Hammerstones, like this one, were used
to create hunting tools.
More than 323,900 artifacts
have been discovered on
Birch Mountain’s leases.
there,” Reeves explains. The target in
the region is instead an outcrop of
limestone, which can be used as a construction aggregate, as well as for
water and air purification. Thanks to a
plethora of artifacts, it has been determined that the area was once home to
an ancient limestone quarry, where the
Ancestors obtained rock for making
spearpoints and other tools. Among
the more than 323,900 artifacts discovered in the area, Lifeways archeologists
found notched dart points, lanceolate
throwing spearheads, rare Cody knives,
Scotsbluff points, microblades, and the
hammerstones that were used to create the tools. Artifacts made of the
stone from this quarry have been
found as far west as Little Smoky,
Alberta, as far south as Kindersley,
Saskatchewan, and as far west as Lac
La Ronge, Saskatchewan.
“This is the oldest quarry we have in
Alberta,” Reeves says.
Birch Mountain has named its
planned full-scale operation the
“Hammerstone Project” to recognize
this part of the land’s history. The company has carved out about 20 per cent
of its leases to represent the Quarry of
the Ancestors and is working to have it
proclaimed a protected Provincial
Historic Resource site, like nearby
Creeburn Lake, which was recognized
as a significant archeological resource
in the 1980s. It is estimated to have
been occupied by the Ancients
between 9,400 and 7,750 years ago.
“For many thousands of years, the
First Peoples of the Athabasca conducted spiritual ceremonies, marriages,
and burial rites along [the escarpments
around Creeburn Lake],” reads the
book Inkonze: The Stones of
Traditional Knowledge found in an
AOSP booklet about the importance of
the site. “It is truly a place of the
Ancestors—a place of the spirits.”
Creeburn Lake is also known as
“the gathering place.” The AOSP says
that “to the First Nations people of the
region, it confirms their shared historic
connection to the lands since the
beginning of time.”
The Quarry of the Ancestors is also
considered to be of great importance
to the understanding of the beginnings
of this area of northeast Alberta—one
with growing value to the entire world.
The archeological study also represents
an important story for the Aboriginal
people of the Athabasca oilsands area,
explains Don Dabbs, vice-president of
Birch Mountain Resources.
“This has been such a positive story
in the Aboriginal communities. It has
been the most positive story anyone
has told them for a long time.”
However, it is uncertain exactly who
these ancient people were, and that is
probably not going to change.
“We are very careful not to say who
these people were,” Reeves explains.
“There are so many stories that we
can’t say.”
It seems there is no end to the potential importance—past, present, and
future—of this culturally and economically prolific area. Not only will these
sites likely continue to be identified but
also investigated and recognized.
Although archeological sites represent
something very unique and telling about
history, not every oilsands developer is
excited to find one’s existence on projected leases.
“So many people are afraid of it,”
Dabbs says. “If it is that important, let’s
protect it.”
