This outline traces the prehistory of the province of QuΘbec. Technical terms and concepts are avoided but, in attempting to present a general picture, it has been necessary to make the complex appear simple, the poorly known appear well known, and to favour one interpretation when, in fact, several conflicting interpretations exist. Most archaeologists, however, will be in essential agreement with the major themes presented here.
QuΘbec covers an area of 1,356,791 km▓ within which there are major differences in both the nature of the land and its plant and animal communities. In the north, caribou herds graze on the summer tundra while whale, walrus, seal and polar bears inhabit the coastal waters. Most of the province is covered with evergreen forests spread over Pre-Cambrian rock of the Canadian Shield. Within these sombre forests and myriad of lakes and rivers are found moose, caribou and black bear, beaver and other animals and an abundance of fish such as trout, whitefish and pike. In the south, the mixed hardwood forests grow upon soils deposited by the glaciers or reshaped by the ancient Champlain Sea. The flat to rolling landscape is frequently broken by the massive bedrock remnants of the Appalachians. This region is home to the white-tailed deer, black bear, moose, and a wide variety of smaller animals, fish and birds. In prehistoric times elk, cougar, and the now extinct passenger pigeon also occupied the region. Roughly separating the temperate southern region from the harsh Shield country to the north is the St. Lawrence River, whose lower reaches abounded with whale, porpoise, seal, salmon, eel, capelin, and many other species. Heavy exploitation of most of these species by Europeans beginning in the sixteenth century has markedly reduced their numbers.
Prehistoric peoples had to adapt to this great diversity of landscape, climate, and animal and plant communities. The earliest historic records locate the Inuit (Eskimos) along the province's northern and western coasts, the northern Algonquian speaking hunters in the forests of the Shield as well as along the north shore of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and Iroquoian speaking farmers in the upper St. Lawrence River valley. Eleven thousand years ago early hunters could have penetrated QuΘbec south of the St. Lawrence whereas as late as 5,000 years ago portions of the northern Shield country had just been released by the last remnant of the continental glacier. Subsequent climatic fluctuations have resulted in the shifting of plant communities and their associated animal species, including man. Despite the enormous land mass of the province, the thousands of years of prehistory, and the staggering complexities of attempting to understand the interrelated factors of environmental and cultural change, archaeologists are steadily unravelling the surviving record of the prehistoric peoples of QuΘbec. Jacques Cartier, Samuel de Champlain, Paul Lejeune and other sixteenth and seventeenth century explorers and missionaries made many valuable observations regarding the Native peoples of QuΘbec. What these European observers could never learn, however, was how long ago and from what direction people first occupied the province, when and how the Inuit came to reside in their present location, when and where corn was first grown in the province, and whence it had come. These and a host of other questions can only be answered by archaeologists. As the vast bulk of material evidence consists of such things as broken tools and discarded food bones archaeologists are, to a large extent, glorified collectors and analyzers of prehistoric garbage. Despite these limitations, sufficient information has survived the ravages of time and nature to permit at least partial decipherment of the past. Different prehistoric cultures made stone and bone tools, built houses and buried the dead in different ways. Some were hunters and others were farmers, some made pottery vessels and others did not. These similarities and differences allow the archaeologist to recognize cultural groups and to trace their development through time.
Archaeologists must incorporate elements of knowledge from other disciplines. The biological and earth sciences are particularly important, while physics, chemistry, and other disciplines make direct contributions. The list goes on. Rigorous scientific method, however, is incapable of providing the total means of understanding humanity. Because complex cultural factors have determined the ways people adapted to their surroundings archaeological interpretation must bridge humanism and science.
