Archaeology in Newfoundland and Labrador 1996
Edited by K. Nelmes

Excavations at Ferryland, 1996
James A. Tuck

These comments are restricted to the single site at Bird Cove that holds the most potential archaeological interest. The site is located on the shore of a shallow inner bay (North Cove) just south of the community of Bird Cove. A path approximately two metres above sea level is worn through the peat and sod for more than 200 m along the south-facing shore of North Cove. At many locations along the path flakes of a weathered white chert can be found. Testing might well reveal an almost continuous occupation zone along the path.

At one location a small test pit revealed fire-cracked rock. In one corner of the excavation, a portion of an undisturbed hearth was revealed. Fragments of burned and calcined bone and bits of wood charcoal were associated with the hearth.

No formed artifacts were recovered either from the surface of the path or from test pits in and adjacent to the path. Local collectors have recovered additional flakes, but no identifiable artifacts.

This is a large site and potentially of some considerable interest. It is impossible to ascertain the cultural affiliations of the people who lived at this site, but some preliminary guesses might be in order. Judging from the raw materials comprising the debitage, the site would appear to be Indian rather than Palaeo-Eskimo. Whether, however, the site is of Archaic or Recent Indian age cannot presently be determined. The relatively low elevation suggests that it may be more recent than the Archaic period, but little is presently known about sea level changes in the immediate area.

Regardless of the age of the site, it presents the potential to further our understanding of the Indian prehistory of the northwest coast of Newfoundland. Few Maritime Archaic living sites have been located on the Northern Peninsula and if the site is Archaic it should contribute to our understanding of the settlement patterns of these people. The unusual location, in the bottom of a shallow bay, might explain why so few sites have been recorded by archaeologists; we may simply have been looking in the wrong places.

If the site is of Recent Indian age, it will contribute significantly to our understanding of this period. Several sites (Cow Head, L’anse au Meadows, and sites at Port au Choix) have produced evidence of the Cow Head complex, a Recent Indian culture of the first millenium A.D. This complex is distinct from contemporaneous Recent Indian cultures along the Labrador shore of the Strait of Belle Isle. The Cow Head complex bears some strong similarities to earlier Archaic complexes from the Island of Newfoundland. Evidence of the culture-historical position of the Cow Head complex might be revealed by excavations at Bird Cove.

A final possibility is that the site dates between about 3,200 and 2,000 years ago. This is perhaps the most exciting (but also, I suppose, least likely) possibility. This is a time for which we presently have no evidence for Indian occupation of the Island of Newfoundland. If, by some chance, the Bird Cove site falls within this period it would provide a significant piece to the picture of Newfoundland prehistory.

Although presently poorly known, I would recommend further investigation of this site, based upon the likelihood that one of the possibilities outlined above will prove to be the case.

In summary, while this site is poorly known, the potential for some significant discoveries is there. I hope it will be possible to carry out further investigations.