&z=18&layer=c&cbll=43.963648,-79.23513&panoid=VeJ_Fe9tiDaGtLog3K_0DQ&cbp=12,273.38,,1,1.62 Google street view]. The archaeological community was already aware of First Nations artifacts on Lot 33, Concession 9; in A.F. Hunter, ''List of York County Sites'' (1910; available at Museum of Civilization), A.J. Clark writes: "Markham Twp. York Co. Village Site Lot 33 Con. 9 ... Site is south of the village of Stouffville. Wilmot Brown of Stouffville (Sept. 15-1906) is authority for statement that his father remembered an Embankment all around this site which enclosed about three (3) acres. Pottery, arrowheads and pipe of 'belt' pattern." Clark was working on the site around 1925.</ref>
In 2002, remains of a [[Wyandot people|Huron]] village from the late Precontact Period (i.e., immediately prior to the arrival of Europeans) was discovered during the construction of the new subdivision in Whitchurch–Stouffville along Stouffville Creek, a tributary of West Duffins Creek, on a section of Lot 33, Concession 9.<ref>Compare [[Archaeological Services Inc.]]'s "[http://asiheritage.ca/portfolio-items/the-mantle-site/ The Mantle Site Plan]" with Google [https://maps.google.com/maps?t=h&q=43.965278,-79.2375&ie=UTF8&ll=43.963496,-79.236601&spn=0.001815,0.004823&z=18 satellite view]; compare also the 1878 map of the [http://digital.library.mcgill.ca/countyatlas/images/maps/townshipmaps/yor-m-markham.jpg Township of Markham], ''Illustrated historical atlas of the county of York and the township of West Gwillimbury & town of Bradford in the county of Simcoe, Ont'' (Toronto: Miles & Co., 1878); the house "foundation" and "disturbed area" on the [http://www.iasi.to/web.nsf/440449a51715af27852565d800835186/305c608faf52107b852578ec00112791/Body/0.46C!OpenElement&FieldElemFormat=gif Mantle Site Map] are the farmstead and mill of Sam. Byer, Lot 33, Concession 9; see also [https://maps.google.com/maps?t=h&q=43.965278,-79.2375&ie=UTF8&ll=43.96377,-79.235244&spn=0.001815,0.004823&z=18&layer=c&cbll=43.963648,-79.23513&panoid=VeJ_Fe9tiDaGtLog3K_0DQ&cbp=12,273.38,,1,1.62 Google street view]. The archaeological community was already aware of First Nations artifacts on Lot 33, Concession 9; in A.F. Hunter, ''List of York County Sites'' (1910; available at Museum of Civilization), A.J. Clark writes: "Markham Twp. York Co. Village Site Lot 33 Con. 9 ... Site is south of the village of Stouffville. Wilmot Brown of Stouffville (Sept. 15-1906) is authority for statement that his father remembered an Embankment all around this site which enclosed about three (3) acres. Pottery, arrowheads and pipe of 'belt' pattern." Clark was working on the site around 1925.</ref>


From circa 1500 to 1530 AD (This is the original dating for the site, but it has been revised based on new data to 1587-1623. See the section on 'Dating' below), an estimated 1500 to 2000 people inhabited the 4.2 hectare site. The community likely consisted of persons who came from multiple smaller sites, including the [[Draper Site, Wendat (Huron) Ancestral Village|Draper Site]], located five kilometres south-east of Mantle in north [[Pickering, Ontario|Pickering]].<ref>Keith Bolender, "[http://ink.ourontario.ca/st/reel45/00000855-x0-y0-z1-r0-0-0?query=million%20pieces&p=1 Million pieces turned up] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706192834/http://ink.ourontario.ca/st/reel45/00000855-x0-y0-z1-r0-0-0?query=million%20pieces&p=1 |date=2011-07-06 }}," ''Stouffville Tribune'', August 24, 1978; also [https://books.google.com/books?id=edXSLIEpWOoC&lpg=PA352&ots=ppxboe35ev&dq=draper%20site%20finlayson&pg=PA352#v=onepage&q=draper%20site%20finlayson&f=false Draper], ''Encyclopedia of Prehistory'', vol. 3 (Springer, 2002), p. 352. The specific location of the Draper Site is on parts of lots 29 and 30, Concession VIII, Pickering Township; see V.A. Konrad, W.A. Ross, and I. Bowman, ''[http://www.pada.ca/books/page/?id=966&view=text&keywords=draper+site&page=78 North Pickering Archaeology]'' (June 1974), 78. They may have spent an interim period at the Spang site in Pickering; cf. Jacqueline Carter, ''Spang: A Sixteenth Century Huron Village Site, Pickering, Ontario'', Department of Anthropology, University of Toronto, 1981.</ref>
From circa 1587-1623,<ref name="advances" /> an estimated 1500 to 2000 people inhabited the {{convert|4.2|hectare|acre|adj=on}} site. The community likely consisted of persons who came from multiple smaller sites, including the [[Draper Site]], located five kilometres south-east of Mantle in north [[Pickering, Ontario|Pickering]].<ref>Keith Bolender, "[http://ink.ourontario.ca/st/reel45/00000855-x0-y0-z1-r0-0-0?query=million%20pieces&p=1 Million pieces turned up] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706192834/http://ink.ourontario.ca/st/reel45/00000855-x0-y0-z1-r0-0-0?query=million%20pieces&p=1 |date=2011-07-06 }}," ''Stouffville Tribune'', August 24, 1978; also [https://books.google.com/books?id=edXSLIEpWOoC&dq=draper+site+finlayson&pg=PA352 Draper], ''Encyclopedia of Prehistory'', vol. 3 (Springer, 2002), p. 352. The specific location of the Draper Site is on parts of lots 29 and 30, Concession VIII, Pickering Township; see V.A. Konrad, W.A. Ross, and I. Bowman, ''[http://www.pada.ca/books/page/?id=966&view=text&keywords=draper+site&page=78 North Pickering Archaeology]'' (June 1974), 78. They may have spent an interim period at the Spang Site in Pickering; cf. Jacqueline Carter, ''Spang: A Sixteenth Century Huron Village Site, Pickering, Ontario'', Department of Anthropology, University of Toronto, 1981.</ref>


In 2012, archaeologists revealed that they had discovered a forged [[wrought iron]] axehead of European origin, which had been carefully buried in a longhouse at the centre of the village site. It is believed that the axe originated from a [[Basque Country (greater region)|Basque]] whaling station in the [[Strait of Belle Isle]] ([[Newfoundland and Labrador]]), and was traded into the interior of the continent a century before Europeans began to explore the Great Lakes region.<ref>See documentary film, "[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jpw-PbR3wg ''Curse of the Axe''], (History Television.ca), 128 min.
In 2012, archaeologists revealed that they had discovered a forged [[wrought iron]] axehead of European origin, which had been carefully buried in a longhouse at the centre of the village site. It is believed that the axe originated from a [[Basque Country (greater region)|Basque]] whaling station in the [[Strait of Belle Isle]] ([[Newfoundland and Labrador]]), and was traded into the interior of the continent a century before Europeans began to explore the Great Lakes region.<ref>See documentary film, "[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jpw-PbR3wg ''Curse of the Axe''], (History Television.ca), 128 min.
See also Patrick Cain, "[http://www.globaltoronto.com/6442674416/story.html Vanished Huron village in Whitchurch-Stouffville held baffling mystery]," ''Global News'', July 6, 2012; "[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2WgttqAR7Y Ancient axe found could rewrite Canada's history]," ''Global News'', July 10, 2012; Mary Ormsby, "[https://www.thestar.com/news/insight/article/1222889--how-did-huron-wendat-get-cursed-european-axe-a-century-before-european-contact How did Huron-Wendat get 'cursed' European axe a century before European contact?]," ''[[Toronto Star]]'', July 7, 2012; Owen Jarus, "[http://www.nbcnews.com/id/48135934 An 'Indiana Jones' moment: Cosmopolitan village dug up. Big, complex 'New York City' of 500 years ago uncovered by archaeologists in Canada]," NBC News, July 10, 2012.</ref> "It is the earliest European piece of iron ever found in the North American interior."<ref>"[http://www.northernstars.ca/News/01207061249_curse.html Curse of the Axe on History]," Northernstars.ca, the Canadian Movie Database, July 6, 2012; Mike Finnerty, "[http://www.cbc.ca/thecurrent/episode/2012/07/09/the-curse-of-the-axe/ Interview: The Curse of the Axe, with R.F. Williamson and L. Lainé]" (audio), ''CBC The Current'', July 9, 2012 (23:59 minutes); cf. also Wilhelm Murg, "[http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2012/07/09/how-did-a-spanish-axe-wind-up-in-toronto-before-europeans-122571 How did a Spanish Axe wind up in Toronto 100 years before Europeans?]," ''Indian Country: Today Media.com'' (July 9, 2012).</ref>
See also Patrick Cain, "[http://www.globaltoronto.com/6442674416/story.html Vanished Huron village in Whitchurch-Stouffville held baffling mystery]," ''Global News'', July 6, 2012; "[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2WgttqAR7Y Ancient axe found could rewrite Canada's history]," ''Global News'', July 10, 2012; Mary Ormsby, "[https://www.thestar.com/news/insight/article/1222889--how-did-huron-wendat-get-cursed-european-axe-a-century-before-european-contact How did Huron-Wendat get 'cursed' European axe a century before European contact?]," ''[[Toronto Star]]'', July 7, 2012; Owen Jarus, "[http://www.nbcnews.com/id/48135934 An 'Indiana Jones' moment: Cosmopolitan village dug up. Big, complex 'New York City' of 500 years ago uncovered by archaeologists in Canada]{{dead link|date=August 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}," NBC News, July 10, 2012.</ref> "It is the earliest European piece of iron ever found in the North American interior."<ref>"[http://www.northernstars.ca/News/01207061249_curse.html Curse of the Axe on History]," Northernstars.ca, the Canadian Movie Database, July 6, 2012; Mike Finnerty, "[http://www.cbc.ca/thecurrent/episode/2012/07/09/the-curse-of-the-axe/ Interview: The Curse of the Axe, with R.F. Williamson and L. Lainé]" (audio), ''CBC The Current'', July 9, 2012 (23:59 minutes); cf. also Wilhelm Murg, "[http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2012/07/09/how-did-a-spanish-axe-wind-up-in-toronto-before-europeans-122571 How did a Spanish Axe wind up in Toronto 100 years before Europeans?]," ''Indian Country: Today Media.com'' (July 9, 2012).</ref>