The Archaeological Regions and Periods of QuΘbec
The prehistory of QuΘbec involves two distinct populations, the Indians and the Inuit (Eskimos) and their prehistoric predecessors which can be best considered under four different regions (Map 1): the southern region of the upper St. Lawrence River (including the Ottawa River valley) and the Eastern Townships the northern region of the Canadian Shield; the St. Lawrence estuary region; and the northern coastal region. Prehistoric developments within these four areas are, for the most part, distinct from one another. The prehistory of the mixed hardwood region of the St. Lawrence lowlands is closely related to that of southern Ontario and northern New York and Vermont. It is the only region in QuΘbec where agriculture was practised and it was historically occupied by Iroquoian-speaking peoples. The prehistory of the enormous tracts of the Shield, on the other hand, is most closely related to that of adjacent northern Ontario, both regions being occupied by bands of Algonquian speaking hunters in historic times. The St. Lawrence estuary was occupied throughout its prehistory by populations who relied upon the rich maritime resources and who had close connections with the Atlantic coast. Historically, Iroquoian-speakers occupied the upper portion of the estuary while Algonquian speakers occupied the lower north shore. The populations of these regions did not live in isolation and there is evidence of wide-ranging contacts. The Inuit and Palaeo Eskimo prehistory of QuΘbec involves the east side of Hudson Bay, the north coast, and the extreme eastern portion of the north shore of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The Palaeo Eskimos, of ultimate Asiatic origin, occupied the Arctic around 2,000 B.C. but were eventually replaced by the ancestors of the present Eskimos beginning by A.D. 900. Cultural ties of both the Inuit and the Palaeo-Eskimos are with the High Arctic.
The prehistory of QuΘbec will be considered under five time periods: Period I (10,000 B.C. -- 8,000 B.C.); Period II (8,000 B.C. -- 4,000 B.C.); Period III (4,000 B.C. -- 1,000 B.C.); Period IV (1,000 B.C. -- A.D. 500); Period V (A.D. 500 -- European Contact). Where possible, within each of these periods, consideration will begin with the southern region of the St. Lawrence lowlands, move into the St. Lawrence estuary region, thence to the northern region of the interior Shield country, and, finally, to the northern coastal region.
Period I (10,000 B.C. -- 8,000 B.C.)
About 12,000 years ago big game hunters began to spread across much of North America. Their ancestors likely crossed the massive land bridge connecting Asia to America before it was engulfed by the sea around 14,000 years ago. Hunting in the unglaciated regions of Alaska and the Yukon until approximately 13,000 years ago, they were then able to penetrate a corridor between the melting glacial ice. Most of Canada was still under the glaciers and glacial lakes and, in QuΘbec, the retreat of the glacier from the St. Lawrence Valley led to an invasion of the sea which penetrated as far as Ontario and Vermont. As can be seen from illustrations 1 and 2, the province did not look much like it does today. The continental glacier covered most of the land north of the St. Lawrence while whales, seals, and walrus swam in the invading arm of the Atlantic Ocean called the Champlain Sea along whose southeastern margin a tundra and open spruce forest would likely have been occupied by caribou herds and extinct animals such mastodon and mammoth. Indeed as can be seen in illustration 3 it was not until 6,000 B.C. and the disappearance of the Champlain Sea that the St. Lawrence Valley began to approach its present appearance. The earliest convincing evidence of humans throughout most of North America has been referred to as Fluted Point culture after a distinctive style of stone spearhead. Although not a trace of Fluted Point culture has been found in the habitable portion of QuΘbec the likelihood of its presence is suggested by the existence of Fluted Point sites in the adjacent Maritime provinces and New England states. Sites will likely be located in topography appropriate to caribou interception or entrapment or, possibly, adjacent to a source of stone suitable for fashioning into tools. Such tools would include stone spear tips, knives, scrapers, drills, and gravers. The likelihood of bone being present within this region of naturally acidic soils is most remote.
Period II (8,000 B.C. -- 4,000 B.C.)
By 6,000 years ago the province had been released from the glacial ice except for the highlands of northeastern QuΘbec and adjacent Labrador. But as illustrations 2 and 3 clearly indicate, major changes to the physical geography took place during the first half of the period. The first definite archaeological evidence of people occurs with the Plano culture of the St. Lawrence Valley although Early Archaic people also appear to be present. Both Plano and Early Archaic cultures developed out of an earlier Fluted Point cultural base but in different regions of North America. Subsequently, the upper portion of the valley was occupied by Laurentian Archaic culture and the lower or estuary portion by Maritime Archaic culture. Towards the end of the period Shield Archaic hunters from northern Ontario penetrated the western portion of the Shield in QuΘbec. The northern coastal region was unoccupied although by 6,000 years ago Maritime Archaic hunters had advanced up the Labrador coast almost to its tip.
