Glossary
Abenakis: a First Nation of northeastern North America. Their name means "people of the east".
Aboriginal reserves: Territory that is reserved for the First Nation Peoples, subjected to special arrangements.
Adornment: a decorative object used for beautification purposes.
Alsig8ntegkw: an Abenaki word meaning "the place where there was no one".
Archaeological remains: debris, structures and other traces left by past populations.
Archaeology: the scientific study of the remains of past human occupation.
Archaeometallurgy: a speciality of archaeology that studies the production of metals and the making and use of metal objects.
Archaic: The period between 8000 and 1000 B.C.
Argillite: a sedimentary rock formed by the consolidation of microlayers of clay. It usually consists of quartz, mica and clay. Argillite can be grey, red, beige, pink, brown, green or black in colour.
Artifact: a man-made object that is at least 70 years old.
Bastion: a projecting part of a fortification. Bastions were made of wood, stone or a combination of the two.
Borden code: the Borden System is an archaeological site identification system developed by Charles Borden in 1952. A Borden code consists of upper- and lower-case letters and a number. The letters refer to a geographical area in Canada while the number denotes the order in which the archaeological site identified by the code was found within that geographical area.
C14 dating: an absolute dating method used by archaeologists to date organic remains. It measures the radiological activity of the carbon 14 contained in organic matter.
CaFe-7: the Borden code assigned to the historic quadrangle of Odanak, archaeological site where the archaeological digs are held.
Clay: a malleable sedimentary rock whose crytals have a diameter of less than 2μm. It usually consists of disintegrated silicated rock.
Coat of arms: an ornamental device made of symbols representing a person, a group of people, a town or a society.
Colonization: the invasion, occupation and transformation of an area in order to exploit its resources and introduce new values and ways of life.
Colony/trading post: a post for trading furs and the first colonial post open on a seasonal basis.
Compagnie des Indes: a trading company that managed and administered trade between large cities in Europe and the colonies.
Conservation: the act of taking procedures and actions to protect archaeological remains and maintain their state of preservation.
Context: all of the circumstances and actions that surround an event.
Conversion: the act of leading people to change their beliefs.
Copper alloy: a metal containing a large quantity of copper.
Course: assemblage of stones without mortar or binder.
Dry-stone masonry: an assemblage of stones with no mortar or other binding material.
Ecofact: plant, mineral or animal remains.
Ethnography: the branch of social sciences and anthropology that studies ethnic groups.
French regime: a political period in New France that began with the establishment of French colonial rule and ended with the British Conquest of 1760.
Fur trade: the exchange of European necessities and everyday items for furs between Europeans and Aboriginal groups in the colonies.
Genocide: the systematic extermination of a group of people for ethnic, religious or social reasons.
Herringbone: a V-shaped decorative motif.
Hudson’s Bay Company: a fur-trading company on Hudson Bay founded in 1670.
Inventory: an enumeration and description of property or artifacts
Jesuit ring: a ring made of a precious metal or a copper alloy that was worn or distributed by Jesuits. Rings of this type were given to Aboriginal people when they converted to Catholicism.
King Philip's War: a war in New England between Abenakis and British colonists and their Iroquois allies. The war lasted from 1675 to 1676. Its name refers to Metacomet, an Amerindian chief whom the British called "King Philip".
Late Woodland: the last Woodland period (1000 to 500 B.C.) during which the first signs of village life appeared.
Lookout: a person who keeps watch.
Masonry: a construction assemblage of stones or bricks or similar elements.
Mission: a group of people or the members of a religious organization whose aim is to convert people and spread faith.
Palaeoindian: the period between 10 000 and 8000 B.C.
Palynology: a discipline that studies pollen.
Philosophy: the study of human values, human life, logic and metaphysics.
Raid: a short and rapid military or combat operation in enemy territory.
Ranger: a soldier or guard in a special military unit or a reserve.
Reserve: a territory reserved for Aboriginal people and subject to a special form of government.
Restoration: the act of returning an object or structure to a former or original condition.
Seal: a piece of wax or lead on which a symbol of authority is stamped.
Sill: a horizontal timber for supporting framing timbers.
Skirmish: a short fight between armed groups.
Slate: a soft friable metamorphic rock of black, grey, reddish or purple colour that occurs in layers.
Southern: situated in the south.
Stratigraphic layer: an underground sedimentary or soil layer.
Test pitting: an archaeological research technique that consists in digging small pits in the ground to check for the presence of archaeological remains.
Theology: the study of religion.
Traceology: a specialty of archaeology that uses optical equipment to observe and document traces left on archaeological remains by the use or production of tools.
Wampum: tubular shell beads used by First Nations to make ritual objects such as belts and necklaces.
Woodland: the period between 1000 B.C. and 1534 A.D.
Zooarchaeology: a speciality of archaeology that studies animal bones found on archaeological sites in order to identify their species of origin and associate them with an archaeological context.