Alberta’s fascinating human history stretches over 10,000 years. It is partially captured in 40,000 archaeological sites found during the last seventy years and now managed by the Province of Alberta. We will explore when and where First Nations people entered the province, and how they adjusted and coped with their new surroundings. In-class demonstrations reveal the archaeological evidence left behind when making and using simple but effective tools to acquire available food resources. We will investigate where and how they lived, and document their journeys and contacts with people outside Alberta. That story is captured in numerous campsites, tipi rings, medicine wheels, buffalo jumps and pounds, or etched on Alberta’s stone cliff faces. The course concludes with a synopsis of Alberta’s rich fur trade archaeological record, the effects of White-Indigenous contact, the archaeology of Alberta’s Métis people, settlement, and urbanization. Guest lecturers discuss some unique, interesting aspects of Alberta archaeology.
Instructor:Â Dr. Heinz Pyszczyk
Heinz Pyszczyk grew up in southwestern Saskatchewan where he became fascinated by the region’s rich archaeological history. He holds degrees in anthropology and archaeology (BA, MA, PhD). He joined the Archaeological Survey of Alberta in 1983 and is currently an adjunct professor at the University of Lethbridge. Dr. Pyszczyk excavated numerous fur trade and prehistoric sites in Alberta and occasionally was the principal instructor for the team-taught Alberta Archaeology course at the University of Alberta. After developing the new Royal Alberta’s ‘Worlds Meet’ gallery, he retired in 2016. He is still active in archaeological research. Follow him on his website: CanEHdianstories.com.
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