The Packet

Two American scientists came to Sunnyside to present their findings from their dig at Stock Cove. Archeologist Christopher Wolff of the Smithsonian Institution and anthropologist Donald Holly of Eastern Illinois University gave an hour long presentation to a crowd of roughly 40 people at the Lions Club in Sunnyside. With a few artifacts on display, Wolff and Holly presented their archeological discoveries of the past three years.

Archeologist Christopher Wolff of the Smithsonian Institution and anthropologist Donald Holly of Eastern Illinois University gave an hour-long presentation to a crowd of roughly 40 people at the Lions Club in Sunnyside.

With a few artifacts on display, Wolff and Holly presented their archeological discoveries of the past three years.

Wolff - who holds a Masters degree from Memorial University of Newfoundland (MUN) - has spent 10 years researching in Newfoundland and Labrador. It was during this time that he heard about Stock Cove and was attracted by its "mythical" status as an archeological site.

"We have documents that suggest John Guy visited the site in 1612, if calculations are correct," said Wolff on its historical significance. "We might have evidence to support this, although analysis is in the early stages."

Wolff first arrived at the site in the summer of 2007. It's known that people throughout the centuries had visited Stock Cove for various reasons; Wolff set out to learn why they did.

It wasn't until the following summer, after realizing he needed more assistance and expertise, that he invited Holly and John Erwin, a sessional instructor at MUN, to join him in Stock Cove.

"There's something for everyone," Holly said of the community's archeological richness. His focus has been on Recent Indian and Beothuk peoples, while Erwin specializes in Dorset Paleoeskimos and Wolff Maritime Archaic peoples.

Artifacts from all these groups - as well as 17th century European settlers - have been uncovered at Stock Cove.

So far, the trio has learned that the Dorset Paleoeskimos held the most significant presence in Stock Cove, from 400 to 800 AD. Artifacts such as endblades from the tips of spears, shells and quartz crystal blades - a Dorset trademark - have been found.

According to Wolff, the Dorest Paleoeskimos tended to settle in prime seal hunting territory, which Stock Cove isn't historically known for.

"That may have been different in the past, as the general environment was colder during that time," he said. "That's one of the things we are trying to assess."

Stock Cove West, about 100 metres from Stock Cove, also intrigued the team. "We're interested in the stories we don't know," Holly said.

Here, they've uncovered prehistoric artifacts of the Maritime Archaic Indians, circa 3000 BC. Recently they have discovered what seems to be a wall, which they believe could be the remnants of a Maritime Archaic house. If it is, then it would be the first one found in the province.

Modern society, in the wake of environmental shifts like climate change, can learn primitive peoples' close relationship to the environment, said Wolff.

"We may be able to learn from hunter-gatherers that had to be aware of changes within their resource base, adapting to changes before they became a crisis," he said. "If we can learn from those societies in the past & we can possibly move to a more sustainable economic development that's good for people and the ecosystems."

There is still a lot to learn from Stock Cove, said Holly. The next question they hope to answer is to determine the kinds early relationships between the peoples of area (e.g. whether it was conflict or competition).

Their future plan is to apply for more funding for a multi-year project. They hope to keep working at Stock Cove until at least 2012.

In the meantime, the three archaeologists are spending their final summer weeks analyzing and preparing the artifacts they've found, which will eventually be kept at the Rooms museum in St. John's.

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