CGRG Bibliography of Canadian Geomorphology
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Author : Evan, C.; and Walker, E.
Date : 2005.
Title : A GIS approach to modelling archaeological site distribution by environmental elements in the Lake Diefenbaker region, south-central Saskatchewan, Canada.
Publication : Developing International Geoarchaeology Conference 2005 / Conférence Avances en Géoarchéologie Internationale 2005 (DIG 2005 / AGI 2005), St. John, New Brunswick, October 21-23, 2005.
Issue : Programme and Abstracts. Edited by P. Dickinson; L. Wilson and J. Jeandron.
Page(s) : 27.
Abstract
The prairie landscape surrounding Lake Diefenbaker in south-central Saskatchewan was a focal point of prehistoric Great Plains human occupation throughout the Holocene. Documented archival archaeological data indicate that these cultural societies resided in an assortment of environmental settings. The application of Geographical Information Systems (GIS) in this study aims to determine the relationship between the spatial and temporal distribution of archaeological site locations with the environmental elements of the Lake Diefenbaker region. The investigated environmental attributes include the surficial geology, surface hydrology, and topography of the region. The GIS model results indicate the presence of concentrations of cultural remains distributed within certain physiographic elements of the prairie landscape. Prehistoric societies appear to have focused their occupational activities in the broad, deep glacial meltwater spillways and the hummocky aeolian sand dune complexes. These landform assemblages are environmentally complex in nature, exhibiting a broad range of topographic relief and situated in close proximity to permanent freshwater supplies that would contribute an array of resources for exploitation by prehistoric peoples. This is demonstrated by the large quantity of archaeological materials recovered in these areas. Physiographic elements such as hummocky moraine and glaciolacustrine and glaciofluvial plains demonstrated low concentrations of recovered cultural remains; the subdued topography and greater distances to water resources may have contributed the limited occupation of these landforms. The utilisation of a GIS in this investigation facilitated the examination of the occupation patterns of prehistoric Plains peoples and provides an environmental framework for archaeologists to conduct cultural inventories.
Bibliography of Canadian Geomorphology