In his 1993 article Archaeology, History, and the Beothuks, Ralph Pastore, in reference to Howley’s book wrote: “For forty years he collected published works, maps, newspaper accounts, government documents, personal papers and oral traditions pertaining to the Beothuks. The result was his monumental collection, The Beothucks or Red Indians (1915).“

The Newfoundland and Labrador Archaeological Society invites you to attend our Symposium In Honour of the 100th Anniversary of James P. Howley’s book, “The Beothucks or Red Indians”.

In 1915, James P. Howley published what is still regarded as one of the most important works on the Beothuk. This symposium will gather some of the foremost Beothuk research specialists in archaeology, history, and historic site tourism, to introduce Howley’s book and discuss the contributions that this volume has made to our understanding of the Beothuk people and culture.

We welcome everyone to celebrate this special milestone in Newfoundland and Labrador archaeology with us. Stay tuned as we announce our full roster of panellists over the coming weeks!

FREE PUBLIC EVENT. All are welcome. Wheelchair accessible.

Date: Thursday, November 5, 2015
Time: 7:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
Doors open at 6:40 p.m. Seating is limited.

There will be a 20-minute intermission at the end of the symposium before we begin our Annual General Meeting. The public is welcome to stay and attend our brief AGM from 8:50 p.m. – 9:30 p.m.

Since the current Board of the NLAS is also its first formal Board and there is an AGM coming up in November where many of these people will be replaced, we thought it would be interesting to get each board member to answer a series of questions about themselves and their role with the NLAS. Over the next few weeks we will post each board members response to those questions. Up next is Dr. Chris Wolff, a member of our Board of Directors.

How did you get interested in Archaeology?

• I don’t really remember a time when I wasn’t interested in Archaeology, although there was certainly a time when I didn’t know the name for it. Growing up on a ranch in Texas I was always finding stone tools and wondering about who made them. But only after my first year at University, when I noticed all of the electives I wanted to take were in the Anthropology Department, and archaeology was my main interest, did I make the choice to pursue archaeology.

What sort of things do you do as a board member?

• I mostly provide my perspective on various issues and questions concerning the future of the NLAS and archaeology more generally in the Province. I think as a CFA I can provide a different viewpoint that is sometimes helpful. I do this at various scheduled meetings and through social media. I usually attend the meetings virtually from my office in Plattsburgh, New York.

Do you have a favourite site or artifact from the Province?

• My favorite site is the Stock Cove Site (CkAl-03) where I have been working since 2008. In 2009, Don Holly and John Erwin began collaborating with me at the site, along with various students and community members over the years. The site is large and has evidence of almost every culture that inhabited Newfoundland. The primary component, however, is the large Dorset Palaeoeskimo presence. Thousands of their artifacts have been recovered to date, and several architectural features have been documented. Only a small part of the site has been investigated so far.

What was the most interesting site you have worked on?

• The most interesting site I have worked on in Newfoundland is the Stock Cove Site, but I have a broad range of experience working at Viking Age sites in Iceland, early Palaeoeskimo sites in Alaska, Paleoindian sites in Colorado and Texas, and even a very early site in Egypt’s Sahara Desert.

In your opinion, what is the one thing that no archaeologist should be without?

• A toothbrush. Actually two. One for your actual teeth while in the field, and the other for fine excavation and cleaning of sensitive artifacts.

If you could give yourself one piece of advice to help you along your archaeology path, what would it be?

• Get as many types of experience within the field as possible. Make yourself ready for opportunities when they arise, and find time to read the literature.

What made you want to get involved with the NLAS?

• Ever since I first began working in Newfoundland and Labrador in 2001 I have loved the place. The diverse prehistory and history of the region is incredibly interesting and should find a broader audience. The goal of the NLAS to reach out to communities and create partnerships between professional archaeologists and the public is something I strongly believe in and I felt I should do what I could to support that.

When I think about the future of the NLAS, I hope………

• It continues to grow and makes a lasting contribution to our collective knowledge of the history of the Province.
  

  Dr. Wolff pondering the Dorset presence at Stock Cove.

Since the current Board of the NLAS is also its first formal Board and there is an AGM coming up in November where many of these people will be replaced, we thought it would be interesting to get each board member to answer a series of questions about themselves and their role with the NLAS. Over the next few weeks we will post each board members response to those questions. Up next is Stephen Hull, a member of the Communications Committee.