Plano Culture:
Plano culture originally developed on the Great Plains of North America from the preceding Fluted Point culture of about 10,000 years ago. Some bands of these early hunters began spreading eastward between the retreating glacier and associated lakes to the north and the Early Archaic hunters to the south. The latter people also had their ancestry in the preceding Fluted Point culture but had developed in eastern North America in fashions quite distinct from Plano culture. Skirting the shores of Lake Superior and Lake Huron the Plano people eventually reached the upper reaches of the St. Lawrence River which 9,000 years ago was at the same water level as today. Below Cornwall, however, the gradually retreating shore of Lampsilis Lake (a vestige of the Champlain Sea) would have been encountered. Since these early hunters pushed on to the GaspΘ coast they must have possessed efficient watercraft and, presumably, the capability of exploiting the rich marine resources of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Indeed, even at this early period tools manufactured from GaspΘ chert are found as far as 800 km up river, indicating that contacts were maintained between the Plano occupants of the interior and the coast. The most outstanding characteristic of Plano culture is the exquisite delicacy of chipped stone implements (spearheads, knives, scrapers, and drills).
Laurentian Archaic Culture:
Virtually nothing is known of the Laurentian Archaic culture during this period. The broad, notched dart heads closely resemble Early Archaic culture forms and it is believed that Laurentian Archaic culture developed from antecedents in the upper St. Lawrence and lower Great Lakes. Unfortunately, the tool kit composed of notched points, simple knives and scrapers resembles much later forms and often the antiquity of these ubiquitous tools is simply not recognized by archaeologists. This was also a period of considerable instability in the environment which would have required a dispersed form of human settlement to exploit effectively the changing animal and plant communities. Such a pattern of settlement taken in conjunction with the major changes in physical geography make site discovery very difficult. First described in New York state, this culture acquired its name in the (now known to be erroneous) assumption that the culture had originated in the Laurentian Shield.
Maritime Archaic Culture:
Unlike Laurentian Archaic culture, there is considerable information about the Maritime Archaic culture. Possibly as early as 9,000 years ago the Gulf of St. Lawrence and adjacent regions were occupied. These people originated in a southern Early Archaic culture and likely amalgamated with the local Fluted Point-derived population. These maritimers were capable of exploiting the rich marine resources of the region; hence their name. They must have possessed substantial watercraft for travel and to aid them in the capture of large marine mammals such as walrus. Implements included stone dart and lance heads and large polished celts for wood working. It is with the Maritime Archaic people that we obtain our earliest glimpse of complex religious ceremonialism. By approximately 7,500 years ago stone cobble burial mounds were being constructed along the north shore of the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the Labrador coast.
Shield Archaic Culture:
The Shield Archaic culture, unlike its southern and eastern Archaic neighbours, is believed to have developed out of a Plano culture base in eastern Manitoba and the adjacent Keewatin District of the Northwest Territories. As plant and animal communities occupied the lands being released from under the glaciers and their associated water bodies Shield Archaic hunters spread eastward to occupy eventually nearly all of the Canadian Shield. Ordinarily the acidic soils of the region dissolve bone but on the basis of site locations it is inferred that caribou and fish were likely the mainstay of these early hunters whose stone technology was dominated by chipped stone scrapers, knives, and dart heads. In this subarctic land of rivers and lakes the people must have had tailored clothing, the bark canoe, and snowshoes, despite the absence of direct evidence. Shield Archaic culture did not spread through northern QuΘbec until the latter part of this period since much of the region was still under the influence of the retreating glaciers.
Period III (4,000 B.C. -- 1,000 B.C.)
During these three thousand years most of QuΘbec was occupied by the Laurentian, Maritime, and Shield archaic populations of the preceding period. In the far north, however, an entirely new population, the Early Palaeo-Eskimos occupied the coastal regions around 4,000 years ago. This is a period during which the environment became more stable and, as a consequence, appears to have permitted more repeated seasonal occupations of specific locales by people, thus resulting in larger and more obvious archaeological sites.
Laurentian Archaic Culture:
Within the mixed hardwood forests of the upper St. Lawrence River Valley and southern QuΘbec the small bands of Laurentian Archaic hunters followed a seasonal round based upon big game, particularly deer supplemented by fish and a wide range of small animals and plant foodstuffs such as nuts and acorns. The early tool kit consisted of dart heads, knives and a range of ground stone implements including slate dart heads and lances, semi-lunar knives, plummets and a specialized woodworking adze called a gouge. The ground implements were adopted from the Maritime Archaic culture with whom these people were in close contact. From south of their territory they acquired the exquisite polished stone weights which were attached to their spear-throwers. In the Ottawa Valley, prior to 5,000 years ago, native copper in the form of raw nuggets from Lake Superior was being fashioned into a wide range of implements and ornaments which were traded to the south and east. These same sites produced evidence of a sophisticated bone-tool technology including harpoons and delicate eyed-needles. In the cemeteries the dead were richly provided with red ochre and tools to accompany their spirits to the after-life.
