Introduction: Places of Discovery

Quebec covers an immense territory that extends some 2 000 km from north to south and about 1 200 km from east to west. Someone travelling from the north of Quebec to the south would first go across tundra and a vast boreal forest before encountering the deciduous forest growing in a temperate climate. Within this territory, living conditions and available food resources vary widely from one region to another. Since all of the regions have long been occupied, each presents specific problems when it comes to historical and cultural interpretation.

Quebec is a land of bays, headlands, lakes and rivers. For the First Peoples living in the St. Lawrence Valley, the great river and its tributaries represented essential lines of communication. The sites used by early populations are generally found on the shores of these waterways, and archaeological expeditions in this environment are very often successful. Over 8 000 sites have already been located and this number increases every year.

The territory of Quebec is thus full of echoes of the past. Entire long-forgotten chapters in the story of the First Peoples have come to light. Archaeologists have worked in many places, including the Gaspé Peninsula, the North Shore, the Abitibi-Temiscaming region, Cap-Tourmente (near Quebec City) and the Montérégie (Montreal plain). This section presents some of the sites found in the above regions and describes the way researchers believe people once lived there.

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