The Mantle site was enclosed by a three-row wooden fort-like structure ([[palisade]]) surrounding 95 [[Longhouses of the indigenous peoples of North America|longhouses]], of which at least 50 were occupied at any one time. Each longhouse was approximately {{convert|20|ft|m}} wide, {{convert|20|ft|m}} high; lengths varied from {{convert|40|ft|m}} to {{convert|160|ft|m}}, with a typical length of {{convert|100|ft|m}}. They were constructed from maple or cedar saplings and covered by elm or cedar bark. The layout displays a uniquely high degree of organization (when compared, e.g., to the Draper Site), and includes an open plaza and a developed waste management system.<ref>[[Archaeological Services Inc.]], "[http://asiheritage.ca/portfolio-items/the-mantle-site/ The Mantle Site]". See also artist's [http://ilovemidhurst.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/huron-wendat-stouffville.jpg reconstruction of longhouse interior]; R.F. Williamson and A. Clish, "[http://canadianarchaeology.com/caa/node/3383 The Mantle Site: Urban Planning in Sixteenth Century Ontario]," presented at the Canadian Archaeological Association, Toronto, 2006.</ref>
The Mantle Site was enclosed by a three-row wooden fort-like structure ([[palisade]]) surrounding 95 [[Longhouses of the indigenous peoples of North America|longhouses]], of which at least 50 were occupied at any one time. Each longhouse was approximately {{convert|20|ft|m}} wide, {{convert|20|ft|m}} high; lengths varied from {{convert|40|ft|m}} to {{convert|160|ft|m}}, with a typical length of {{convert|100|ft|m}}. They were constructed from maple or cedar saplings and covered by elm or cedar bark. The layout displays a uniquely high degree of organization (when compared, e.g., to the Draper Site), and includes an open plaza and a developed waste management system.<ref>[[Archaeological Services Inc.]], "[http://asiheritage.ca/portfolio-items/the-mantle-site/ The Mantle Site]". See also artist's [http://ilovemidhurst.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/huron-wendat-stouffville.jpg reconstruction of longhouse interior]; R.F. Williamson and A. Clish, "[http://canadianarchaeology.com/caa/node/3383 The Mantle Site: Urban Planning in Sixteenth Century Ontario]," presented at the Canadian Archaeological Association, Toronto, 2006.</ref>


{{cquote|text=The community would have required more than sixty thousand even-aged saplings to construct houses and palisade walls and the agricultural field system would have been hundreds, if not thousands of hectares in extent. ... it would appear that refuse was directed out of the interior of the village into a borrow trench situated on the outside of the palisade—thereby representing one of the first organic and inorganic waste stream management systems known in the northeast.<ref>Toronto Museum Project, [http://www.torontomuseumproject.ca/Stories/Details.aspx?ID=30 Dunsmere Pipe] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706205629/http://www.torontomuseumproject.ca/Stories/Details.aspx?ID=30 |date=2011-07-06 }}; also R.F. Williamson, "[https://books.google.com/books?id=yBtA4mGrZdcC&lpg=PP1&ots=HHA7FuiCQX&dq=Oxford%20Handbook%20of%20North%20American%20Archaeology&pg=PA281#v=onepage&q&f=false What will be has always been: The past and presence of northern Iroquoians]," in ''The Oxford Handbook of North American Archaeology'', ed. T.R. Pauketat (New York: Oxford Univ. Press, 2012), p. 281.</ref>}}
{{cquote|text=The community would have required more than sixty thousand even-aged saplings to construct houses and palisade walls and the agricultural field system would have been hundreds, if not thousands of hectares in extent. ... it would appear that refuse was directed out of the interior of the village into a borrow trench situated on the outside of the palisade—thereby representing one of the first organic and inorganic waste stream management systems known in the northeast.<ref>Toronto Museum Project, [http://www.torontomuseumproject.ca/Stories/Details.aspx?ID=30 Dunsmere Pipe] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706205629/http://www.torontomuseumproject.ca/Stories/Details.aspx?ID=30 |date=2011-07-06 }}; also R.F. Williamson, "[https://books.google.com/books?id=yBtA4mGrZdcC&dq=Oxford%20Handbook%20of%20North%20American%20Archaeology&pg=PA281 What will be has always been: The past and presence of northern Iroquoians]," in ''The Oxford Handbook of North American Archaeology'', ed. T.R. Pauketat (New York: Oxford Univ. Press, 2012), p. 281.</ref>}}
[[File:Mantle Huron Village Site Stouffville--looking north to Lost Pond Crescent.JPG|thumb|left|Mantle Huron Village Site, Stouffville, looking north to Lost Pond Crescent]]
[[File:Mantle Huron Village Site Stouffville--looking north to Lost Pond Crescent.JPG|thumb|left|Mantle Huron Village Site, Stouffville, looking north to Lost Pond Crescent]]


Maize comprised 62% of the community's diet, which translates to approximately one pound of maize per person per day, or (minimally) 1,500 pounds for the community per day. More maize may have been required for trade with the [[Algonquin people]] to the north. The community farmed 80 square kilometres of land, stretching up to five kilometres in every direction from the village site.<ref>Mike Finnerty, "[http://www.cbc.ca/thecurrent/episode/2012/07/09/the-curse-of-the-axe/ Interview: The Curse of the Axe, with R.F Williamson and L. Lainé]" (audio), ''CBC The Current'', July 9, 2012 (23:59 minutes).</ref> For clothing approximately 7000 deer hides per year were needed, which would have required hunting about 40 kilometres in every direction from the site.<ref>R. Williamson, cited in Owen Jarus, "[http://www.nbcnews.com/id/48135934 An 'Indiana Jones' moment: Cosmopolitan village dug up. Big, complex 'New York City' of 500 years ago uncovered by archaeologists in Canada]," NBC News, July 10, 2012; also R. Williamson, "From Mastodons to Mantle: Preserving the Aboriginal Past of York Region," public lecture, Stouffville, ON, Feb. 25, 2011, where Williamson notes up to 6,800 hides per year.</ref>
Maize comprised 62% of the community's diet, which translates to approximately one pound of maize per person per day, or (minimally) 1,500 pounds for the community per day. More maize may have been required for trade with the [[Algonquin people]] to the north. The community farmed {{cvt|8|sqkm|acre}} of land, stretching up to {{cvt|5|km|mile}} in every direction from the village site.<ref>Mike Finnerty, "[http://www.cbc.ca/thecurrent/episode/2012/07/09/the-curse-of-the-axe/ Interview: The Curse of the Axe, with R.F Williamson and L. Lainé]" (audio), ''CBC The Current'', July 9, 2012 (23:59 minutes).</ref> For clothing up to 6,800 deer skins per year were needed, which would have required hunting in a least {{cvt|40|km|mile}} in every direction from the site.<ref>R. Williamson, cited in Owen Jarus, "[http://www.nbcnews.com/id/48135934 An 'Indiana Jones' moment: Cosmopolitan village dug up. Big, complex 'New York City' of 500 years ago uncovered by archaeologists in Canada]{{dead link|date=August 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}," NBC News, July 10, 2012; also R. Williamson, "From Mastodons to Mantle: Preserving the Aboriginal Past of York Region," public lecture, Stouffville, ON, Feb. 25, 2011, where Williamson notes up to 6,800 hides per year.</ref>


A series of modeled human and animal [[effigy]] ceramic vessels were found on the site. These are similar to ones found at on contemporaneous [[Oneida people|Oneida]] villages in [[New York (state)|New York State]], indicating the cosmopolitan nature of the community that settled the Mantle site.<ref>Williamson and Clish, [http://canadianarchaeology.com/caa/node/3383 The Mantle Site: Urban Planning in Sixteenth Century Ontario]; for images, see the Toronto Museum Project, [http://www.torontomuseumproject.ca/Stories/Details.aspx?ID=30 Dunsmere Pipe] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706205629/http://www.torontomuseumproject.ca/Stories/Details.aspx?ID=30 |date=2011-07-06 }}, and Archaeological Services Inc., "[http://www.iasi.to/web.nsf/page/The+Mantle+Site!opendocument The Mantle Site]."</ref> The humanlike effigies are thought to be mythical cornhusk people associated with horticultural crops.<ref>R.F. Williamson, "[https://books.google.com/books?id=yBtA4mGrZdcC&lpg=PP1&ots=HHA7FuiCQX&dq=Oxford%20Handbook%20of%20North%20American%20Archaeology&pg=PA281#v=onepage&q&f=false What will be has always been: The past and presence of northern Iroquoians]," in ''The Oxford Handbook of North American Archaeology'', ed. T.R. Pauketat (New York: Oxford Univ. Press, 2012), p. 281.</ref>
A series of modeled human and animal [[effigy]] ceramic vessels were found on the site. These are similar to ones found at on contemporaneous [[Oneida people|Oneida]] villages in [[New York (state)|New York State]], indicating the cosmopolitan nature of the community that settled the Mantle Site.<ref>Williamson and Clish, [http://canadianarchaeology.com/caa/node/3383 The Mantle Site: Urban Planning in Sixteenth Century Ontario]; for images, see the Toronto Museum Project, [http://www.torontomuseumproject.ca/Stories/Details.aspx?ID=30 Dunsmere Pipe] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706205629/http://www.torontomuseumproject.ca/Stories/Details.aspx?ID=30 |date=2011-07-06 }}, and Archaeological Services Inc., "[http://www.iasi.to/web.nsf/page/The+Mantle+Site!opendocument The Mantle Site]."</ref> The humanlike effigies are thought to be mythical cornhusk people associated with horticultural crops.<ref>R.F. Williamson, "[https://books.google.com/books?id=yBtA4mGrZdcC&dq=Oxford%20Handbook%20of%20North%20American%20Archaeology&pg=PA281 What will be has always been: The past and presence of northern Iroquoians]," in ''The Oxford Handbook of North American Archaeology'', ed. T.R. Pauketat (New York: Oxford Univ. Press, 2012), p. 281.</ref>


