These are examples of native pipes. The bowls of effigy pipes, such as the one in the lower left-hand corner, were decorated to represent people or animals and were made of either stone or clay. These pipes often represented clan symbols, charm invocations of guardian spirits or spiritual beings. Stone pipes were difficult to make and may have been associated with important ceremonial uses; pipes for everyday use were made from clay. Other pipes pictured here are trumpet pipes, (with a trumpet-shaped bowl), and coronet pipes, (with a square bowl). Both styles are Iroquoian.

This is a replica of a ceramic pot made in a Huron style from the period prior to European contact (the Terminal Woodland period, from A.D. 900 - 1650). Although the Nipissings were an Algonkian people they had close contact with the Hurons, an Iroquoian people who lived to the south near Penetanguishene. Many Huron-style pottery fragments were found at the LaVase archaeological dig. These vessels were either made by the Huron or were made by Nipissings who had been influenced by the Huron pottery styles.

Huron pottery was made by a process called "paddle and anvil". The vessel rim is decorated with oblique lines and a castellation, or spout-like obtrusion, while the bottom is rounded. Round-bottomed, globular vessels withstood firing much better than flat- bottomed ones and could easily be held erect by placing them in shallow depressions in the ground. There are horizontal lines on the neck of the pot below the oblique lines. The decorations on this pot are all on the exterior, although they could easily have been place on the interior or rim lip of the vessel.

These are pottery sherds, or broken pieces of prehistoric ceramic vessels. On archaeological sites in Ontario, sherds are often the most numerous and useful artifacts. What makes them so useful are the diagnostic markings or patterns. Styles and fashions in pottery design changed over time and varied between tribal groupings. This helps the archaeologist determine the date of the site and what people were using it. Most of the sherds found in the La Vase area were either Blackduck, an Algonquin style, or Huron. Although it is possible that the Huron were at the site and left pottery behind, it is more likely that the Nipissing's pottery styles were influenced by their close trading partners to the south. The majority of the sherds found at the site dated back to the Late Woodland period, between 1400 and 1650 AD.

These are examples of calcined animal bones. The bones on the right-hand side are from the paw of a bear while the vertebrae in the lower left-hand portion of the picture are from a fish. The remaining bones are from deer and beaver. These were found in an old midden, or garbage pit, on the LaVase Island site at the mouth of the La Vase River. Calcined bone is formed when bone is heated in a fire and undergoes a chemical transformation into calcine, a substance very resistant to decay. This is one of several ways that bone can be preserved. The other methods are:

1. In very low temperatures, such as the "Ice Man" in the European Alps, the men from Franklin's expedition to the Arctic, or the mammoth finds in Siberia.
2. In very dry conditions, such as the Egyptian mummies, or,
3. In wet conditions with high acidic content such as bogs. Two thousand year-old Anglo-Saxon sacrifice victims have been found in Danish bogs with their garotted throats still preserved.

In Northern Ontario, the soils are very acidic and bones tend to decompose within 200 to 1 000 years.

These examples are useful for discussing features of stone projectile points. A projectile point is a technical term for the heads or tips of arrows, spears or javelins. Projectile points are usually bi-facial, a term which refers to two cutting edges. The piece that is second from the left is an arrowhead with a shank (or tang) and a corner-notched blade. These notches were used as anchors to wrap sinew around a shaft and hold it in place. The tang or shank would have been inserted into the tip of the wooden projectile shaft. The process of doing this has been termed hafting. Spearheads were more common in the Paleo to Archaic period (from 11 000 to 3 500 years ago)because the climate at that time produced larger game animals such as woolly mammoths. As the climate warmed, forests grew and smaller game prospered, resulting in the use of the bow and arrow, with its smaller projectile point. Spearheads have been recovered from Camp Island on Trout Lake, a site that has been used for approximately 7 000 years. The projectile points featured in this kit are all intended for small game and probably date to the time when forests had finally dominated the landscape.

These are modern-day examples of chevron beads that closely resemble those from the fur trade era. While beads today may be made from glass, ceramic, porcelain or plastic, trade beads from the days of the fur trade were manufactured from glass, ceramic, porcelain or metal. All three types were found on LaVase Island at the mouth of the LaVase River. Beads were an important trade item in the past because of their usefulness to the Natives in decorating clothing and the difficulty involved in their manufacture. While the natives did make beads from bone, shells and seeds it was a time-consuming process with a product that was not as colourful as the European beads. Beads are also a very useful item for archaeologists as they can be dated, much like pipes, to a certain time period using manufacturer's catalogues.

The pipe fragment on the left is a good example of a ball clay pipe that the Voyageurs would have used. Voyageur pipes differed from Native pipes in that they were manufactured in factories and were much smaller and more fragile. Because they were made in factories (in either Glasgow, Scotland, Montreal, or Quebec City) they can be accurately dated by using factory catalogues from the period. Generally, the thicker the stem and more plain the bowl's design, the older the pipe. Also aiding greatly in identifying the age of the pipe are manufacturing marks on the spur and stem. This particular pipe has the manufacturer's initials on the spur and dates to approximately A.D. 1850.

Pipes such as these were very fragile and were purchased in cases of 144. When they broke, as they often did, they were casually tossed aside by the Voyageurs, much like we do today with disposable lighters. These useless discarded pipes have found a new use today as artifacts.

The balls to the right of the pipe are three good examples of the shot that would have been used in muskets or musket pistols. The largest one is a single shot musket ball while the smallest is grape shot from either a musket or shotgun. The middle example is a pistol ball. Musket balls are usually dated by thickness, with this one dating to about the 1860's. The smallest is grape shot from either a musket or shotgun. The largest lead ball is very crudely made, with the cast line still visible and the shape somewhat irregular. This would have made the gun very inaccurate and good for only short distances. However, its loud noise and ability to terrify any enemies would have certainly compensated for this.

Yes, these are nails! Because of the high precipitation and acidic nature of soils in the North, metal tends to corrode quickly. When iron rusts, it combines with oxygen to form a bulkier iron oxide, or rust. These nails have corroded so badly that they are hardly recognizable. When metal artifacts such as these are cleaned, pliers are used to break off the larger clumps of rust while brushes are used to clean off the smaller bits.

Nails are very useful to archaeologists as they can help date soil layers in a site. Forged nails, the type found on the LaVase Island, date to 1830 and before. These went out of common usage with the introduction of square-cut nails around 1830. Square-cut nails also fell out of favour about 1910 with the development of the more efficient round nail. The round nail has proven to be more durable than its predecessors and is still manufactured today.

These unremarkable looking artifacts represent some of the most significant finds of the 1995 LaVase dig. A prime focus of the dig was to locate Fort Laronde, an early 19th century trading post. The post was opened after 1810 by Eustache Laronde, an independent fur trader with loose affiliations with the North West Company of Montreal. Historical records had located it at the mouth of the LaVase River on high ground near bedrock. This description suggested that Bothwell Island might be the location of the fort. The location of chimney fragments such as this one helped strengthen this idea.

These fragments are from a type of chimney made in 'wattle and daub' process, which was in use in Canada from the early 1600's to about 1830. It was used wherever factory bricks were unavailable, such as Lake Nipissing in 1810. To make a wattle and daub chimney, a framework was created from sticks and reeds and clay mud from a nearby source was plastered (daubed) over the inside and outside. The heat from subsequent fires helped fire and harden the clay. If you look carefully at the pieces, you will see impressions of the stick and reed framework.

Back to the Lavase River/Fort Laronde