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Dry summer shrinks N.S. lake, revealing 'works of art' in ancient Mi'kmaw artifacts
Sep 26, 2020
Point, arrowhead offer glimpses into the long human history in Mi'kma'ki
The dry summer shrank a lake in Nova Scotia's Annapolis Valley, revealing ancient Mi'kmaw artifacts and starting a conversation about how to best preserve such finds.
Aaron Taylor, an archeologist, has seen both recent finds — a point likely prepared for a spear and an arrowhead.
"They're works of art," he told CBC News in a phone interview. "The person making this, their family ate or didn't eat, depending on how well their tools are [made]."
Taylor, who teaches at Saint Mary's University and Acadia University, has excavated sites such as the Grand Pré UNESCO World Heritage site, Beechville Black Refugee site and the Gaspereau Lake pre-contact site.
Both recent finds were likely made and used about 1,500 years ago, he said, as the material came from a quarry Mi'kmaw people used around that time. The larger point was left half undone.
"Which means that the person using it was trying to make it into a point, but for some reason gave up on it, Taylor said. "It's a beautiful piece, well-worked, but they didn't continue on to create what was going to be an arrowhead or a point."
Location shows Mi'kmaw trade routes
Taylor said it would likely have taken a skilled toolmaker half a day to turn the raw materials into a completed point. He speculates they may have detected a flaw in the stone that would have led it to break, so they abandoned it.
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