Maritime Archaic Culture:
Toward the end of this period Maritime Archaic people began to penetrate the St. Lawrence Valley above its juncture with the Ottawa River and thus came in close contact with the indigenous Laurentian Archaic people. The study of the skeletal remains of these two populations indicated they were both robust and healthy populations who did, however, suffer some broken bones and arthritis. Among the common Maritime Archaic tools were ground slate dart heads and lances, semi-lunar knives, plummets, adzes and gouges, and chipped stone dart heads and knives. It becomes difficult to trace these people shortly after 3,500 years ago. Their apparent disappearance correlates with a deteriorating climatic situation to the north and the spread of both Early Palaeo-Eskimo culture and Shield Archaic culture into former Maritime Archaic territory. Rather than being eradicated the Maritime Archaic technology likely changed rapidly, thus making recognition of the transition to a later culture difficult.
Shield Archaic Culture:
Although other cultures at this time exhibited some regional population increase such is not apparent among the Shield Archaic bands of the northern coniferous forests. This is probably due to the fact that these small hunting bands were still expanding into the interior of QuΘbec. Also, given the limited and fluctuating resources of this enormous area, the opportunities for human exploitation were more severely constrained than in other regions and, thus, a population balance was likely established quite early. The tool kit continued to be dominated by chipped stone scrapers, knives and dart heads although around the end of this period the bow and arrow appears to have been introduced from Early Palaeo-Eskimo culture.
Early Palaeo-Eskimo Culture:
Undoubtedly, one of the most dramatic events during this period was the occupation of the Arctic, including Greenland, by Early Palaeo-Eskimo people around 4,000 years ago. The descendants of these first colonizers of the last major habitable region of the world would eventually expand southward into the northern reaches of Saskatchewan, Manitoba, QuΘbec, the entire Labrador coast, a portion of the Gulf of St. Lawrence and finally, the Island of Newfoundland. The specific place of origin of these people is still obscure although their technology clearly suggests an Alaskan source with an ultimate Siberian ancestry. Capable of exploiting the rich marine and land resources of the Arctic, Early Palaeo-Eskimo culture spread rapidly across the northern margin of the continent. A striking characteristic of the technology was the minute size and consummate skill of manufacture of such items are microblades, toggling harpoon paraphernalia, weapon tips, knives, and scrapers. These people were also most likely responsible for introducing the bow and arrow to the New World. Dwellings consisted of single family tents with central stone lined hearths. Seal and caribou would have been the major big game animals in northern QuΘbec. Finally, it should be noted that there is no firm basis for racially identifying these people as "Eskimo".
Period IV (1,000 B.C. -- A.D. 500)
By 3,000 years ago environmental conditions in the province were similar to the situation encountered by the first European explorers. It is also by this time that the basic cultural patterns, which continued into the historic period, became generally discernible.
Point Peninsula - Meadowood Culture:
The knowledge required to manufacture pottery cooking vessels entered eastern Canada from the south 3,000 years ago and was adopted by a large portion of the indigenous Archaic peoples. Since pottery survives in the archaeological record and is relatively abundant its appearance provides a convenient time-marker for archaeologists and, thus, the basis for a number of name changes of cultures. This tends to give the impression that some major differences in lifestyles between the Archaic people and their pottery using descendants existed, but such is not the case. The terms "Point Peninsula" and "Meadowood" simply refer to geographic locations, in these instances both in New York state, where the cultures were first recognized.
As indicated by the illustrations, Point Peninsula is distinguished from Meadowood on the basis of pottery and some other traits, but since both Meadowood and Point Peninsula are developments out of Laurentian Archaic they are treated as variants of a single culture rather than separate cultures. Meadowood is known mainly from accidentally discovered cemeteries although habitation sites also occur. Burial practices, with direct roots in the preceding Archaic, consist of cremation, the abundant use of red ochre and lavish grave offerings. In addition to pottery and a stone and bone technology with antecedents in the earlier Laurentian Archaic culture, the bow and arrow became widely adopted early in this period and eventually replaced the earlier spear thrower. Occupying the mixed hardwood forests, these bands of hunters and fishermen modified their culture in response to influences which came mainly from the south. Paramount among these influences were the following: an Ohio burial cult, which entered the St. Lawrence around 2,600 years ago, and included earth mound burial; the appearance of stone smoking pipes at the same time; and other traits which clearly indicated that the region was an active participant in a large exchange network with other cultures.