Unlike other indigenous villages in the Great Lakes region, the Mantle site is unique "in that it represents a community that had already come together from several villages and chose to build here."<ref>Hannelore Volpe (with reference to Dr. R.F. Williamson), [http://ink.ourontario.ca/st/reel114/00000650-x0-y0-z1-r0-0-0?query=iroquois+huron%20&p=1 Stouffville's Archeological Treasure] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706192828/http://ink.ourontario.ca/st/reel114/00000650-x0-y0-z1-r0-0-0?query=iroquois+huron%20&p=1 |date=2011-07-06 }}, ''Stouffville Sun-Tribune'', March 29, 2007, p. 14.</ref> During its existence, the community was the only village near the eastern Rouge trail linking [[Lake Ontario]] and [[Lake Simcoe]] and north of it. Artifacts found indicate trade and interaction with distant First Nations groups to the north, east, south and west.<ref>R.F. Williamson in interview with Mike Finnerty, "[http://www.cbc.ca/thecurrent/episode/2012/07/09/the-curse-of-the-axe/ Interview: 'The Curse of the Axe,']" (audio), ''CBC The Current'', July 9, 2012 (23:59 minutes).</ref>
Unlike other indigenous villages in the Great Lakes region, the Mantle Site is unique "in that it represents a community that had already come together from several villages and chose to build here."<ref>Hannelore Volpe (with reference to Dr. R.F. Williamson), [http://ink.ourontario.ca/st/reel114/00000650-x0-y0-z1-r0-0-0?query=iroquois+huron%20&p=1 Stouffville's Archeological Treasure] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706192828/http://ink.ourontario.ca/st/reel114/00000650-x0-y0-z1-r0-0-0?query=iroquois+huron%20&p=1 |date=2011-07-06 }}, ''Stouffville Sun-Tribune'', March 29, 2007, p. 14.</ref> During its existence, the community was the only village near the eastern Rouge trail linking [[Lake Ontario]] and [[Lake Simcoe]] and north of it. Artifacts found indicate trade and interaction with distant First Nations groups to the north, east, south and west.<ref>R.F. Williamson in interview with Mike Finnerty, "[http://www.cbc.ca/thecurrent/episode/2012/07/09/the-curse-of-the-axe/ Interview: 'The Curse of the Axe,']" (audio), ''CBC The Current'', July 9, 2012 (23:59 minutes).</ref>


After two or three decades on the Mantle site, the people abandoned the location in the first half of the sixteenth century. They likely moved five kilometres north-west to the so-called [[Ratcliff Site, Wendat (Huron) Ancestral Village|Ratcliff site]] and / or the [[Aurora Site, Wendat (Huron) Ancestral Village|Aurora/Old Fort site]].<ref>See [[List of archaeological sites in Whitchurch–Stouffville]].</ref> In the seventeenth century, the community likely joined others to form one of the Huron tribes in the [[Orillia]]-[[Georgian Bay]] area.<ref>Archaeological Services Inc., "[http://www.archaeologicalservices.on.ca/project_3.htm The Mantle Site] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120310230033/http://www.archaeologicalservices.on.ca/project_3.htm |date=2012-03-10 }}"; see also the following illustrations: [https://books.google.com/books?id=itsTLSnw8qgC&lpg=PA30&ots=NwSKdkM37A&dq=huron%20archaeological%20site%20ontario&pg=PA30#v=onepage&q&f=false "Late Period (AD 1400 – European Contact)," and "Late Period Village"], ''Historical Atlas of Canada'', vol. 1 (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1987), plates 11 and 12.</ref>
After two or three decades on the Mantle Site, the people abandoned the location in the first half of the sixteenth century. They likely moved five kilometres north-west to the so-called [[Ratcliff Site]] and / or the [[Aurora Site]].<ref>See [[List of archaeological sites in Whitchurch–Stouffville]].</ref> In the seventeenth century, the community likely joined others to form one of the Huron tribes in the [[Orillia]]-[[Georgian Bay]] area.<ref>Archaeological Services Inc., "[http://www.archaeologicalservices.on.ca/project_3.htm The Mantle Site] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120310230033/http://www.archaeologicalservices.on.ca/project_3.htm |date=2012-03-10 }}"; see also the following illustrations: [https://books.google.com/books?id=itsTLSnw8qgC&dq=huron%20archaeological%20site%20ontario&pg=PA30 "Late Period (AD 1400 – European Contact)," and "Late Period Village"], ''Historical Atlas of Canada'', vol. 1 (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1987), plates 11 and 12.</ref>
[[File:Reconstructed Huron Wendat long house at Huron Wendat Museum in Wendake Quebec.jpg|thumb|right|Interior of reconstructed Huron-Wendat long house, Huron-Wendat Museum in Wendake, Quebec]]
[[File:Reconstructed Huron Wendat long house at Huron Wendat Museum in Wendake Quebec.jpg|thumb|right|Interior of reconstructed Huron-Wendat long house, Huron-Wendat Museum in Wendake, Quebec]]
[[File:Bruce-s Mill Stouffville Sugarbush demo Mar 2011.jpg|thumb|right|Huron maple syrup demonstration, [[Bruce's Mill Conservation Area]], Stouffville, Ontario]]
[[File:Bruce-s Mill Stouffville Sugarbush demo Mar 2011.jpg|thumb|right|Huron maple syrup demonstration, [[Bruce's Mill Conservation Area]], Stouffville, Ontario]]


==Excavation and evaluation of site and artifacts==
==Excavation and evaluation of site and artifacts==
With the discovery of the Mantle site by Lebovic Enterprises, [[Archaeological Services Inc.]] was contracted to complete an evaluation of the site's significance. A decision was made to preserve about 5% of the original Mantle site, primarily along the bank of the creek. The site was documented and over 150,000 artifacts were removed for study and interpretation at [[McMaster University]] and the [[University of Toronto]]. Because of their national significance,<ref>Lead archeologist, Dr. Ronald F. Williamson, noted that the excavation was one of "the most nationally significant of the hundreds he has excavated in Ontario" (Canadian War Museum, "[http://www.warmuseum.ca/about-us/get-involved/support/kudos/spring-2011/ Thousands of Southern Ontario artifacts to be safeguarded by the museum]," ''Kudos!'' [Spring 2011]).</ref> the artifacts will be safeguarded by the [[Canadian Museum of Civilization]].<ref>''Canadian Museum of Civilization Newsletter,'' "[http://www.civilization.ca/newsletter/archive/digging-up-the-past/ Digging up the Past]," June 2011.</ref> The archaeological site-work took three years to complete (2003–2005).<ref>Archaeological Services Inc., [http://www.archaeologicalservices.on.ca/project_3.htm Mantle Site] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120310230033/http://www.archaeologicalservices.on.ca/project_3.htm |date=2012-03-10 }}; Toronto Museum Project, [http://www.torontomuseumproject.ca/Stories/Details.aspx?ID=30 Dunsmere Pipe] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706205629/http://www.torontomuseumproject.ca/Stories/Details.aspx?ID=30 |date=2011-07-06 }}; Gail Swainson, [https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/856282--thousands-of-native-remains-being-held-in-u-of-t-storage "U of T Basements Hold Thousands of Remains"], ''Toronto Star'', September 3, 2010.</ref>
With the discovery of the Mantle Site by Lebovic Enterprises, [[Archaeological Services Inc.]] was contracted to complete an evaluation of the site's significance. A decision was made to preserve about 5% of the original Mantle Site, primarily along the bank of the creek. The site was documented and over 150,000 artifacts were removed for study and interpretation at [[McMaster University]] and the [[University of Toronto]]. Because of their national significance,<ref>Lead archeologist, Dr. Ronald F. Williamson, noted that the excavation was one of "the most nationally significant of the hundreds he has excavated in Ontario" (Canadian War Museum, "[http://www.warmuseum.ca/about-us/get-involved/support/kudos/spring-2011/ Thousands of Southern Ontario artifacts to be safeguarded by the museum]," ''Kudos!'' [Spring 2011]).</ref> the artifacts will be safeguarded by the [[Canadian Museum of Civilization]].<ref>''Canadian Museum of Civilization Newsletter,'' "[http://www.civilization.ca/newsletter/archive/digging-up-the-past/ Digging up the Past]," June 2011.</ref> The archaeological site-work took three years to complete (2003–2005).<ref>Archaeological Services Inc., [http://www.archaeologicalservices.on.ca/project_3.htm Mantle Site] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120310230033/http://www.archaeologicalservices.on.ca/project_3.htm |date=2012-03-10 }}; Toronto Museum Project, [http://www.torontomuseumproject.ca/Stories/Details.aspx?ID=30 Dunsmere Pipe] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706205629/http://www.torontomuseumproject.ca/Stories/Details.aspx?ID=30 |date=2011-07-06 }}; Gail Swainson, [https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/856282--thousands-of-native-remains-being-held-in-u-of-t-storage "U of T Basements Hold Thousands of Remains"], ''Toronto Star'', September 3, 2010.</ref>


