Introduction: The Voices of Objects

Since archaeologists find only those material remains that have survived the passage of time, they must turn to ethnographic records, historical documents and experimental techniques for a fuller picture of past ways of life.

For example, to complement what is known about prehistoric basket making in the northeast of North America, one can observe the methods still used today by Amerindian craftspeople and study 16th-century documents reporting the Amerindians’ lifestyle, assuming that techniques have been passed down in a continuous manner from one generation to the next. The present-day descendants of the groups studied by archaeologists represent a living memory that provides a key to the past.

Quebec archaeologists find cultural objects, or artifacts, made by men, women and children, as well as organic remains, or ecofacts, found in association with human occupations of archaeological sites. Ecofacts include material such as animal bones, wood, charcoal and seeds. This section presents a few examples of the remains discovered on the various sites in the regions visited in this virtual exhibition.

In the following presentation, “B.P.” stands for “before the present” and ”M.R.C.” stands for “Municipalité Regionale de Comté” (regional municipality in a county).

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