Archaeological Sites
Archaeology is a historical science aimed at the discovery and understanding of past human behaviour through the study of material remains. Archaeologists draw the bulk of their information from physical artifacts left at locations where people lived, worked, visited and were buried long ago. The Canadian Encyclopedia features articles on many of the country’s archaeological sites, organized here by the provinces and territories in which they are found.
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Featured Articles
L’Anse aux Meadows
Article
Qajartalik
Article
Phillip's Garden
Article
Norse-Indigenous Contact
Article
Timelines
Geological History of Canada
Geological time looks at the history of the Earth on a broad scale. Much of what is known about this history was discovered by looking at rocks and fossils. Modern humans, or Homo sapiens, have only existed for around the past 315,000 years of the over 4.6-billion-year history of the earth. This is less than 0.01 per cent of Earth’s history.
Education Guides
Archaeology in Canada: An Introductory Learning Tool
Education Guide
Gallery
![Bishop's Block]({"id":"8084","disk":"s3","directory":"media\/media","filename":"913710cf-efaa-408b-983a-fdf1924c3820","extension":"jpg","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","aggregate_type":"image","size":100000,"variant_name":null,"original_media_id":null,"created_at":"2013-10-07T23:16:06.000000Z","updated_at":"2016-06-16T14:10:05.000000Z","alt":"","title":"Bishop's Block","caption":"Bishop's Block excavation in 2007 at Simcoe and Adelaide Streets, in Toronto, where the Soho Club and Shangri-La hotel now stand.","creator":"","source":"(courtesy Archaeological Services Inc.)","conversion_urls":{"original":"https:\/\/d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net\/media\/media\/913710cf-efaa-408b-983a-fdf1924c3820.jpg"},"url":"https:\/\/d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net\/media\/media\/913710cf-efaa-408b-983a-fdf1924c3820.jpg","credit":"(courtesy Archaeological Services Inc.)","pivot":{"mediable_type":"App\\Models\\Collection","mediable_id":"7","media_id":"8084","tag":"gallery","order":1},"translations":[{"id":"de725b8e-f424-4363-af37-e1085b10d57d","media_id":"8084","title":"Bishop's Block","alt":"","caption":"Bishop's Block excavation in 2007 at Simcoe and Adelaide Streets, in Toronto, where the Soho Club and Shangri-La hotel now stand.","creator":"","source":"(courtesy Archaeological Services Inc.)","locale":"en","credit":"(courtesy Archaeological Services Inc.)"},{"id":"51266845-fe59-431c-92c7-535f62129460","media_id":"8084","title":"Bishop's Block","alt":"","caption":"","creator":"","source":"(avec l'autorisation d'Archaeological Services Inc.)","locale":"fr","credit":"(avec l'autorisation d'Archaeological Services Inc.)"}]} "Bishop's Block")
Bishop's Block
![Steatite Extraction Sites Made by Inuit During the 20th Century (Area B)]({"id":"9b7e2c68-3107-49f8-aa36-dc5fd734aaa6","disk":"s3","directory":"qajartalik","filename":"VGD2019_IMG_0769","extension":"jpg","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","aggregate_type":"image","size":644087,"variant_name":null,"original_media_id":null,"created_at":"2024-03-05T18:08:52.000000Z","updated_at":"2024-03-05T18:08:52.000000Z","alt":"Steatite is a relatively soft type of stone that can be easily carved, which made it sought after by the Dorset and Inuit for making oil lamps, cooking vessels and portable artistic carvings.","title":"Steatite Extraction Sites Made by Inuit During the 20th Century (Area B)","caption":"Steatite is a relatively soft type of stone that can be easily carved, which made it sought after by the Dorset and Inuit for making oil lamps, cooking vessels and portable artistic carvings.","creator":null,"source":"(courtesy Vincent Gautier-Doucet \/ Avataq Cultural Institute, 2019)","conversion_urls":{"original":"https:\/\/d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net\/qajartalik\/VGD2019_IMG_0769.jpg"},"url":"https:\/\/d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net\/qajartalik\/VGD2019_IMG_0769.jpg","credit":"(courtesy Vincent Gautier-Doucet \/ Avataq Cultural Institute, 2019)","pivot":{"mediable_type":"App\\Models\\Collection","mediable_id":"7","media_id":"9b7e2c68-3107-49f8-aa36-dc5fd734aaa6","tag":"gallery","order":2},"translations":[{"id":"9b7e2f49-c264-48c1-979f-12b4ad244042","media_id":"9b7e2c68-3107-49f8-aa36-dc5fd734aaa6","title":"Steatite Extraction Sites Made by Inuit During the 20th Century (Area B)","alt":"Steatite is a relatively soft type of stone that can be easily carved, which made it sought after by the Dorset and Inuit for making oil lamps, cooking vessels and portable artistic carvings.","caption":"Steatite is a relatively soft type of stone that can be easily carved, which made it sought after by the Dorset and Inuit for making oil lamps, cooking vessels and portable artistic carvings.","creator":null,"source":"(courtesy Vincent Gautier-Doucet \/ Avataq Cultural Institute, 2019)","locale":"en","credit":"(courtesy Vincent Gautier-Doucet \/ Avataq Cultural