==Succeeding development==
==Succeeding development==
Most of the site is now used as a storm water pond; the homes on the south-west corner of Lost Pond Crescent also occupy part of the village site.<ref>See "[http://www.rogerstv.com/page.aspx?gid=72547&lid=237&rid=72 Did you know: Mantle Site (interview with Dr. Jennifer Birch]," Rogers TV Videos First Local (2:14 minutes; accessed July 18, 2012); Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing, [http://www.amo.on.ca/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home&Template=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=149195 Communicating with Aboriginal Peoples: The Municipal Role] (Presentation, London, ON, 2007); compare Slide 5 (aerial photograph identifying the Mantle Site, looking south) with Google [https://maps.google.com/maps?t=h&q=43.965278,-79.2375&ie=UTF8&ll=43.963496,-79.236601&spn=0.001815,0.004823&z=18 satellite view] and location of storm water pond. "In York Region, such a fate for an Iroquoian village is common. Builders here accept salvage archeology as a normal part of the development process, but still opt to remove sites rather than build around them. 'It's an economic decision.'" [http://ink.ourontario.ca/st/reel104/00000146-x0-y0-z1-r0-0-0?query=archeological&p=1 Development leaving history in a box], by M. Adler, ''Stouffville Sun-Tribune'', August 23, 2003, p. 3. The ''Toronto Star'' quotes David Donnelly, lawyer for the Huron-Wendat Nation, on new provincial guidelines for consultation expected January 1, 2011: "The developers will invite the First Nations in for a chat and then, nine times out of ten, development will just go ahead" [https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/859013--first-nation-battles-for-history-in-court First Nation Battles for History in Court], Sept. 10, 2010. In the area immediately north of the village site, the creek had been damned by early European pioneers (Boyer's (Byer's) Pond), which in turn powered Boyer's Mill (edge the Mantle village site); cf. Jean Barkey et al., [http://www.ourroots.ca/page.aspx?id=1021913&amp;qryID=c173eef8-9847-4cc1-b7d2-21c7d5929013 Stouffville 1877–1977] (Stouffville, 1977), pp. 122, 127.</ref> A small cemetery found outside the village walls has been preserved and protected in accordance with the provincial cemeteries act and in consultation with [[First Nations in Canada|First Nations]].<ref>Ron Williamson and Chief Kris Nahrgang, [http://www.webtechcanada.com/OEMC2007/RonWilliamsonChiefNahrgang.pdf First Nations History in Southern Ontario – South East Region], presentation, slide 10.</ref>
Most of the site is now used as a storm water pond; the homes on the south-west corner of Lost Pond Crescent also occupy part of the village site.<ref>See "[http://www.rogerstv.com/page.aspx?gid=72547&lid=237&rid=72 Did you know: Mantle Site (interview with Dr. Jennifer Birch]," Rogers TV Videos First Local (2:14 minutes; accessed July 18, 2012); Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing, [http://www.amo.on.ca/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home&Template=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=149195 Communicating with Aboriginal Peoples: The Municipal Role] (Presentation, London, ON, 2007); compare Slide 5 (aerial photograph identifying the Mantle Site, looking south) with Google [https://maps.google.com/maps?t=h&q=43.965278,-79.2375&ie=UTF8&ll=43.963496,-79.236601&spn=0.001815,0.004823&z=18 satellite view] and location of storm water pond. "In York Region, such a fate for an Iroquoian village is common. Builders here accept salvage archeology as a normal part of the development process, but still opt to remove sites rather than build around them. 'It's an economic decision.'" [http://ink.ourontario.ca/st/reel104/00000146-x0-y0-z1-r0-0-0?query=archeological&p=1 Development leaving history in a box], by M. Adler, ''Stouffville Sun-Tribune'', August 23, 2003, p. 3. The ''Toronto Star'' quotes David Donnelly, lawyer for the Huron-Wendat Nation, on new provincial guidelines for consultation expected January 1, 2011: "The developers will invite the First Nations in for a chat and then, nine times out of ten, development will just go ahead" [https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/859013--first-nation-battles-for-history-in-court First Nation Battles for History in Court], Sept. 10, 2010. In the area immediately north of the village site, the creek had been damned by early European pioneers (Boyer's (Byer's) Pond), which in turn powered Boyer's Mill (edge the Mantle village site); cf. Jean Barkey et al., [http://www.ourroots.ca/page.aspx?id=1021913&amp;qryID=c173eef8-9847-4cc1-b7d2-21c7d5929013 Stouffville 1877–1977] (Stouffville, 1977), pp. 122, 127.</ref> A small cemetery found outside the village walls has been preserved and protected in accordance with the provincial cemeteries act and in consultation with [[First Nations in Canada|First Nations]].<ref>Ron Williamson and Chief Kris Nahrgang, [http://www.webtechcanada.com/OEMC2007/RonWilliamsonChiefNahrgang.pdf First Nations History in Southern Ontario – South East Region], presentation, slide 10.</ref>


The consequent development of the west side of the creek in the Fieldgate River Ridge subdivision around James Ratcliff Avenue was delayed significantly.<ref>See comments by owners, Community Forums, [http://www.buildinghomes.ca/community/forums/showthread.php?t=511&page=20 Fieldgate River Ridge], June 2006, pp. 20ff.</ref> The expected village [[ossuary]], a mass grave with an expected 300 to 400 skeletal remains, has not been yet been located.<ref>In ancient Wendat tradition, the dead would be initially buried in a temporary grave, and every ten years the bones would be moved to a mass grave in an elaborate ceremony; cf. R.F. Williamson, cited in R. Green, [http://ink.ourontario.ca/st/reel109/00000919-x0-y0-z1-r0-0-0?query=archeological&p=1 Talks on Over Bones], ''Stouffville Sun-Tribune'', August 13, 2005, p. 7; see depiction of ancestral Huron Feast of the Dead in which remains reburied in large communal pit (ossuary) in J.-F. Lafitau, [https://books.google.com/books?id=CzoVAAAAQAAJ&dq=inauthor%3A%22Joseph-Fran%C3%A7ois%20Lafitau%22&pg=PA456-IA2#v=onepage&q&f=false Moeurs des sauvages amériquains, comparées aux moeurs des premiers temps], vol. 2, 1724, p. 456.</ref> The Town of Whitchurch–Stouffville is planning further housing development immediately south of the Mantle site in the town's Phase Two development plan.<ref>Town of Whitchurch-Stouffville, [http://whitchurchstouffville.fileprosite.com/Documents/DocumentList.aspx?ID=7063&Search=1&Result=1 Council Public Hearing Agenda]{{Dead link|date=November 2021 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, March 23, 2010, Item 4.1 (with attachments) – Lot 32, Concession 9.</ref>
The consequent development of the west side of the creek in the Fieldgate River Ridge subdivision around James Ratcliff Avenue was delayed significantly.<ref>See comments by owners, Community Forums, [http://www.buildinghomes.ca/community/forums/showthread.php?t=511&page=20 Fieldgate River Ridge], June 2006, pp. 20ff.</ref> The expected village [[ossuary]], a mass grave with an expected 300 to 400 skeletal remains, has not been yet been located.<ref>In ancient Wendat tradition, the dead would be initially buried in a temporary grave, and every ten years the bones would be moved to a mass grave in an elaborate ceremony; cf. R.F. Williamson, cited in R. Green, [http://ink.ourontario.ca/st/reel109/00000919-x0-y0-z1-r0-0-0?query=archeological&p=1 Talks on Over Bones], ''Stouffville Sun-Tribune'', August 13, 2005, p. 7; see depiction of ancestral Huron Feast of the Dead in which remains reburied in large communal pit (ossuary) in J.-F. Lafitau, [https://books.google.com/books?id=CzoVAAAAQAAJ&dq=inauthor%3A%22Joseph-Fran%C3%A7ois%20Lafitau%22&pg=PA456-IA2 Moeurs des sauvages amériquains, comparées aux moeurs des premiers temps], vol. 2, 1724, p. 456.</ref> The Town of Whitchurch–Stouffville is planning further housing development immediately south of the Mantle Site in the town's Phase Two development plan.<ref>Town of Whitchurch-Stouffville, [http://whitchurchstouffville.fileprosite.com/Documents/DocumentList.aspx?ID=7063&Search=1&Result=1 Council Public Hearing Agenda]{{Dead link|date=November 2021 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, March 23, 2010, Item 4.1 (with attachments) – Lot 32, Concession 9.</ref>


