As the climate deteriorated winters became increasingly harsh in the north. The forests of the north moved south, opening up more tundra for animals such as the caribou. The abundance of animals for hunting and a milder climate attracted many people from the arctic.
| Dates: | 3500 to 2600 yr BP |
| Lithics: | Lithic raw material was mainly local. Lithic flaking was often very delicate, removing miniature flakes and creating small tools. This was probably due to the limited availability of good tool making material. Projectile points are triangular or pointed at both ends. Burins (a carving tool) are also characteristic of the tradition. |
| Technology: | These were a cold adapted people who likely moved into the area after the climate in the arctic deteriorated. Their subsistence economy was likely based on barren-ground caribou. |
| Distribution: | The tundra and muskeg of northern Saskatchewan |
| Sites: | There have been at least seven sites discovered in northern Saskatchewan but all have been surface finds. These were located along the shores of Lake Athabasca, Black Lake and southern Reindeer Lake. |
| Environment: | The Sub-Boreal Period (4680 to 2890 yr. BP) begins just before the Arctic Small Tool Tradition appears in Saskatchewan. Although initially warm it is characterized by increasingly severe winters. The Neoglacial, a term applied to the general cooling that begins to occur, starts about 4000 yr. BP and results in glacial ice advances. The arctic tundra moved into northern Saskatchewan as the forest retreated to the south. This colder climate was at it’s strongest during the Sub-Atlantic Period (2890 to 1690 yr BP) when conditions were very much like the end of the last ice age. The climate slowly became warmer towards the end of the Sub-Atlantic. These people slowly moved back up into the arctic as the environment improved there. |
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