Summary information
| Repository: | South Peace Regional Archives |
| Title: | Peace River Archaeology Society fonds |
| Reference code: | 0003 |
| Date: | 1981-2001 (date of creation) |
| Physical description: | 32 cm of textual records
32 photographs 662 slides |
| Language: | English |
| Dates of creation, revision and deletion: | Processed by Mary Nutting in 2006.
Exported from AoR and added to new database Oct. 2021 – SF |
Administrative history / Biographical sketch
The organizational meeting of the Peace River Archaeology Society was held February 21, 1989 in Wanham, AB, with representatives from across the south Peace and Fairview, and Northern Archaeologist with the Archaeological Survey, Milt Wright. Morris Burroughs served as the first president, Greg Donaldson as vice president and Guy Ireland as Secretary-Treasurer. The society adopted the by-laws of the provincial organization and was incorporated May 25, 1990. Its mandate covered the entire Peace Country. The purpose of the society was to promote the regulations of the Alberta Historical Resources Act and to act as a liaison between the public and the Archaeological Survey; and to encourage reporting of archaeological sites. Regular monthly meetings were held and field trips, consisting of visiting archaeological sites as well as mapping and surveying sites, were planned for the summer months.
By 1990, when the society was formed, the Archaeological Survey had already completed several surveys in the area with the assistance of future members: the Grande Prairie Inventory in 1985, the Birch Hills Survey in 1987, and the Saskatoon Mountain dig in 1989. As well, there were important personal collections, such as the Trudel Cache, discovered by Art Trudel in the 1970s. In 1991, with the assistance of two summer students, the society completed the Peace Past Project, a record of the number, location and type of prehistoric native artifacts found in the Peace River area. This included a photographic record of flaked and chipped stone tools in the hands of private collectors.
During the 1990s, Archaeological field trips included another dig at the Trudel Cache in 1991 and the Zahara dig in 1996. The local society also hosted the annual conference for the Archaeology Society of Alberta in 1993 and 1998.
The Peace River Archaeology Society was dissolved in 2001.
Custodial history
Records donated by Morris Burroughs, a founding member of the Peace River Archaeology Society, in November 2001.
Scope and content
The fonds consists of minutes of annual and executive meetings of the Peace River Archaeology Society from discussions regarding its founding in 1988 to its dissolution in 2001; newsletters detailing activities from 1988 to 1995; project files containing slides, negatives, and field notes for the Grande Prairie Inventory in 1985, the Birch Hills Survey in 1987 and the Peace Project in 1991; reference files with articles on archaeological articles on the Peace Country and news clippings from 1946 to 1995; and issues of the Alberta Archaeological Review from 1986 and 1997-2001. There is also a map marked with locations of archaeological finds in the Grande Prairie area.
Notes
Title notes
- Source of title proper: Title based on the contents of the fonds.
Restrictions on access
No restrictions on access.
Access points
- Science and technology* (subject)
- Organizations* (subject)
- Alberta (place)
Table of contents: Series
0003.01, Minutes & Correspondence, 1988-2001
0003.02, Newsletters & Photographs, 1988-1996
0003.04, Reference Collection, 1946-1996
0003.05, Archaeological Society of Alberta, 1986-2001
Series descriptions
| Series 0003.01: Minutes & Correspondence
Date: 1988-2001 (date of creation) Scope and content: The series consists of the minutes of the Archaeology Society of Alberta from the organizational meetings beginning in 1988 until the dissolution meeting in December 2001. Minutes include the incorporation certificate, some financial records, correspondence and reports. Physical description: 2 cm of textual records |
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| Series 0003.02: Newsletters & Photographs
Date: 1988-1996 (date of creation) Scope and content: The series consists of newsletters detailing the activities of the Peace River Archaeology Society from 1988 to 1995, and photographs of some of the field trips to Saskatoon Mountain, the Trudel Cache and the Zahara Site. Physical description: 3 cm of textual records 32 photographs |
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| Series 0003.03: Projects
Date: 1985-1991 (date of creation) Scope and content: The series consists of field notes, collection forms, photo records, photo catalogues, slides and negatives as a record of three major projects: the Grande Prairie Inventory in 1985, the Birch Hills Survey in 1987, and the Peace Past Project in 1991. Physical description: 10 cm of textual records 662 slides |
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| Subseries 0003.03.01: Grande Prairie Inventory
Date: 1985 (date of creation) Scope and content: The sub-series consists of a collection of slides for Project 85-46, the Grande Prairie Inventory. These are backed by Field Photo Records and Photo Catalogue sheets listing the donor and a description of each artifact and a complete set of negatives. The Photo Catalogue also has notes on where artifacts were found. Physical description: 2 cm of textual records 305 slides |
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| Subseries 0003.03.02: Birch Hills Survey
Date: 1987 (date of creation) Scope and content: The sub-series consists of a collection of slides recording the Birch Hills Survey done in 1987. These are backed by Field Notes, collection forms and a photo catalogue listing the donor and a description of each artifact and a complete set of negatives. Physical description: 2 cm of textual records 165 slides |
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| Subseries 0003.03.03: Peace Past Project
Date: 1991 (date of creation) Scope and content: The sub-series consists of files containing site record forms, field contacts, photo records and slides developed for the Peace Past Project; a map with red dots marking locations of archaeological finds; the original manuscript and photographs for the final report; a published copy of the final report; and a full set of negatives. Physical description: 6 cm of textual records 192 slides |
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| File / item list | |||
| Reference code | Title | Dates | Physical description |
| 0003.03.01.1 | Item – Archaeology Sites near Grande Prairie – Department of Mines and Technical Surveys | 1964-1991 | 1 topographical map (28 x 28 in.) |
| Material specific details [cartographic]:
1:250,000 Scope and content: Grande Prairie Sheet 83M topographical |
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| Series 0003.04: Reference Collection
Date: 1946-1996 (date of creation) Scope and content: The series consists of articles regarding the Archaeology of the Peace River Country, news clippings dating from 1946-1995, including the Geological picnics at Kleskun Hills in the 1940s. Also included is a reprint of Geoff Sawyer’s thesis, A History of Lesser Slave Lake. Physical description: 3 cm of textual records |
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| Series 0003.05: Archaeological Society of Alberta
Date: 1986-2001 (date of creation) Scope and content: The series consists of materials relating to the Archaeological Society of Alberta, the provincial conferences held in the Peace Country in 1993 and 1998, and some issues of the Alberta Archaeological Review, one from 1986 and the rest from 1997-2001. Physical description: 14 cm of textual records |
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