PRINCESS POINT COMPLEX

Archaeological sites which have been attributed to the Princess Point Complex only occur in those parts of Ontario which surround the west end of Lake Ontario, the Grand River Valley and the northeast shore of Lake Erie. Other, related complexes, such as Sandbanks in the eastern part of the province, and Blackduck in the north, occur at roughly the same time.

Princess Point spans the transition from a lifestyle based on seasonal hunting and fishing camps, to a more settled existence based on the development of village life and reliance corn horticulture. This occurred between A.D. 600 and A.D. 900.

ARTIFACTS

As with many Middle and Late Woodland complexes, Princess Point is most easily recognized on the basis of its distinctive pottery.  Other artifacts from Princess Point sites include small triangular projectile points, weakly notched points made from random flakes, t-based drills and roughly oval bifacial knives. Chert from quarried sources and from cobbles was used by these people. Onondaga and Selkirk chert were the most popular materials.

Ground stone artifacts are relatively rare. Those that have been found on Princess Point sites include chizels and adzes. Modified cobbles are more common, and were used as hammerstones and net sinkers.

Artifacts of bone, antler and shell are also relatively rare, even on sites where preservation of such biodegradable materials is good. Only a few awls, points and flaking tools have been documented.

PRINCESS POINT POTTERY

Princess Point pottery is quite distinctive. Vessels tend to have sub-conical bases (half way between the conical based Middle Woodland forms and the more rounded bottoms of 'true' Late Woodland pots).  The pots tend to narrow slightly at the neck, then flare out to collarless, everted rims. Some rims may have a thin strap of clay added to the rim surface. The upper portion of the pot is almost always decorated with cord-wrapped stick impressions - often arranged as oblique rows of short tool marks separated by bands which encircle the whole pot. Deep circular punctates are common at the junction of the rim and neck.

SUBSISTENCE

Far more information is available about the diet of Princess Point people. Bone refuse from archaeological sites on the Grand River and at Long Point shows that these people harvested a wide variety of mammals, birds and fish. Deer were particularly important on inland sites although bear, squirrels, woodchuck and beaver were also important. At special purpose fishing sites such as the Varden Site on Long Point, burbot, sturgeon, pickerel, perch, pike and freshwater drum were the most important species harvested.

It is unlikely that Princess Point people relied on horticulture to any great extent although they did grow some cultigens. Carbonized corn kernels have been found on some late Princess Point sites, indicating that the cultivation of corn may have begun during this period. However, the cultivation of corn does not appear to have had any significant impact in lifestyle until after about A.D. 1000. Local, seasonally available wild plant foods, such as raspberries, sumac, strawberries, wild plums and wild grapes were definately collected, although in this, Princess Point people were probably merely carrying on a tradition which had been in place for thousands of years.

SEASONAL ACTIVITIES

Although only a limited amount of information is available, it is likely that Princess Point people followed a seasonal round similar to many earlier peoples. They probably gathered at favourable lake shore campgrounds during the spring and summer, to fish, hunt and gather wild fruits and berries. Once cold weather set in, these large bands would disperse inland to hunt deer, harvest nuts and berries, and try to survive the winter.

BURIALS

Remarkably little is known of the burial practices of these people. The one burial ground thought to belong to this phase contained the remains of eleven people, each buried in individual graves. Only six of the burials was accompanied by grave offerings, and these were not elaborate.

SANDBANKS TRADITION

The term 'Sandbanks Tradition' is slowly gaining acceptance as a way to describe the transitional period between Middle Woodland Point Peninsula culture and the Early Iroquoian Pickering branch of the Late Woodland period in eastern Ontario. recognition of Sandbanks is based almost totally on the pottery from the period between A.D. 700 and A.D. 900.

During this time cultigens (corn, beans, squash, sunflowers) first became a part of the seasonal diet of these people. Prior to A.D. 700, the people in eastern Ontario had relied on hunting, fishing and gathering wild fruits and berries for their subsistence. However, after A.D. 700, the cultivation of plants first begins to be an important subsidy to their traditional foods.

POTTERY

Sandbanks pottery is also transitional, spanning the change from coil made, conical based Point Peninsula to the paddle and anvil made, round bottomed pots of the Pickering phase.

During the last phases of the Point Peninsula, the transition to rather bag like vessel forms had already begun to occur. This continued and was developed during Sandbanks. Early Sandbanks pots are bag like, with moderately wide mouths and straight, to slightly out-flaring rims. The decoration on these pots is usually restricted to the upper third of the pot and consists of cord impressions arranged in horizontal bands. The rest of the vessel either has rough cord marks or fabric impressions. The interior of many pots has been brushed or wiped smooth.

During the two hundred years of Sandbanks, the pottery gradually evolved. Vessels became wider, more round bottomed, and with more constricted necks. On late Sandbanks pots, patterns of decoration created by pressing objects into the clay begin to supercede the use of cord as the main decoration. Late Sandbanks vessels closely resemble Princess Point pots.

OTHER ARTIFACTS

In other respects Sandbanks sites share much in common with those of Princess Point. Although little data is currently available, it would seem that Sandbanks people placed rather less emphasis on the use of stone tools. In part this can be explained by the generally poor quality of the cherts available in eastern Ontario, and perhaps, a shrinking away from trading contacts with other groups with access to better quality materials. At the same time, some researchers believe that bone gradually replaced stone as the material of choice for many tools. Certainly, by the late Late Woodland period, St. Lawrence Iroquois  people have virtually abandoned the use of stone, using bone or antler .

SUBSISTENCE

Although some evidence of the cultivation of plants has been found on Sandbanks sites it is doubtful whether this was little more than as an adjunct to traditional hunting and fishing. Most Sandbanks sites have been found in close proximity to areas where fishing would have been profitable. Indeed, although the evidence is sparse, fishing seems to have been the main subsistence activity of these people. This pattern coincides well with what researchers have found on later sites in the region. Many later Iroquoian sites (other than villages) were oriented to take full advantage of good fishing spots.

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