Investigations at Small Palaeo-Indian Sites in Southwestern Ontario


Chris J. Ellis and D. Brian Deller
University of Western Ontario and Glencoe, Ontario respectively
London, Ontario and Glencoe, Ontario

Abstract: Since 1979 the authors have carried out work on small Early 
Palaeo-Indian (fluted point) sites in Ontario. This work has been stimulated 
by a perceived focus on large sites in past work and, in turn, biased views 
of settlement systems. However, a major impetus has been the recognition of 
the theoretical significance of small sites.  It has been argued that 
smaller sites are more likely to represent short-term and single 
occupations. Therefore, small sites can be more useful in delineating tool 
forms used together in the same task, and more often have intact spatial 
patterning which can be employed to delimit organizational aspects of 
societies. In this paper, these advantages are documented through an 
examination of data recovered from several sites with special attention to 
work carried out at the Culloden, Bolton and Murphy sites in 1990.