Moose Jaw archeological findings support new theory of pre-contact society

The Garrat Site in Moose Jaw has been the subject of an excavation that has resulted in the discovery of approximately 200,000 artifacts. (Courtesy: Alan Korejbo)

The search of an archeological dig site in Moose Jaw, Sask. has led to the discovery of around 200,000 artifacts – offering a glimpse into the lives of those who roamed the prairies over a millennium earlier.

Archeologist Alan Korejbo and his team with Respect Heritage made the discovery while exploring the Garratt site – which is located on a flood plain adjacent to Highway 363 and Ninth Avenue Southwest in the city’s south end.

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The new collection is painting a detailed picture of those who occupied the space roughly 1,200 years ago.

“This is a very special, very important site for Saskatchewan, especially for Moose Jaw,” Korejbo said. “Scientifically, we don’t find a lot of sites that are this well-preserved and that can show us as much about the pre-contact history of Saskatchewan.”

The Garratt Site is well-known among Canadian archeologists – as it stands within the city of Moose Jaw.

Korejbo and his team collecting material from the site in the summer months to learn more about those who inhabited the land during the “pre-contact era” – which is recognized as ending in the late 15th century.

“We found a very high proportion of stone tools such as, projectile points. most of it [is] late pre-contact, projectile points about 1,200 years, up to about 500 years. We found a lot of stone, lot of bone tools, in particular scapula tools,” he explained.

Korejbo believes the tools could have been used for growing crops, which would differ from the more well-known theory of many pre-contact societies operating solely as hunter-gatherers in terms of how they survived.

“I think a lot of the artifacts that we’re finding point out that that there’s a potential that this site might be horticultural in nature. Which is important because it might be this site probably has the highest potential to be able to suggest horticulture in Saskatchewan,” Korejbo explained.

The next step in the process includes sending some of the artifacts to various testing facilities across the globe.

This is essential in learning more about how old the artifacts are and what their purpose might have been.

In addition to that, the approximately 200,000 artifacts all need to be carefully cataloged.

“Pottery is really special on this site because some of it points to being influenced from the middle Missouri region ... it’s a rare it’s rare to find pottery like that in Saskatchewan,” Korejbo said.

“That pottery, what we want to do is we want to send it away for pottery residue analysis to see what basically what they were they were cooking in those pots.”

Korejbo and his team now play the waiting game – as they hope to learn more about the people who spent their lives in the area – which has proved to be very important in Saskatchewan.