In 2004, [[First Nations in Canada|First Nations]] peoples visited the site and performed ceremonies.<ref>R.F. Williamson, cited in J. Ransberry, [http://ink.ourontario.ca/st/reel106/00000665-x0-y0-z1-r0-0-0?query=archeological&p=1 Native Village discovered at Housing Development], ''Stouffville Sun-Tribune'', July 17, 2004, p. 12; also in Ransberry, [http://ink.ourontario.ca/st/reel109/00000366-x0-y0-z1-r0-0-0?query=archaeological&p=1 Huron Village Artifacts may Stay in Stouffville], ''Stouffville Sun-Tribune'', June 9, 2005, pp. 1, 11. See also R. Williamson, cited in H. Volpe, [http://ink.ourontario.ca/st/reel114/00000650-x0-y0-z1-r0-0-0?query=iroquois+huron%20&p=1 Stouffville's Archeological Treasure] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706192828/http://ink.ourontario.ca/st/reel114/00000650-x0-y0-z1-r0-0-0?query=iroquois+huron%20&p=1 |date=2011-07-06 }}, ''Stouffville Sun-Tribune'', March 29, 2007, p. 14.</ref> The Mantle site (among others) is mentioned in the 2007 provincial inquiry into the [[Ipperwash Crisis]]; the report highlights the importance of ancestral burial sites to [[First Nations in Canada|First Nations]] people, explains why they often become flashpoints for occupation (a need to protect them from further desecration), and recommends consultation with First Nations regarding the disposition of a site.<ref>Ipperwash Commission of Inquiry, Final Report, [http://www.attorneygeneral.jus.gov.on.ca/inquiries/ipperwash/report/vol_2/pdf/E_Vol_2_CH06.pdf Aboriginal Burial and Heritage Sites], [[Ipperwash Inquiry]] vol. 2 (2007), ch. 6, esp. p. 134, 148. These recommendations continue to be ignored: for example, in 2010 the Huron-Wendat nation was not consulted about an excavation in Vaughan so as not to hold up development; cf., Gail Swainson, ''Toronto Star'', [https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/854119--first-nations-want-say-in-the-preservation-of-important-archaeological-sites-in-ontario "First Nations want say in the preservation of important archaeological sites in Ontario"], Aug. 29, 2010; [https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/856282--thousands-of-native-remains-being-held-in-u-of-t-storage "U of T basements hold thousands of remains"], ''Toronto Star'', Sept. 3, 2010; [https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/859013--first-nation-battles-for-history-in-court "First Nation battles for history in court"], ''The Star'', Sept. 10, 2010.</ref>
In 2004, [[First Nations in Canada|First Nations]] peoples visited the site and performed ceremonies.<ref>R.F. Williamson, cited in J. Ransberry, [http://ink.ourontario.ca/st/reel106/00000665-x0-y0-z1-r0-0-0?query=archeological&p=1 Native Village discovered at Housing Development], ''Stouffville Sun-Tribune'', July 17, 2004, p. 12; also in Ransberry, [http://ink.ourontario.ca/st/reel109/00000366-x0-y0-z1-r0-0-0?query=archaeological&p=1 Huron Village Artifacts may Stay in Stouffville], ''Stouffville Sun-Tribune'', June 9, 2005, pp. 1, 11. See also R. Williamson, cited in H. Volpe, [http://ink.ourontario.ca/st/reel114/00000650-x0-y0-z1-r0-0-0?query=iroquois+huron%20&p=1 Stouffville's Archeological Treasure] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706192828/http://ink.ourontario.ca/st/reel114/00000650-x0-y0-z1-r0-0-0?query=iroquois+huron%20&p=1 |date=2011-07-06 }}, ''Stouffville Sun-Tribune'', March 29, 2007, p. 14.</ref> The Mantle Site (among others) is mentioned in the 2007 provincial inquiry into the [[Ipperwash Crisis]]; the report highlights the importance of ancestral burial sites to [[First Nations in Canada|First Nations]] people, explains why they often become flashpoints for occupation (a need to protect them from further desecration), and recommends consultation with First Nations regarding the disposition of a site.<ref>Ipperwash Commission of Inquiry, Final Report, [http://www.attorneygeneral.jus.gov.on.ca/inquiries/ipperwash/report/vol_2/pdf/E_Vol_2_CH06.pdf Aboriginal Burial and Heritage Sites], [[Ipperwash Inquiry]] vol. 2 (2007), ch. 6, esp. p. 134, 148. These recommendations continue to be ignored: for example, in 2010 the Huron-Wendat nation was not consulted about an excavation in Vaughan so as not to hold up development; cf., Gail Swainson, ''Toronto Star'', [https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/854119--first-nations-want-say-in-the-preservation-of-important-archaeological-sites-in-ontario "First Nations want say in the preservation of important archaeological sites in Ontario"], Aug. 29, 2010; [https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/856282--thousands-of-native-remains-being-held-in-u-of-t-storage "U of T basements hold thousands of remains"], ''Toronto Star'', Sept. 3, 2010; [https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/859013--first-nation-battles-for-history-in-court "First Nation battles for history in court"], ''The Star'', Sept. 10, 2010.</ref>


==Recognition and legacy==
==Recognition and legacy==
Consequently in 2007, the Town Council of Whitchurch–Stouffville recognized the Mantle site as "one of the most significant Huron ancestral villages in Southern Ontario," and committed itself to work with the [[Wyandot people|Huron]] to "assign aboriginal names to watercourses, streets and trails in and around the Mantle site and elsewhere in the municipality."<ref>Town of Whitchurch-Stouffville, "Huron Ancestral Village Resolution (C10-C0 & R00)," June 17, 2007 (renewed commitment by a new council of Feb. 17, 2015: Minutes, "[https://whitchurch.civicweb.net/Documents/DocumentList.aspx?Id=88865&Search=1&Result=1 Historic Plaque for the Mantle Site(R01)];" see also comments by Councillor Susanne Hilton, in H. Volpe, "Stouffville's Archeological Treasure," ''Stouffville Sun-Tribune'', March 29, 2007, p. 14. On February 24, 2011, Councillor Hilton announced publicly that the Huron have been consulted, and an interpretive trail carrying a Huron name will be created. No heritage designation for the site has yet been adopted. The Stage Four Salvage Excavation of the Mantle Site report, by Archeological Services, Inc. for the Ministry of Culture and the Town of Whitchurch–Stouffville, has not been released publicly. Though Huron elders performed ceremonies on the site in 2004, the street names chosen for the area (Town of Whitchurch Stouffville, "Council in Committee Agenda," April 20, 2004) are not First Nation names. In 2009 the Whitchurch-Stouffville Museum in [[Vandorf, Ontario|Vandorf]] began a [http://www.townofws.com/pdfs/Museum/Newsletter%20April%202010.pdf Discover First Nations] program.</ref> [[File:Wendat_Language_Plaque_at_Jean-Baptiste_Lainé_Site_(Mantle_Site),_Whitchurch-Stouffville,_Ontario.jpg|thumb|alt=Ontario Heritage Trust plaque in the language of the Huron-Wendat people.|upright=0.99|Ontario Heritage Trust plaque in the language of the Huron-Wendat people.]]
Consequently in 2007, the Town Council of Whitchurch–Stouffville recognized the Mantle Site as "one of the most significant Huron ancestral villages in Southern Ontario," and committed itself to work with the [[Wyandot people|Huron]] to "assign aboriginal names to watercourses, streets and trails in and around the Mantle Site and elsewhere in the municipality."<ref>Town of Whitchurch-Stouffville, "Huron Ancestral Village Resolution (C10-C0 & R00)," June 17, 2007 (renewed commitment by a new council of Feb. 17, 2015: Minutes, "[https://whitchurch.civicweb.net/Documents/DocumentList.aspx?Id=88865&Search=1&Result=1 Historic Plaque for the Mantle Site(R01)];" see also comments by Councillor Susanne Hilton, in H. Volpe, "Stouffville's Archeological Treasure," ''Stouffville Sun-Tribune'', March 29, 2007, p. 14. On February 24, 2011, Councillor Hilton announced publicly that the Huron have been consulted, and an interpretive trail carrying a Huron name will be created. No heritage designation for the site has yet been adopted. The Stage Four Salvage Excavation of the Mantle Site report, by Archeological Services, Inc. for the Ministry of Culture and the Town of Whitchurch–Stouffville, has not been released publicly. Though Huron elders performed ceremonies on the site in 2004, the street names chosen for the area (Town of Whitchurch Stouffville, "Council in Committee Agenda," April 20, 2004) are not First Nation names. In 2009 the Whitchurch-Stouffville Museum in [[Vandorf, Ontario|Vandorf]] began a [http://www.townofws.com/pdfs/Museum/Newsletter%20April%202010.pdf Discover First Nations] program.</ref> [[File:Wendat_Language_Plaque_at_Jean-Baptiste_Lainé_Site_(Mantle_Site),_Whitchurch-Stouffville,_Ontario.jpg|thumb|alt=Ontario Heritage Trust plaque in the language of the Huron-Wendat people.|upright=0.99|Ontario Heritage Trust plaque in the language of the Huron-Wendat people.]]


In 2011, the [[York Region District School Board]] announced that it would name the new school to be built adjacent to the site the "Wendat Village Public School."<ref>Town of Whitchurch-Stouffville, "[https://whitchurch.civicweb.net/FileStorage/7CFCCFF16DD84EC994878BDA259C057A-WorkspaceReport%2011%20SITE%20PLAN%20CONTROL%20AGREEMENT%20WEN.pdf Council in Committee Report]," July 19, 2011.</ref>
In 2011, the [[York Region District School Board]] announced that it would name the new school to be built adjacent to the site the "Wendat Village Public School."<ref>Town of Whitchurch-Stouffville, "[https://whitchurch.civicweb.net/FileStorage/7CFCCFF16DD84EC994878BDA259C057A-WorkspaceReport%2011%20SITE%20PLAN%20CONTROL%20AGREEMENT%20WEN.pdf Council in Committee Report]," July 19, 2011.</ref>
Line 108: Line 108:


==Dating==
==Dating==
Radiocarbon dating of charcoal and short-lived botanical material late in the second decade of the twenty-first century and [[Bayesian analysis]]<ref name="advances">{{cite journal|title=Radiocarbon re-dating of contact-era Iroquoian history in northeastern North America|last1=Manning|first1=Sturt W.|last2=Birch|first2=Jennifer|last3=Conger|first3=Megan A|last4=Dee|first4=Michael W|last5=Griggs|first5=Carol|journal=Science Advances|date=5 December 2018|volume=4|issue=12|pages=eaav0280|doi=10.1126/sciadv.aav0280|pmid=30525108|pmc=6281431|bibcode=2018SciA....4..280M}}</ref> has resulted in a re-dating of the Mantle Site to a fairly precise time period, to wit 1587-1623 (with 95.4% probability).<ref name="advances" /> This analysis has also resulted in the redating of the related Draper and Spang sites, with conclusions about the speed of change among the region's indigenous peoples in this period.

Radiocarbon dating of charcoal and short-lived botanical material late in the second decade of the twenty-first century and [[Bayesian analysis]]<ref name="advances">{{cite journal|title=Radiocarbon re-dating of contact-era Iroquoian history in northeastern North America|last1=Manning|first1=Sturt W.|last2=Birch|first2=Jennifer|last3=Conger|first3=Megan A|last4=Dee|first4=Michael W|last5=Griggs|first5=Carol|journal=Science Advances|date=5 December 2018|volume=4|issue=12|pages=eaav0280|doi=10.1126/sciadv.aav0280|pmid=30525108|pmc=6281431|bibcode=2018SciA....4..280M}}</ref> has resulted in a re-dating of the Mantle site to a fairly precise time period, to wit 1587-1623 (with 95.4% probability).<ref>https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/advances/4/12/eaav0280/F4.large.jpg ''Science'', April 2012</ref> This analysis has also resulted in the redating of the related [[Draper]] and [[Spang]] sites, with conclusions about the speed of change among the region's indigenous peoples in this period.


