Everyone on the team realized Don Pelley had made a significant discovery when he spotted the raised sidewalls of a former Beothuk home in 2016.
This clearing is the former site of a Beothuk dwelling, known as a mamateek. It is one of the last archaeological sites on Beothuk Lake.
Where the Beothuk had built walls around 200 years previously, the circular pit was still in great condition. There was no indication that the amateur archaeologists who had combed the area around Beothuk Lake in the past with metal detectors, digging up a variety of objects and leaving little in the ground, had interfered.
For many years, it was the region's most uncommon discovery.
According to provincial archaeologist Jamie Brake, "at the time that it was discovered it was the only known Beothuk house pit in that region … that had not been impacted by erosion or unauthorized digging."
Jamie Brake, Newfoundland and Labrador's provincial archaeologist, says more excavations are planned for the area so as much can be learned as possible before the site is lost to erosion. (Ted Dillon/CBC)
The last place of safety for the Indigenous people of Newfoundland was Beothuk Lake. They contended with diseases imported from Europe, hostile encounters, and the loss of vital migration routes for colonization. The final Beothuk, commonly regarded as Shawnadithit, passed away in 1829.
The final remaining ancient sites could be lost due to water levels on Beothuk Lake, which also serves as a hydropower reservoir, according to locals in the area.
Archaeologists were concerned about erosion after the site was found, according to Brake, and teams have taken steps to get as much information as they can from the house pit before it is engulfed by the lake.
A pair of Beothuk deer spears were uncovered near the site. Brake says they're perhaps the best preserved example of the tool used to hunt caribou.
What has been done to safeguard the location
Drones were used to map the region, and the land in and around the house pit was surveyed. Workers cut down trees that were thought to be at danger of toppling over and causing damage to the location.
The most susceptible areas have been excavated over the course of three summers by archaeologists, who have also removed significant items before they are lost to erosion.
Two deer spears, made of metal rods seized from European villages and sharpened at the tip to kill caribou, were among the objects discovered. They may be the best preserved spears that archaeologists have ever found, according to Brake.
A pointed piece of iron that is an exact match to a drawing made by Shawnadithit of the end blade for a harpoon that would have been used for sealing was another thing that was discovered.
One of the last Beothuk people, Shawnadithit, was taken prisoner by English fur traders in 1823. In 1829, she succumbed of TB.
In order to learn as much as possible before the site is lost to erosion, Brake stated that more excavations are planned for the area.
This harpoon tip was found near the remnants of a Beothuk mamateek on Beothuk Lake. Its presence at an inland site shows the continued importance of coastal seal hunting right to the end of the Beothuk period, says Brake.
Objects have a history
According to Brake, the artifacts allow archaeologists date the location to the late 1700s or early 1800s, which is close to the end of the Beothuk period.
Its position is crucial as well. Before Beothuk Lake was dammed and inundated in the early 1900s, the house pit, which is currently filled with water, would have been placed far inland.
According to Brake, it dates back to a time when the Beothuk were attempting to conceal from Europeans who were encroaching on vital hunting and fishing regions.
Given that there are no seals in the middle of Newfoundland, the discovery of a sealing tool in that situation is puzzling. Despite going farther inland to escape notice, Brake claimed that it demonstrates the Beothuk still had to travel to the coast at some point.
According to Brake, "it's probably a good indication of the continued importance of the coast for these people right to the end."
There may be more discoveries, but leave it to the experts.
The finding of an inland site gives rise to some optimism that others may be found in areas that have not yet been thoroughly examined, not only at Beothuk Lake but also in other regions of the province.
According to Brake, it's crucial that archaeologists carry out the work. He asserted that an artifact that is removed without thorough investigation is lost.
"If it's pulled out of its context, you lose its meaning," Brake said. "[It's] sort of like taking a word out of a page of a book. Once it's taken out of its context, you can no longer understand what it is, what its meaning is."
Brake said there are a lot at risk. To learn more about a people who are no longer with us to tell their own history, every piece counts.
"There's such a small amount of of surviving Beothuk material in existence today," Brake said. "We lose a tremendous sort of opportunity to learn more about these people. We lose a portion of the very limited physical legacy of the Beothuk. So every feature matters enormously. Every artifact and every site."
