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Centuries of Human Occupation

Several seasons of archaeological fieldwork on the banks of the Saint-François River in Odanak have revealed evidence of several centuries of human occupation in the village itself, from recent prehistoric times to today. The map shows the location and date of the archaeological remains uncovered.

The earliest occupation date for archaeological site CaFe-7, situated in the village’s historic district, is 1571 AD. This corresponds to the end of the prehistoric Woodland period and the beginning of the historic contact period. The archaeological remains bear witness primarily to life at the fort. Archaeologists have unearthed the southwestern part of the fort’s palisade, traces of a longhouse, the foundations of the first chapel and craft working areas. They have also found thousands of artifacts.

  • Colour photograph of two faceted glass blue beads on a thread.
  • Colour photograph of a set of pottery shards. Colours vary from orange-red to black. All pieces have different shapes and sizes.
  • Colour photograph of two rusty copper needles. One is broken up in two parts, the other one is intact.
  • Colour photograph of three sets of beads strung on threads. Little white beads are placed to the left, a blue bead is placed in the center and two bigger beads are placed to the right.
  • Colour photograph of a piece of pottery with engraved patterns (horizontal lines and dots).
  • Colour photograph of a small anthropomorphic figure, an engraved slate disc and an engraved stone.
  • Colour photograph of three gunflints. They all have different shapes.
  • Colour illustration of the Fort d'Odanak with a red square showing an area studied by the archaeologists. The Fort is surrounded by lots of vegetation and is located near a river.
  • Colour photograph of a pit and a post trace.
  • Colour photograph of seven pieces made of copper alloy. They all have different sizes and shapes.
  • Colour photograph of a small copper cone on which a Borden Code can be read.
  • Colour photograph showing a trowel and an archeological search for traces of wood. The soil is reddened.
  • Colour photograph of a shard of glass, a piece of terracotta and an iron arrowhead.
  • Colour photograph of several stones forming the remains of the foundation of the chapel.
  • Map showing four areas, in red, where archeological digs took place on the grounds of the CaFe-7 site.
  • Colour photograph of the remains of a charred post hole and a pit. The soil is reddened by heat.