==Wendat people today==
==Wendat people today==
Line 119: Line 118:
==See also==
==See also==
{{Portal|Indigenous peoples of the Americas|History|Canada}}
{{Portal|Indigenous peoples of the Americas|History|Canada}}
* [[Aurora Site, Wendat (Huron) Ancestral Village]]
* [[Draper Site, Wendat (Huron) Ancestral Village]]
* [[Ratcliff Site, Wendat (Huron) Ancestral Village]]
* [[List of archaeological sites in Whitchurch–Stouffville]]
* [[List of archaeological sites in Whitchurch–Stouffville]]
* [[History of Toronto]]
* [[History of Toronto]]
Line 131: Line 127:
* Birch, Jennifer. "[https://uga.academia.edu/JenniferBirch/Papers/81040/Rethinking_the_Archaeological_Application_of_Iroquoian_Kinship Rethinking the Archeological Application of Iroquoian Kinship]." ''Canadian Journal of Archeology'' 32 (2008): 194–213, esp. p.&nbsp;205.
* Birch, Jennifer. "[https://uga.academia.edu/JenniferBirch/Papers/81040/Rethinking_the_Archaeological_Application_of_Iroquoian_Kinship Rethinking the Archeological Application of Iroquoian Kinship]." ''Canadian Journal of Archeology'' 32 (2008): 194–213, esp. p.&nbsp;205.
* Birch, Jennifer. "[https://uga.academia.edu/JenniferBirch/Papers/183903/Coalescence_and_Conflict_in_Iroquoian_Ontario Coalescence and Conflict in Iroquoian Ontario]." ''Archeological Review from Cambridge'' 25, no. 1 (2010): 29–48.
* Birch, Jennifer. "[https://uga.academia.edu/JenniferBirch/Papers/183903/Coalescence_and_Conflict_in_Iroquoian_Ontario Coalescence and Conflict in Iroquoian Ontario]." ''Archeological Review from Cambridge'' 25, no. 1 (2010): 29–48.
* Birch, Jennifer, and Ronald F. Williamson. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=-uQ3d-t5Mg4C&lpg=PP1&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q&f=false The Mantle Site: An Archaeological History of an Ancestral Wendat Community]''. Lanham, MD: AltaMira Press, 2013.
* Birch, Jennifer, and Ronald F. Williamson. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=-uQ3d-t5Mg4C&pg=PP1 The Mantle Site: An Archaeological History of an Ancestral Wendat Community]''. Lanham, MD: AltaMira Press, 2013.
* Ramsden, Peter. "[https://www.academia.edu/9637481/Review_of_The_Mantle_Site_An_Archaeological_History_of_an_Ancestral_Wendat_Community_by_Jennifer_Birch_and_Ronald_F._Williamson Book Review: The Mantle Site: An Archaeological History of an Ancestral Wendat Community]," ''Ontario Archaeology'' 93 (2013): 219-223.
* Ramsden, Peter. "[https://www.academia.edu/9637481/Review_of_The_Mantle_Site_An_Archaeological_History_of_an_Ancestral_Wendat_Community_by_Jennifer_Birch_and_Ronald_F._Williamson Book Review: The Mantle Site: An Archaeological History of an Ancestral Wendat Community]," ''Ontario Archaeology'' 93 (2013): 219-223.
* Sioui, Georges E. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=U_14tuSMUBcC&lpg=PP1&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q&f=false Wendat: The Heritage of the Circle]''. Trans. J. Brierley. Vancouver, BC: UBC Press, 1999.
* Sioui, Georges E. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=U_14tuSMUBcC&pg=PP1 Wendat: The Heritage of the Circle]''. Trans. J. Brierley. Vancouver, BC: UBC Press, 1999.
* Trigger, Bruce. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=T3NQ1lsaHs0C&lpg=PP1&ots=tq4mnQM8vf&dq=The%20Children%20of%20Aataentsic&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q&f=false The Children of Aataentsic: A History of the Huron People to 1660].'' 2 vols. Montreal: McGill-Queen's Univ. Press, 1982; also "[https://books.google.com/books?id=fchA2Ker1vQC&lpg=PP1&dq=inauthor%3A%22Bruce%20G.%20Trigger%22&pg=PA149#v=onepage&q&f=false Sixteenth Century Ontario]," in ''Natives and Newcomers: Canada's "Heroic Age" Reconsidered''. Montreal: McGill-Queen's Univ. Press, 1986. Pp.&nbsp;149–161.
* Trigger, Bruce. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=T3NQ1lsaHs0C&dq=The%20Children%20of%20Aataentsic&pg=PP1 The Children of Aataentsic: A History of the Huron People to 1660].'' 2 vols. Montreal: McGill-Queen's Univ. Press, 1982; also "[https://books.google.com/books?id=fchA2Ker1vQC&dq=inauthor%3A%22Bruce%20G.%20Trigger%22&pg=PA149 Sixteenth Century Ontario]," in ''Natives and Newcomers: Canada's "Heroic Age" Reconsidered''. Montreal: McGill-Queen's Univ. Press, 1986. Pp.&nbsp;149–161.
* Warrick, Gary A. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=iVw_a-aCvK4C&lpg=PP1&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q&f=false A Population History of the Huron-Petun, A.D. 500-1650]''. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2008.
* Warrick, Gary A. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=iVw_a-aCvK4C&pg=PP1 A Population History of the Huron-Petun, A.D. 500-1650]''. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2008.
* Williamson, Ronald F. "[https://books.google.com/books?id=yBtA4mGrZdcC&lpg=PP1&ots=HHA7FuiCQX&dq=Oxford%20Handbook%20of%20North%20American%20Archaeology&pg=PA273#v=onepage&q&f=false What will be has always been: The past and presence of northern Iroquoians]." In ''The Oxford Handbook of North American Archaeology'', ed. T.R. Pauketat. New York: Oxford Univ. Press, 2012. Ch. 23, pp.&nbsp;273–284, esp. [https://books.google.com/books?id=yBtA4mGrZdcC&lpg=PP1&ots=HHA7FuiCQX&dq=Oxford%20Handbook%20of%20North%20American%20Archaeology&pg=PA277#v=onepage&q&f=false pp. 277-281].
* Williamson, Ronald F. "[https://books.google.com/books?id=yBtA4mGrZdcC&dq=Oxford%20Handbook%20of%20North%20American%20Archaeology&pg=PA273 What will be has always been: The past and presence of northern Iroquoians]." In ''The Oxford Handbook of North American Archaeology'', ed. T.R. Pauketat. New York: Oxford Univ. Press, 2012. Ch. 23, pp.&nbsp;273–284, esp. [https://books.google.com/books?id=yBtA4mGrZdcC&dq=Oxford%20Handbook%20of%20North%20American%20Archaeology&pg=PA277 pp. 277-281].
* Williamson, Ronald F., ed. ''Toronto: An Illustrated History of its First 12,000 Years''. Toronto: James Lorimer, 2008. Ch. 2 (with some photographs of the Mantle Site project, pp.&nbsp;37, 40, 45, 47).
* Williamson, Ronald F., ed. ''Toronto: An Illustrated History of its First 12,000 Years''. Toronto: James Lorimer, 2008. Ch. 2 (with some photographs of the Mantle Site project, pp.&nbsp;37, 40, 45, 47).
* Williamson, Ronald F. "[http://asiheritage.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/The_Archaeological_History_of_the_Wendat.pdf The Archaeological History of the Wendat to A.D. 1651: An Overview]." ''Ontario Archaeology'' 94 (2014): 3-64.
* Williamson, Ronald F. "[http://asiheritage.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/The_Archaeological_History_of_the_Wendat.pdf The Archaeological History of the Wendat to A.D. 1651: An Overview]." ''Ontario Archaeology'' 94 (2014): 3-64.

==References==
{{reflist}}


==External links==
==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20100920055336/http://www.hotelpremieresnations.com/musee/concept.php The Huron-Wendat Museum], [[Wendake, Quebec]]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20100920055336/http://www.hotelpremieresnations.com/musee/concept.php The Huron-Wendat Museum], [[Wendake, Quebec]]
* [http://www.wendake.ca/ Huron-Wendat Nation], [[Wendake, Quebec]].
* [http://www.wendake.ca/ Huron-Wendat Nation], [[Wendake, Quebec]]
* Jarus, Owen. [http://www.livescience.com/21351-mantle-site-artifacts.html The Mantle Site: Photos of Ancient City]. Live Science, July 9, 2012.
* Jarus, Owen. [http://www.livescience.com/21351-mantle-site-artifacts.html The Mantle Site: Photos of Ancient City]. Live Science, July 9, 2012

==References==
{{reflist}}


[[Category:Whitchurch-Stouffville]]
[[Category:Whitchurch-Stouffville]]
Line 153: Line 149:
[[Category:First Nations history in Ontario]]
[[Category:First Nations history in Ontario]]
[[Category:Wyandot]]
[[Category:Wyandot]]
[[Category:16th century in Ontario]]
[[Category:Woodland period sites in Canada]]

Latest revision as of 19:22, 3 August 2024

Mantle Site
View of the site looking west from Byers Pond Way.
Mantle Site is located in Regional Municipality of York
Mantle Site
Shown within Regional Municipality of York
Mantle Site is located in Southern Ontario
Mantle Site
Mantle Site (Southern Ontario)
LocationWhitchurch–StouffvilleRegional Municipality of York, OntarioCanada
RegionRegional Municipality of York, Ontario
Coordinates43°57′49″N 79°14′13″W / 43.96361°N 79.23694°W / 43.96361; -79.23694
History
PeriodsLate Precontact Period, ca. 1500–1530
CulturesHuron (Wendat)
Site notes
Excavation dates2003-2005

The "Jean-Baptiste Lainé" or Mantle Site in the town of Whitchurch–Stouffville, north-east of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, is the largest and most complex ancestral Wendat-Huron village to be excavated to date in the Lower Great Lakes region.[1] The site's southeastern access point is at the intersection of Mantle Avenue and Byers Pond Way.

Formerly thought to have been active 1500-1530, the prime period of the site has been shifted to 1587-1623, based on radiocarbon dating and Bayesian analysis. This has influenced new interpretations of migrations and population movement in the region among the Iroquoian peoples prior to the coalescence of the Wyandot.