Proto-Micmac Culture:
Our understanding of what was happening in the Gulf of St. Lawrence during this 1,500 years period is very incomplete. In the Gasps region Proto-Micmac culture is believed to have developed out of the earlier Maritime Archaic culture. The close relationship between New Brunswick and this area of QuΘbec would have been enhanced by travel along the coast and up a major drainage system such as the Saint John.
Shield Archaic Culture:
Throughout most of QuΘbec north of the St. Lawrence the earlier technology of this culture was maintained, albeit modified to some extent by the adoption of the bow and arrow. A thin scattering of Point Peninsula pottery also occurred along the north shore into Labrador, part way along the GaspΘ coast, and into the interior as far as Lac Saint Jean, but this element of technology was never adopted to the extent it was further south.
Laurel Culture:
Laurel culture is simply the preceding Shield Archaic culture of extreme western QuΘbec with the addition of pottery vessels. Bone preservation on related sites in Ontario suggests the existence of beaver incisor knives, snowshoe needles, awls, detachable harpoons, and pottery decorators. The western QuΘbec Laurel sites also follow the pattern in adjacent Ontario of using small, high quality flint nodules for tool manufacture rather than the massive quartzite deposits. As a direct result their implements tend to be much smaller than those of their eastern kinsmen.
Late Palaeo-Eskimo Culture:
There appears to have been a 500-year transition beginning 3,000 years ago during which Early Palaeo-Eskimo culture changed into Late Palaeo-Eskimo culture. The coalescence of traits, which resulted in Late Palaeo Eskimo culture, had its core in the Baffin Island region of the Northwest Territories. Innovations were semi-subterranean winter houses, stone oil lamps, ground slate tools and ground burins. Late Palaeo-Eskimo culture, however, exhibits clear relationships to the preceding Early Palaeo Eskimo culture as reflected by the microblades, general harpoon styles, and other traits. There is some evidence to suggest that these people abandoned the use of the bow and arrow. Little is known of their religious practices although some insight is provided by their truly exceptional bone, ivory, and wood carvings and engravings, many of which likely related to shamanism. As early as 3,000 years ago the ancestors of the Late Palaeo Eskimo culture had reached the extreme northeast corner of the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
Period V (A.D. 500 -- European Contact)
While the likelihood of unrecorded contacts between Natives and European fishermen and whalers in the Gulf of St. Lawrence in the late fifteenth century is very probable, the first documented exchanges took place in the early sixteenth century with Jacques Cartier's voyages. Beginning in the early seventeenth century contact between Natives and Europeans became increasingly important for both groups. European trade goods, however, reached Native communities in the interior long before the Europeans themselves due to the well-developed Native trade network. At this time the archaeological cultures of QuΘbec can be associated with the historic Native groups which were encountered by the first Europeans. This is also the period when historical documents can play a particularly vital role in archaeological interpretation. Within this period of slightly more than 1,000 years the following people will be considered: the St. Lawrence Iroquois of the upper St. Lawrence Valley; the Maritime Algonquians of the GaspΘ; the Northern Algonquians of the Shield country; and the Thule Eskimo of the northern coasts of QuΘbec.
St. Lawrence Iroquois:
When Jacques Cartier was exploring the St. Lawrence River he encountered Iroquoian farmers living in permanent villages between QuΘbec City (the Stadaconans) and MontrΘal (the Hochelagans). The former were warring with the Toudamans (the Micmacs and/or Malecite) and the latter described "evil men" to the west who wore wooden slat armour and could only be the Huron of Ontario. Although still tentative, the roots of these people appear to be in the upper St. Lawrence between MontrΘal and Cornwall, a region occupied in the preceding period by the Point Peninsula people. As early as the twelfth century influences via the St. Lawrence and the Richelieu rivers were being received from populations who would become the Ontario and New York Iroquoian peoples of the historic period. Probably by the thirteenth century if not earlier, corn, squash, sunflower, and very likely tobacco crops, were introduced and, somewhat later, beans. The establishment of a horticultural base plus the rich animal resources of the St. Lawrence River, particularly spawning Atlantic eels, led to an apparent population explosion and ultimately large permanent, palisaded villages. The late expansion down river to the QuΘbec City region by the St. Lawrence Iroquois may have resulted in conflict with the Maritime Algonquians since there is evidence that the latter exploited the GaspΘ coast. In addition to some of the finest pottery vessels and smoking pipes to be found anywhere there was extensive use made of bone in the production of arrowheads, awls, trophy skulls, deer shoulder blade pipes, beads, and hoe-like implements. Stone tools were essentially limited to corn grinding mortars and pestles, a few polished adzes and soapstone beads. Sometime shortly after 1580 the St. Lawrence Iroquois disappeared and in 1603, when Samuel de Champlain arrived on the St. Lawrence, their former homeland was being fought over by the Iroquois League of Five Nations and an alliance of the Huron and Northern Algonquians. There is archaeological evidence that the Huron absorbed the remnants of the defeated St. Lawrence Iroquois.
