Cape Cove Beach (Dh Ai-5,6,7), Newfoundland: prehistoric cultures

• Main Author: Austin, Shaun
• Format: Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: Memorial University of Newfoundland 1980
• Subjects: Awl; Cape Cove; Indian; Beothuk; eskimo*; Newfoundland
• Online Access: https://research.library.mun.ca/7771/; https://research.library.mun.ca/7771/1/Austin_ShaunJoseph.pdf; https://research.library.mun.ca/7771/3/Austin_ShaunJoseph.pdf

During the 1979 summer field season archaeological excavations were carried out at three prehistoric sites along Cape Cove Beach, on the northeast coast of the island of Newfoundland. Data gathered from these sites, coupled with existing evidence, have allowed inferences to be made concerning: 1) the nature of the terminal period of the Maritime Archaic Tradition; 2) the possibility of cross-cultural diffusion resulting from contacts between Dorset Eskimo and Indian occupations in Newfoundland, between approximately 500 B.C. and A.D. 500; and 3) the origin of the historic Beothuks. -- The Cape Cove-1 site contained evidence of two separate Maritime Archaic occupations. The earlier of these two components represents one of the earliest known examples of human presence on the island of Newfoundland. The most significant artifacts recovered from this context are a slender chipped stone, contracting stemmed lance/spearhead, and two blade-like flakes. -- The second occupation at Cape Cove-1 apparently followed a c. 925 year cultural hiatus. The most notable artifacts from this context include a unifacial scraper, ground stone adzes and celts, linear flakes, and several bifacially flaked projectile points. -- The Cape Cove-2 site contained one major prehistoric Beothuk component. Diagnostic prehistoric Beothuk artifacts from Cape Cove-2 included notched points, other triangular and lanceolate shaped bifaces, and scrapers. The discovery of a long rectangular sheet of birch bark in situ at Cape Cove-2 likely represents the earliest direct evidence for the use of birch bark canoes by Beothuks. Several artifact forms, which may have been used in canoe construction, were recovered from or near various hearth features at Cape Cove-2. These included a ground (and chipped) stone wedge, a concave knife/scraper and a bone awl or punch. -- The Cape Cove-3 site contained at least one feature which, according to our existing criteria, was identified as a Maritime Archaic tool manufacturing activity area. This feature contained ...