FEBRUARY 16th, 2011 7:30PM, University of Calgary, Earth Sciences Building, Room 162 (Free and open to the public!)
"Fort Vermillion 1 (c.1798-1830) and the Archaeology of the Northern Alberta Fur Trade"
Speaker: Heinz Pyszczyk (Gov’t of Alberta)
Hosted by: Archaeological Society of Alberta
ABSTRACT: Rumours of untold wealth in furs created a rush into the Athabasca and Peace River regions by both British and Canadian fur trade enterprises by the late 1780s. But, there also came a price for the fortunes that were to be made - untold nightmares in the logistics of carrying out the fur trade in these remote northern regions of western Canada. And, unlike the early period forts along the Saskatchewan River drainage, that had access to northern plains and vast bison herds, these northern posts' occupants constantly faced the possibility of starvation. Using the Fort Vermilion 1 research activities as an example, this lecture will focus on the challenges of finding this and other northern posts and then excavating them.