Maritime Algonquians:
The people of the Maritime provinces (the Micmac, the Malecite, and the Passamaquoddy) all had ready access to the St. Lawrence either along the coast from the Chaleur Bay or up major river systems such as the Saint John. There is archaeological evidence that the GaspΘ region was also part of their hunting and fishing territory. Indeed, the Maritime Algonquians may well have exploited this region from Maritime Archaic times on but the evidence for such a proposed occupation is very fragmentary. Distinctive forms of pottery, and chipped stone arrowheads and knives characterized the tool kit. Archaeological evidence may eventually be discovered in the virtually unknown southeastern corner of the province that suggest exploitation by other Maritime Algonquian-speakers related to developments in the adjacent New England states.
Northern Algonquians:
With reference to QuΘbec, the Northern Algonquian speaking peoples include the Cree, the Montagnais, and the Algonquin. The Naskapi of northern QuΘbec are included under the Montagnais. By this time period there was a relatively common tool technology with western and eastern variants. The western variant bore close similarities to developments in adjacent Ontario, including the common use of pottery and the painting of shamanistic art on cliffs. To the east, in the territory historically occupied by the Montagnais, a somewhat different technology prevailed which included a different style of arrowheads and the absence of rock art. It was also this eastern variant of Northern Algonquian culture which occupied the Labrador coast until the late incursion of the Labrador Eskimos (Thule culture). Some pottery does appear along the north shore of the Gulf of St. Lawrence which, paradoxically, shows its closest relationship to developments in northern New York state suggesting the Richelieu River was a major artery for southern cultural influences. The ancestry of the Montagnais, the eastern Cree, and the Algonquian appear to lay with either the Shield Archaic culture or the very closely related Laurel culture. Throughout this period, however, the Algonquians of the Ottawa Valley were very strongly influenced by the cultural developments which eventually culminated in the Ontario Iroquois (the Huron, TionnantatΘ, Neutral, and Erie).
Thule (Eskimo) Culture:
The Thule people were the forebears of the present Inuit populations of Canada and Greenland. About 1,000 years ago they spread eastward from their northern Alaskan homeland. A sea-mammal hunting technology permitted them to exploit the abundant large whales of the Arctic waters. In less than 400 years they had occupied most of Arctic Canada and Greenland, and in the process replaced the Late Palaeo-Eskimo people whose ancestors had inhabited the region for nearly 3,500 years. There is little evidence to suggest that the Thule people absorbed these earlier people and it may be that they pushed them into marginal regions where they eventually became extinct. Nevertheless, some Late Palaeo-Eskimo and Thule communities were contemporaneous in northern QuΘbec and along the eastern coast of Hudson Bay between the thirteenth and fifteenth centuries. Shortly before European contact, Thule culture had occupied the eastern coast of Hudson Bay as far south as its juncture with James Bay, all of the northern QuΘbec coast, and most of the Labrador coast. In historic times, the Thule expanded further down the coast of Labrador and reached the north shore of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The combined attacks of the Montagnais and the Micmac may have forced their withdrawal from the Strait of Belle Isle region. Thule culture was able to maintain the big whale hunting tradition on the Labrador coast long after it was abandoned in other parts of the Arctic. The name "Thule" is taken from a community in northwestern Greenland where the culture was first recognized.
With the coming of Europeans and written records, the story of the Native peoples of QuΘbec passes from prehistory to history. It should be noted, however, that more than ninety five percent of the time that man has occupied this province belongs to the dim and still largely unwritten pages of prehistory.