The site

[edit]

In 2002, remains of a Huron village from the late Precontact Period (i.e., immediately prior to the arrival of Europeans) was discovered during the construction of the new subdivision in Whitchurch–Stouffville along Stouffville Creek, a tributary of West Duffins Creek, on a section of Lot 33, Concession 9.[2]

From circa 1587-1623,[3] an estimated 1500 to 2000 people inhabited the 4.2-hectare (10-acre) site. The community likely consisted of persons who came from multiple smaller sites, including the Draper Site, located five kilometres south-east of Mantle in north Pickering.[4]

In 2012, archaeologists revealed that they had discovered a forged wrought iron axehead of European origin, which had been carefully buried in a longhouse at the centre of the village site. It is believed that the axe originated from a Basque whaling station in the Strait of Belle Isle (Newfoundland and Labrador), and was traded into the interior of the continent a century before Europeans began to explore the Great Lakes region.[5] "It is the earliest European piece of iron ever found in the North American interior."[6]

The Mantle Site was enclosed by a three-row wooden fort-like structure (palisade) surrounding 95 longhouses, of which at least 50 were occupied at any one time. Each longhouse was approximately 20 feet (6.1 m) wide, 20 feet (6.1 m) high; lengths varied from 40 feet (12 m) to 160 feet (49 m), with a typical length of 100 feet (30 m). They were constructed from maple or cedar saplings and covered by elm or cedar bark. The layout displays a uniquely high degree of organization (when compared, e.g., to the Draper Site), and includes an open plaza and a developed waste management system.[7]

The community would have required more than sixty thousand even-aged saplings to construct houses and palisade walls and the agricultural field system would have been hundreds, if not thousands of hectares in extent. ... it would appear that refuse was directed out of the interior of the village into a borrow trench situated on the outside of the palisade—thereby representing one of the first organic and inorganic waste stream management systems known in the northeast.[8]

Mantle Huron Village Site, Stouffville, looking north to Lost Pond Crescent

Maize comprised 62% of the community's diet, which translates to approximately one pound of maize per person per day, or (minimally) 1,500 pounds for the community per day. More maize may have been required for trade with the Algonquin people to the north. The community farmed 8 km2 (2,000 acres) of land, stretching up to 5 km (3.1 miles) in every direction from the village site.[9] For clothing up to 6,800 deer skins per year were needed, which would have required hunting in a least 40 km (25 miles) in every direction from the site.[10]

A series of modeled human and animal effigy ceramic vessels were found on the site. These are similar to ones found at on contemporaneous Oneida villages in New York State, indicating the cosmopolitan nature of the community that settled the Mantle Site.[11] The humanlike effigies are thought to be mythical cornhusk people associated with horticultural crops.[12]

Unlike other indigenous villages in the Great Lakes region, the Mantle Site is unique "in that it represents a community that had already come together from several villages and chose to build here."[13] During its existence, the community was the only village near the eastern Rouge trail linking Lake Ontario and Lake Simcoe and north of it. Artifacts found indicate trade and interaction with distant First Nations groups to the north, east, south and west.[14]

After two or three decades on the Mantle Site, the people abandoned the location in the first half of the sixteenth century. They likely moved five kilometres north-west to the so-called Ratcliff Site and / or the Aurora Site.[15] In the seventeenth century, the community likely joined others to form one of the Huron tribes in the Orillia-Georgian Bay area.[16]

Interior of reconstructed Huron-Wendat long house, Huron-Wendat Museum in Wendake, Quebec
Huron maple syrup demonstration, Bruce's Mill Conservation Area, Stouffville, Ontario

Excavation and evaluation of site and artifacts

[edit]

With the discovery of the Mantle Site by Lebovic Enterprises, Archaeological Services Inc. was contracted to complete an evaluation of the site's significance. A decision was made to preserve about 5% of the original Mantle Site, primarily along the bank of the creek. The site was documented and over 150,000 artifacts were removed for study and interpretation at McMaster University and the University of Toronto. Because of their national significance,[17] the artifacts will be safeguarded by the Canadian Museum of Civilization.[18] The archaeological site-work took three years to complete (2003–2005).[19]

Succeeding development

[edit]

Most of the site is now used as a storm water pond; the homes on the south-west corner of Lost Pond Crescent also occupy part of the village site.[20] A small cemetery found outside the village walls has been preserved and protected in accordance with the provincial cemeteries act and in consultation with First Nations.[21]

The consequent development of the west side of the creek in the Fieldgate River Ridge subdivision around James Ratcliff Avenue was delayed significantly.[22] The expected village ossuary, a mass grave with an expected 300 to 400 skeletal remains, has not been yet been located.[23] The Town of Whitchurch–Stouffville is planning further housing development immediately south of the Mantle Site in the town's Phase Two development plan.[24]

In 2004, First Nations peoples visited the site and performed ceremonies.[25] The Mantle Site (among others) is mentioned in the 2007 provincial inquiry into the Ipperwash Crisis; the report highlights the importance of ancestral burial sites to First Nations people, explains why they often become flashpoints for occupation (a need to protect them from further desecration), and recommends consultation with First Nations regarding the disposition of a site.[26]

Recognition and legacy

[edit]

Consequently in 2007, the Town Council of Whitchurch–Stouffville recognized the Mantle Site as "one of the most significant Huron ancestral villages in Southern Ontario," and committed itself to work with the Huron to "assign aboriginal names to watercourses, streets and trails in and around the Mantle Site and elsewhere in the municipality."[27]

Ontario Heritage Trust plaque in the language of the Huron-Wendat people.
Ontario Heritage Trust plaque in the language of the Huron-Wendat people.

In 2011, the York Region District School Board announced that it would name the new school to be built adjacent to the site the "Wendat Village Public School."[28]

In Summer 2011, Wendat ceremonies were held at the site, and it was renamed the "Jean-Baptiste Lainé" Site in honour of a decorated Second World War Huron-Wendat veteran.[29]

In 2017 Ontario Heritage Trust installed historic provincial plaques about the Jean-Baptiste Lainé Site near the Wendat Village Public School, recounting the history and significance of the site, the evidence of the wide trading network, and the relation of this 16th-century ancestral community to the rise of the Huron-Wendat people. The plaque is in English, French, and Wendat, an Iroquoian language.[30]

Dating

[edit]

Radiocarbon dating of charcoal and short-lived botanical material late in the second decade of the twenty-first century and Bayesian analysis[3] has resulted in a re-dating of the Mantle Site to a fairly precise time period, to wit 1587-1623 (with 95.4% probability).[3] This analysis has also resulted in the redating of the related Draper and Spang sites, with conclusions about the speed of change among the region's indigenous peoples in this period.

Wendat people today

[edit]

The Huron (Wendat) are considered one of the peoples of the larger Iroquoian cultural and language family. The Huron-Wendat Nation is a First Nation whose community and reserves today are located at Wendake, Quebec.[31] The Huron, and other local First Nation peoples, have urged towns and developers in York Region to preserve indigenous sites so that they may "worship at the places where [their] ancestors are buried."[32] The discovery of a sixteenth-century European axe at Mantle is also of political importance for the Wendat First Nation, for its current negotiations with federal and provincial governments.[33]

Film and television

[edit]

In 2012, a two-hour documentary film on the Mantle Wendat-Huron Village Site, Curse of the Axe,[34] was produced by yap films in association with Shaw Media, and narrated by Robbie Robertson.[35][36][37][38]

See also

[edit]

