What is the distinction between “prehistoric” and”historic”?
In southern Ontario, prehistoric archaeology covers the study of human occupation between the Palaeo-Indian period circa 9,000 B.C. to the Late Woodland period circa A.D. 1550. The “historic” era begins in the late sixteenth century when the first European-made artifacts were traded into southern Ontario, followed shortly thereafter by contacts between the indigenous Native population and European explorers and missionaries, who left written accounts of their travels and contacts (i.e.the writings of Samuel de Champlain, edited by H.P. Biggar and published in 1926; the writings of Father Gabriel Sagard, edited by G.M. Wrong and published in 1939; and The Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents, edited by R.G. Thwaites and published between 1896 and 1901). Technically, the “historic” era continues into the late nineteenth to early twentieth century, to encompass archaeological investigations at pioneer settler sites such as log cabins, homesteads, blacksmith shops, mills, etc.
