Ceramic Affiliations and the Case For Incipient Horticulture In Southwestern Manitoba

Abstract

The prevailing models of Late Prehistoric subsistence in southwestern Manitoba have been based upon the premise of a straightforward hunter/getherer economy relying upon the local ecology of the forest/parkland/plains biomes. In some cases, trade with the Middle Missouri Village Tribes has been incorporated as a risk reducing mechanism. These models propose a seasonal round exploiting the available natural subsistence resources at peaks of productivity and quality. Recent work at the Lovstrom and Johnas sites near Brandon on the Souris and Assiniboine Rivers, respectively, and at Lockport and Winnipeg on the Red River suggest that these models may be inadequate. The Lovstrom and Johnas sites indicate extended occupations by people using agricultural tools and whose ceramic affiliations appear to relate to groups in North Dakota and western Minnesota known to have practiced horticulture. Many of the distinctive ceramic traits which characterize vessels in these sites are not found in the usual Woodland assemblages recorded in southwestern Manitoba. It seems probable that these sites represent an expansion into southern Manitoba by groups from the south who practised horticulture as a part of their normal subsistence strategy. This content downloaded from 157.55.39.163 on Sat, 19 Nov 2016 04:31:04 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms Canadian Journal of Archaeology, Vol. 14, 1990 59 It remains to be demonstrated whether these sites represent short term incursions by horticultural groups normally resident well to the south or whether their regular production of surpluses affected the overall subsistence strategies of other groups normally resident in the region.