Institute, 2019)"},{"id":"9bdd6cf9-4e4b-49b1-bc9e-3162f871be26","media_id":"9b7e2c68-3107-49f8-aa36-dc5fd734aaa6","title":"Sites d\u2019extraction de st\u00e9atite cr\u00e9\u00e9s par les Inuits au cours du 20<sup>e<\/sup> si\u00e8cle (zone B)","alt":"La st\u00e9atite est un type de pierre relativement tendre qui peut \u00eatre facilement sculpt\u00e9e, ce qui la rendait recherch\u00e9e par les Dorset et les Inuits afin de pouvoir fabriquer des lampes \u00e0 l\u2019huile, des ustensiles de cuisine et des sculptures artistiques port","caption":"La st\u00e9atite est un type de pierre relativement tendre qui peut \u00eatre facilement sculpt\u00e9e, ce qui la rendait recherch\u00e9e par les Dorset et les Inuits afin de pouvoir fabriquer des lampes \u00e0 l\u2019huile, des ustensiles de cuisine et des sculptures artistiques portables.","creator":null,"source":"(avec l\u2019aimable autorisation de Vincent Gautier-Doucet\/Institut culturel Avataq, 2019)","locale":"fr","credit":"(avec l\u2019aimable autorisation de Vincent Gautier-Doucet\/Institut culturel Avataq, 2019)"}]} "Steatite Extraction Sites Made by Inuit During the 20th Century (Area B)")
Steatite Extraction Sites Made by Inuit During the 20th Century (Area B)
![L'Anse Aux Meadows Viking Long Hall]({"id":"12099","disk":"s3","directory":"media\/media","filename":"8598263f-4e90-4231-a1e2-fe833173962c","extension":"jpg","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","aggregate_type":"image","size":100000,"variant_name":null,"original_media_id":null,"created_at":"2015-09-11T20:48:13.000000Z","updated_at":"2018-03-02T21:18:36.000000Z","alt":"L'Anse Aux Meadows Viking Long Hall","title":"L'Anse Aux Meadows Viking Long Hall","caption":"Reproduction of a Viking long hall in L'Anse Aux Meadows National Historic Site, Newfoundland.","creator":"","source":"(\u00a9 Colin Young\/Dreamstime)","conversion_urls":{"original":"https:\/\/d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net\/media\/media\/8598263f-4e90-4231-a1e2-fe833173962c.jpg"},"url":"https:\/\/d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net\/media\/media\/8598263f-4e90-4231-a1e2-fe833173962c.jpg","credit":"(\u00a9 Colin Young\/Dreamstime)","pivot":{"mediable_type":"App\\Models\\Collection","mediable_id":"7","media_id":"12099","tag":"gallery","order":3},"translations":[{"id":"617bc246-957e-44e6-affd-600d13d35247","media_id":"12099","title":"L'Anse Aux Meadows Viking Long Hall","alt":"L'Anse Aux Meadows Viking Long Hall","caption":"Reproduction of a Viking long hall in L'Anse Aux Meadows National Historic Site, Newfoundland.","creator":"","source":"(\u00a9 Colin Young\/Dreamstime)","locale":"en","credit":"(\u00a9 Colin Young\/Dreamstime)"},{"id":"c5bb3261-08fc-487f-9e2f-eecd445cb910","media_id":"12099","title":"Long hall viking sur le lieu historique national L\u2019Anse Aux Meadows","alt":"Long hall viking sur le lieu historique national L\u2019Anse Aux Meadows","caption":"R\u00e9plique d\u2019un long hall viking sur le lieu historique national L\u2019Anse Aux Meadows, \u00e0 Terre-Neuve.","creator":"","source":"(\u00a9 Colin Young\/Dreamstime)","locale":"fr","credit":"(\u00a9 Colin Young\/Dreamstime)"}]} "L'Anse Aux Meadows Viking Long Hall")
L'Anse Aux Meadows Viking Long Hall
![L'Anse aux Meadows sunset panorama]({"id":"12101","disk":"s3","directory":"media\/media","filename":"581c3c2c-16be-43b9-8c60-dd0f2986995e","extension":"jpg","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","aggregate_type":"image","size":100000,"variant_name":null,"original_media_id":null,"created_at":"2015-09-11T20:45:59.000000Z","updated_at":"2017-12-15T23:14:02.000000Z","alt":"L'Anse aux Meadows sunset panorama","title":"L'Anse aux Meadows sunset panorama","caption":"Panoramic sunset seen from a rocky hill overlooking the Viking settlement at L'Anse Aux Meadows National Historic Site in Northern Newfoundland.","creator":"","source":"(\u00a9 Colin Young\/Dreamstime)","conversion_urls":{"original":"https:\/\/d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net\/media\/media\/581c3c2c-16be-43b9-8c60-dd0f2986995e.jpg"},"url":"https:\/\/d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net\/media\/media\/581c3c2c-16be-43b9-8c60-dd0f2986995e.jpg","credit":"(\u00a9 Colin Young\/Dreamstime)","pivot":{"mediable_type":"App\\Models\\Collection","mediable_id":"7","media_id":"12101","tag":"gallery","order":4},"translations":[{"id":"97f041ac-556f-4db1-858e-fad43319728f","media_id":"12101","title":"L'Anse aux Meadows sunset panorama","alt":"L'Anse aux Meadows sunset panorama","caption":"Panoramic sunset seen from a rocky hill overlooking the Viking settlement at L'Anse Aux Meadows National Historic Site in Northern Newfoundland.","creator":"","source":"(\u00a9 Colin Young\/Dreamstime)","locale":"en","credit":"(\u00a9 Colin Young\/Dreamstime)"},{"id":"962e191a-8e0b-4bdd-92ed-e51064bee465","media_id":"12101","title":"L'Anse aux Meadows","alt":"L'Anse aux Meadows","caption":"","creator":"","source":"(\u00a9 Colin Young\/Dreamstime)","locale":"fr","credit":"(\u00a9 Colin Young\/Dreamstime)"}]} "L'Anse aux Meadows sunset panorama")