Further reading

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Toronto Museum Project, Dunsmere Pipe Archived 2011-07-06 at the Wayback Machine. An exhaustive archaeological study of the Mantle Site is provided by Jennifer Birch, "Coalescent Communities in Iroquoian Ontario," unpublished PhD Thesis, McMaster University, Hamilton, 2010.
  2. ^ Compare Archaeological Services Inc.'s "The Mantle Site Plan" with Google satellite view; compare also the 1878 map of the Township of Markham, Illustrated historical atlas of the county of York and the township of West Gwillimbury & town of Bradford in the county of Simcoe, Ont (Toronto: Miles & Co., 1878); the house "foundation" and "disturbed area" on the Mantle Site Map are the farmstead and mill of Sam. Byer, Lot 33, Concession 9; see also Google street view. The archaeological community was already aware of First Nations artifacts on Lot 33, Concession 9; in A.F. Hunter, List of York County Sites (1910; available at Museum of Civilization), A.J. Clark writes: "Markham Twp. York Co. Village Site Lot 33 Con. 9 ... Site is south of the village of Stouffville. Wilmot Brown of Stouffville (Sept. 15-1906) is authority for statement that his father remembered an Embankment all around this site which enclosed about three (3) acres. Pottery, arrowheads and pipe of 'belt' pattern." Clark was working on the site around 1925.
  3. ^ a b c Manning, Sturt W.; Birch, Jennifer; Conger, Megan A; Dee, Michael W; Griggs, Carol (5 December 2018). "Radiocarbon re-dating of contact-era Iroquoian history in northeastern North America". Science Advances. 4 (12): eaav0280. Bibcode:2018SciA....4..280M. doi:10.1126/sciadv.aav0280. PMC 6281431. PMID 30525108.
  4. ^ Keith Bolender, "Million pieces turned up Archived 2011-07-06 at the Wayback Machine," Stouffville Tribune, August 24, 1978; also Draper, Encyclopedia of Prehistory, vol. 3 (Springer, 2002), p. 352. The specific location of the Draper Site is on parts of lots 29 and 30, Concession VIII, Pickering Township; see V.A. Konrad, W.A. Ross, and I. Bowman, North Pickering Archaeology (June 1974), 78. They may have spent an interim period at the Spang Site in Pickering; cf. Jacqueline Carter, Spang: A Sixteenth Century Huron Village Site, Pickering, Ontario, Department of Anthropology, University of Toronto, 1981.
  5. ^ See documentary film, "Curse of the Axe, (History Television.ca), 128 min. See also Patrick Cain, "Vanished Huron village in Whitchurch-Stouffville held baffling mystery," Global News, July 6, 2012; "Ancient axe found could rewrite Canada's history," Global News, July 10, 2012; Mary Ormsby, "How did Huron-Wendat get 'cursed' European axe a century before European contact?," Toronto Star, July 7, 2012; Owen Jarus, "An 'Indiana Jones' moment: Cosmopolitan village dug up. Big, complex 'New York City' of 500 years ago uncovered by archaeologists in Canada[dead link]," NBC News, July 10, 2012.
  6. ^ "Curse of the Axe on History," Northernstars.ca, the Canadian Movie Database, July 6, 2012; Mike Finnerty, "Interview: The Curse of the Axe, with R.F. Williamson and L. Lainé" (audio), CBC The Current, July 9, 2012 (23:59 minutes); cf. also Wilhelm Murg, "How did a Spanish Axe wind up in Toronto 100 years before Europeans?," Indian Country: Today Media.com (July 9, 2012).
  7. ^ Archaeological Services Inc., "The Mantle Site". See also artist's reconstruction of longhouse interior; R.F. Williamson and A. Clish, "The Mantle Site: Urban Planning in Sixteenth Century Ontario," presented at the Canadian Archaeological Association, Toronto, 2006.
  8. ^ Toronto Museum Project, Dunsmere Pipe Archived 2011-07-06 at the Wayback Machine; also R.F. Williamson, "What will be has always been: The past and presence of northern Iroquoians," in The Oxford Handbook of North American Archaeology, ed. T.R. Pauketat (New York: Oxford Univ. Press, 2012), p. 281.
  9. ^ Mike Finnerty, "Interview: The Curse of the Axe, with R.F Williamson and L. Lainé" (audio), CBC The Current, July 9, 2012 (23:59 minutes).
  10. ^ R. Williamson, cited in Owen Jarus, "An 'Indiana Jones' moment: Cosmopolitan village dug up. Big, complex 'New York City' of 500 years ago uncovered by archaeologists in Canada[dead link]," NBC News, July 10, 2012; also R. Williamson, "From Mastodons to Mantle: Preserving the Aboriginal Past of York Region," public lecture, Stouffville, ON, Feb. 25, 2011, where Williamson notes up to 6,800 hides per year.
  11. ^ Williamson and Clish, The Mantle Site: Urban Planning in Sixteenth Century Ontario; for images, see the Toronto Museum Project, Dunsmere Pipe Archived 2011-07-06 at the Wayback Machine, and Archaeological Services Inc., "The Mantle Site."
  12. ^ R.F. Williamson, "What will be has always been: The past and presence of northern Iroquoians," in The Oxford Handbook of North American Archaeology, ed. T.R. Pauketat (New York: Oxford Univ. Press, 2012), p. 281.
  13. ^ Hannelore Volpe (with reference to Dr. R.F. Williamson), Stouffville's Archeological Treasure Archived 2011-07-06 at the Wayback Machine, Stouffville Sun-Tribune, March 29, 2007, p. 14.
  14. ^ R.F. Williamson in interview with Mike Finnerty, "Interview: 'The Curse of the Axe,'" (audio), CBC The Current, July 9, 2012 (23:59 minutes).
  15. ^ See List of archaeological sites in Whitchurch–Stouffville.
  16. ^ Archaeological Services Inc., "The Mantle Site Archived 2012-03-10 at the Wayback Machine"; see also the following illustrations: "Late Period (AD 1400 – European Contact)," and "Late Period Village", Historical Atlas of Canada, vol. 1 (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1987), plates 11 and 12.
  17. ^ Lead archeologist, Dr. Ronald F. Williamson, noted that the excavation was one of "the most nationally significant of the hundreds he has excavated in Ontario" (Canadian War Museum, "Thousands of Southern Ontario artifacts to be safeguarded by the museum," Kudos! [Spring 2011]).
  18. ^ Canadian Museum of Civilization Newsletter, "Digging up the Past," June 2011.
  19. ^ Archaeological Services Inc., Mantle Site Archived 2012-03-10 at the Wayback Machine; Toronto Museum Project, Dunsmere Pipe Archived 2011-07-06 at the Wayback Machine; Gail Swainson, "U of T Basements Hold Thousands of Remains", Toronto Star, September 3, 2010.
  20. ^ See "Did you know: Mantle Site (interview with Dr. Jennifer Birch," Rogers TV Videos First Local (2:14 minutes; accessed July 18, 2012); Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing, Communicating with Aboriginal Peoples: The Municipal Role (Presentation, London, ON, 2007); compare Slide 5 (aerial photograph identifying the Mantle Site, looking south) with Google satellite view and location of storm water pond. "In York Region, such a fate for an Iroquoian village is common. Builders here accept salvage archeology as a normal part of the development process, but still opt to remove sites rather than build around them. 'It's an economic decision.'" Development leaving history in a box, by M. Adler, Stouffville Sun-Tribune, August 23, 2003, p. 3. The Toronto Star quotes David Donnelly, lawyer for the Huron-Wendat Nation, on new provincial guidelines for consultation expected January 1, 2011: "The developers will invite the First Nations in for a chat and then, nine times out of ten, development will just go ahead" First Nation Battles for History in Court, Sept. 10, 2010. In the area immediately north of the village site, the creek had been damned by early European pioneers (Boyer's (Byer's) Pond), which in turn powered Boyer's Mill (edge the Mantle village site); cf. Jean Barkey et al., Stouffville 1877–1977 (Stouffville, 1977), pp. 122, 127.
  21. ^ Ron Williamson and Chief Kris Nahrgang, First Nations History in Southern Ontario – South East Region, presentation, slide 10.
  22. ^ See comments by owners, Community Forums, Fieldgate River Ridge, June 2006, pp. 20ff.
  23. ^ In ancient Wendat tradition, the dead would be initially buried in a temporary grave, and every ten years the bones would be moved to a mass grave in an elaborate ceremony; cf. R.F. Williamson, cited in R. Green, Talks on Over Bones, Stouffville Sun-Tribune, August 13, 2005, p. 7; see depiction of ancestral Huron Feast of the Dead in which remains reburied in large communal pit (ossuary) in J.-F. Lafitau, Moeurs des sauvages amériquains, comparées aux moeurs des premiers temps, vol. 2, 1724, p. 456.
  24. ^ Town of Whitchurch-Stouffville, Council Public Hearing Agenda[permanent dead link], March 23, 2010, Item 4.1 (with attachments) – Lot 32, Concession 9.
  25. ^ R.F. Williamson, cited in J. Ransberry, Native Village discovered at Housing Development, Stouffville Sun-Tribune, July 17, 2004, p. 12; also in Ransberry, Huron Village Artifacts may Stay in Stouffville, Stouffville Sun-Tribune, June 9, 2005, pp. 1, 11. See also R. Williamson, cited in H. Volpe, Stouffville's Archeological Treasure Archived 2011-07-06 at the Wayback Machine, Stouffville Sun-Tribune, March 29, 2007, p. 14.
  26. ^ Ipperwash Commission of Inquiry, Final Report, Aboriginal Burial and Heritage Sites, Ipperwash Inquiry vol. 2 (2007), ch. 6, esp. p. 134, 148. These recommendations continue to be ignored: for example, in 2010 the Huron-Wendat nation was not consulted about an excavation in Vaughan so as not to hold up development; cf., Gail Swainson, Toronto Star, "First Nations want say in the preservation of important archaeological sites in Ontario", Aug. 29, 2010; "U of T basements hold thousands of remains", Toronto Star, Sept. 3, 2010; "First Nation battles for history in court", The Star, Sept. 10, 2010.
  27. ^ Town of Whitchurch-Stouffville, "Huron Ancestral Village Resolution (C10-C0 & R00)," June 17, 2007 (renewed commitment by a new council of Feb. 17, 2015: Minutes, "Historic Plaque for the Mantle Site(R01);" see also comments by Councillor Susanne Hilton, in H. Volpe, "Stouffville's Archeological Treasure," Stouffville Sun-Tribune, March 29, 2007, p. 14. On February 24, 2011, Councillor Hilton announced publicly that the Huron have been consulted, and an interpretive trail carrying a Huron name will be created. No heritage designation for the site has yet been adopted. The Stage Four Salvage Excavation of the Mantle Site report, by Archeological Services, Inc. for the Ministry of Culture and the Town of Whitchurch–Stouffville, has not been released publicly. Though Huron elders performed ceremonies on the site in 2004, the street names chosen for the area (Town of Whitchurch Stouffville, "Council in Committee Agenda," April 20, 2004) are not First Nation names. In 2009 the Whitchurch-Stouffville Museum in Vandorf began a Discover First Nations program.
  28. ^ Town of Whitchurch-Stouffville, "Council in Committee Report," July 19, 2011.
  29. ^ Jim Mason, "Stouffville history hits home in TV documentary," Stouffville Sun-Tribune, July 11, 2012.
  30. ^ "Provincial plaques commemorate the Jean-Baptiste Lainé Site". Ontario Heritage Trust. 25 August 2017. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  31. ^ Huron-Wendat Nation, Wendake, Quebec.
  32. ^ See Mike Adler, "Natives Urge Protection of Aboriginal Sites," Stouffville Sun-Tribune, September 7, 2002, p. 3.
  33. ^ Cf. Luc Lainé, cited in Wilhelm Murg, "How did a Spanish Axe wind up in Toronto 100 years before Europeans?," Indian Country: Today Media.com (July 9, 2012).
  34. ^ Curse of the Axe
  35. ^ Robin Bicknell (playwright, director and producer), "Curse of the Axe" (History Television.ca), 128 min., (accessed February 18, 2015)
  36. ^ Patrick Cain, "Vanished Huron village in Whitchurch-Stouffville held baffling mystery," Global News (July 6, 2012)
  37. ^ "Curse of the Axe on History," Northernstars.ca, the Canadian Movie Database (July 6, 2012)
  38. ^ Mike Finnerty, "Interview: The Curse of the Axe, with R.F. Williamson and L. Lainé" (audio), CBC The Current, July 9, 2012 (23:59 minutes).
[edit]