Internet Archaeol. 10. The Archaeology of Southern Ontario

Background: The Green Bible

In 1990, the London Chapter of the Ontario Archaeological Society published an anthology of invited articles dealing with the entire range of aboriginal cultural occupations in southwestern Ontario. Because of its goals and content, and its striking cover colour, the book was quickly nicknamed. Since that time, the 'Green Bible' has become the primary reference work for all archaeologists working in this region, and an indispensible aid for research in adjacent parts of Canada and the United States.

The cut-off date of A.D. 1650 represents the date of the (historically recorded) removal of the Ontario Iroquois (Huron, Neutral and Petun) from southern Ontario, victims of European epidemic diseases and attacks by enemies among the New York Iroquois. Historians and archaeologists have assumed that an occupational hiatus followed this event in much, if not all, of southern Ontario (see Heidenreich, Chapter 15), though it is not clear how much impact this conflict may have had on non-Iroquoian peoples such as the Odawa or Mississauga.

A spirited and very detailed review of the book is provided in its last chapter by Dr. J.V. Wright, Archaeologist Emeritus of the National Museum of Civilization. His observations will be of interest to specialists; I will comment on issues of more concern for the general reader.