The Late Woodland period, present across much of North America, is represented by the Selkirk culture in northern Saskatchewan.
| Dates: | 600 to 170 yr BP |
| Lithics: | Small side-notched and triangular projectile points tipped arrows. Stone tools such as adzes and celts that had been shaped by grinding rather than chipping were used to work wood. |
| Technology: | The characteristic artifact of the Selkirk Composite is the pottery. Selkirk pots are globular and fabric impressions across their surfaces, apparently resulting from construction inside fabric bags. The rim is decorated with a row of punctates and the lip may also have some impressions. In the southern end of its range, the pots have more complex decorations, indicating more contact and influence from groups to the south. One such decorated style, the Pehonan complex along the Saskatchewan River, probably represents ancestral Cree Peoples in that area. Bone tools, such as harpoon heads and sewing awls are also present at Selkirk sites. |
| Distribution: | Through much of the boreal forests of northern Saskatchewan. |
| Sites: | Several Selkirk sites have been excavated near Nipawin, including Bushfield East, Bushfield West and the Lloyd Site. |
| Environment: | Selkirk materials first appear during the Pacific Period (760 to 410 yr BP) that was characterized by drier conditions. After this the Neo-Boreal Period (410 to 114 yr BP) had begun bringing with it colder, moister conditions. This culminated in the "Little Ice Age" where glacier ice made the largest advances since the last ice age. |
|
|
|