| Dates: |
9,500 to 9,000 yr BP (Alberta) |
| Lithics: | This period is characterized by stemmed projectile points. Alberta points have large broad bases, nearly 90° shoulders, and narrow quite quickly toward the point. The Cody Complex include two point styles in Saskatchewan: Scottsbluff (pictured above in the middle) and Eden (pictured above on the left) . Both of these styles are associated with Cody knives (pictured above on the right) . Milnesand points are silmilar to the other styles of this time period except that they do not have a stem and are not constricted toward the base. |
| Technology: | The points were hafted onto spear shafts. The people were highly specialized and efficient bison hunters. |
| Distribution: | Southern Saskatchewan |
| Sites: | Most sites from this time period are surface sites, such as the Dunn site near Ogema. However, Cody Complex materials have been found in excavations of three sites: two small camp sites called Napao and Niska, near Ponteix and the Heron-Eden site, a large bison kill site near Prelate. Although these three sites had been cultivated (in fact, that is how the sites were discovered), intact deposits remained beneath the zone disturbed by ploughs. |
| Environment: | The glaciers receded throughout this period and 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. By 9500 BP glacial lake Agassiz had drained to the east. 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 area 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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