Stone implements found by archaeologists at Debert attest to the hunting and butchering activities that took place over 10,000 years ago. Stone raw material used in the manufacture of tools would have been collected at rock quarries near Parrsboro on the Bay of Fundy, some 70 km from Debert. This illustration shows:
A-E Stone spear and knives
F-G Stone drills
H Stone knife and spokeshave (woodshaper)
l-J Stone gravers (for engraving bone, antler or wood)
K-L Stone scrapers
M-N Large stone knife blades
In any reconstruction of past cultures, it is important to realize that what the archaeologist recovers may be all that is preserved intact, left behind or discarded. Any objects of perishable material, such as bone or wood, may not be represented in the archaeological sample. Such was the case at the Debert Palaeo-Indian site. Reconstructions must therefore rely on evidence from similar sites which contain more information. Ethnohistorical evidence about hunting peoples may also be useful in attempting to reconstruct a site.
Courtesy: National Museum of Man, National Museums of Canada
