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Northeast Subsistence-Settlement Change: A.D. 700 –1300

Northeast Subsistence-Settlement Change: A.D. 700 –1300

Northeast Subsistence-Settlement Change: A.D. 700 –1300

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Table 17.2. Summary of Landscape and Resource Characteristics for the Three Major Archaeological Areas of<br />

New Brunswick.<br />

Archaeological Area: Chiputneticook-St. Croix Saint John River Eastern New Brunswick<br />

Landscape Large Segmented River Large Navigable River Medium Sized Parallel River<br />

System/Lakes Large Interior Lakes Systems Estuaries and<br />

Large Bay/Islands Acadian Forest (South) Lagoons<br />

Acadian Forest Mixed Forest (North) Acadian Forest (South)<br />

Mixed Forest (North)<br />

Floral Resources Edible Fruits/Nuts Edible Fruits/Nuts Edible Fruits/Nuts<br />

Medicinal Plants Butternut Available Groundnut Management<br />

Fuel/Construction Wood Medicinal Plants Medicinal Plants<br />

Plant Fibers Fuel/Construction Wood Fuel/Construction Wood<br />

Late Corn Agriculture? Plant Fibers Plant Fibers<br />

Storage?<br />

Late Corn Agriculture?<br />

Late Corn Agriculture? Storage on Miramichi<br />

Faunal Resources Deer/Moose/Caribou Deer/Moose/Caribou Deer/Moose/Caribou Beaver<br />

Beaver Beaver Salmon/Gaspereau/Sturgeon<br />

Salmon/Cod Freshwater Fish Eels<br />

Eels Eels Harbor Seal/Harp Seal/<br />

Harbor Seal/Gray Seal/ Salmon/Gaspereau Walrus Available<br />

Harbor Porpoise Available Harbor Seal Oysters/Quahog/Mussels<br />

Sea Mink (Traded?) Waterfowl (Marshy Waterfowl (Wetlands)<br />

Soft-Shell Clams/<br />

Lakes)<br />

Mussels/Sea Urchins<br />

Shellfish Preservation?<br />

Waterfowl<br />

Lithic and<br />

Mineral Resources Abundant Clay/Igneous Abundant Clay/Igneous Abundant Clay/Igneous<br />

Groundstone Materials Groundstone Materials Groundstone Materials<br />

Coastal Lithics Munsungun Tobique/Cabano<br />

Kineo-Traveller Exotics Tobique/Cabano North Mtn/Ingonish Exotics<br />

North Mtn Exotics Washademoak Local and North Mtn. Copper<br />

Kineo-Traveller Mtn.?<br />

North Mtn. Exotics<br />

in the insular area (Rojo 1987), and salmon and<br />

gaspereau could be harvested in the spring at the<br />

Milltown Falls above the St. Croix estuary. Waterfowl<br />

were also available along the coast and eggs could be<br />

collected from rocky islands. North Mountain cherts<br />

and Kineo-Traveller Mountain porphyry appear as<br />

exotics in local lithic assemblages and may have been<br />

part of a Late Prehistoric coastal exchange system,<br />

which might also have included birch bark (Loring<br />

1988) and sea mink (Black et al. 1998).<br />

The landscape of the Saint John River area is dominated<br />

by a large navigable river system and a large<br />

central lake system. Portages facilitate movement<br />

between this and surrounding areas. The Tobique is a<br />

medium-sized river system that links the Saint John<br />

and St. Lawrence Rivers. It is difficult to imagine a single<br />

cohesive mobile population exploiting this extensive<br />

system in prehistoric times. Two or more distinct<br />

residential groups could have easily shared this area<br />

(e.g., Burke 2000). Archaeological evidence indicates at<br />

least three population centers (i.e., clusters of sites)<br />

associated with the estuary, Lakes Region, and the<br />

confluence of the Tobique and Saint John Rivers. Of<br />

the three archaeological areas, this one would have<br />

had the most variety in faunal and floral resources. For<br />

example, nut trees and shrubs were more numerous,<br />

although nut yields are quite variable, with beechnut,<br />

hazelnut, and butternut having large crops about<br />

Chapter 17 Aboriginal Land and Resource Use in New Brunswick During the Late Prehistoric and Early Contact Periods 337

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