| Dates: | 10,500 to 9,500 yr BP |
| Lithics: | Agate Basin and Hell Gap were the two different types of projectile points present in this time period. (The Agate Basin point is on the right above, while the Hell Gap is on the left). The projectile points narrowed toward the base and were straight or rounded at the bottom. |
| Technology: | The points were hafted onto spear shafts. The subsistence pattern of the people associated with these remains consisted of hunting for all kinds of game although bison were becoming the main prey species. |
| Distribution: | All of Saskatchewan |
| Sites: | There are 16 surface finds in Saskatchewan but there are no excavated sites to date. However, the Park Hill near Moose Jaw is a cultivated site with many Agate Basin points and other associated artifacts. Surface finds cannot be dated, so the dates above have been generalized from excavated Clovis sites elsewhere North America. |
| Environment: | Much of the province was ice-free by the end of this period. As the glaciers receded they left behind a huge volume of water. The moist earth resulted in the invasion of a spruce forest along the edges of the glacial ice sheet. This forest spread northward as the glaciers receded, covering the province. The melting of the glaciers slowed during a cooler and wetter period known as the Younger Dryas Event. This cooling period coincided with the advancement of many of the large glaciers. Eventually the drier conditions of the Boreal Period (9650 to 8450 yr BP) resulted in warm, dry summers. Grasslands began to move into the southern part of the province as the areas farther away from the glaciers began to dry up. By 9500 yr BP Glacial Lake Agassiz (pronounced a-ga-zee) had drained to the east. It was completely drained by 8500 yr BP. |
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