How did you get interested in Archaeology?

• My father instilled in me an interest in the past of Newfoundland and Labrador. I took that interest to University and majored in History and Geography. In the midst of finishing that degree I became more interested in earth sciences and fossils. While looking at the Memorial University calendar I came across Archaeology. That fall I started my first archaeology course and I’ve been working in the field ever since.
  

  During a work visit to a known eroding site this summer, 2015. I am taking photos and dad is surface collecting artifacts from an eroding site.

  Do you have a favourite site or artifact from the Province?

  • Working for the Provincial Archaeology Office has given me the opportunity to visit a lot of sites in NL. While they all have their interesting points, there are several that I am partial too. If I had to pick one site it would have to be Boyd’s Cove for a number of reasons. First of all it’s a Recent Indian – Beothuk habitation site, my main area of research interest. Second, the site is the key to showing that the precontact Recent Indian culture sequence of Beaches complex (~2000-1000BP) to Little Passage complex (~1000 BP-European contact) was the precontact ancestors of the Beothuk. Third, I think the site is beautiful with several visible Beothuk housepits and a nice view from the terrace it sits on looking out over the water. Finally, the site is now part of a Provincial Historic Site called the Beothuk Interpretation Centre and it has a knowledgeable and super friendly staff.
    

    Boyd’s Cove is on the terrace on the right of the photo.

What was the most interesting artifact(s) you found?

• A few discoveries stick out in my mind. I still recall finding my first artifact. We were shovel testing a site on the west coast of Newfoundland near Cox’s Cove. We didn’t know for sure at the time but the site had Groswater and Dorset Palaeoeskimo components and a Beothuk component. I can still recall turning over the shovel full of dirt and seeing the chocolate brown coloured artifact. If I remember correctly the artifact was part of a scraper, I was so excited because I found my first artifact and, more importantly, I knew enough to recognize it!
• I think one of the most interesting artifacts I ever found was on the same site. We had been excavating a Groswater house pit and I had been finding a lot of seal bone. One of the small pieces of bone I pulled out of the ground turned out to be a bone sewing needle, or at least part of a needle.

If you could give yourself one piece of advice to help you along your archaeology path, what would it be?

• Volunteer and get involved. I volunteered at the former Newfoundland Museum on Duckworth Street and the experience was invaluable. While I was never involved in things like MUNArch or the NLAS, looking back on it now it is one of the things I regret. Volunteering in these organizations is a foot in the door with people you may be working with in the future.

Do you have questions about applying for graduate school?

The Newfoundland and Labrador Archaeological Society may be able to help. We are having an Archaeology Skills Workshop where you will learn the do’s and dont’s of applying to graduate school.

Since the current Board is also the first formal Board for the NLAS and there is an AGM coming up in November where many of these people will be replaced, we thought it would be interesting to get each board member to answer a series of questions about themselves and their role with the NLAS. Over the next few weeks we will post each board members responses to those questions. In no particular order, up first is Dr. John Erwin.

How did you get interested in Archaeology?

• I became interested in archaeology after taking a field school at Dundurn Castle in 1992 while I was an undergraduate student at McMaster University in Hamilton Ontario.

What things do you do as the chair/member of the ________ Committee?

• As the Chair of the Planning Committee I have helped develop the NLAS activity Plan and the Society’s Annual Report.  I have continued to work closely with the executive of the society to monitor our activities to help ensure that the goals and objectives of the society are met.

Do you have a favourite site or artifact from the Province?

• My favourite site in the province is Fleur de Lys 1 (the Dorset soapstone Quarry in Fleur de Lys). This is a large and well-preserved prehistoric soapstone quarry with over 650 visible removal scars preserved in the main exposed soapstone out crop. These carvings are testimony to the quarry’s 500 year use, which began approximately 1600 years ago and which provided the raw materials for the manufacture of cooking pots and oil lamps.
  

  John & crew chief Brent look at the Fleur de Lys quarry wall.

What was the most interesting artifact(s) you found?

• A 1600 year old Dorset wooden ladle (actually found by my crew chief Brent Murphy) approximately 1.5m below ground the surface adjacent the cliff face of the Fleur de Lys soapstone quarry in 1998.
  

  1600 year old Dorset Palaeoeskimo wooden ladle.