The Maritime Archaic Indians arrived in Newfoundland 5,000 years ago from Labrador. They crossed the Strait of Belle Isle from Labrador where the earliest sites date to around 9,000 years before present (B.P.). A well-known burial of a 12-year-old child at L'Anse Amour dates to 7500 B.P. This culture is believed to be descended from the Paleo Indians who crossed the Bering land bridge between Siberia and Alaska at the tail end of the last Ice Age, approximately 14,000 years ago. Some evidence suggests that they might have crossed as early as 25,000 B.P.

This culture, formerly referred to as the Moorehead Burial Complex or Red Paint People, occupied the coastal regions of Maine, the Maritime provinces, Labrador and the Island of Newfoundland, its most northerly point. Little was known about this culture until 1967 when Mr. Theodore Farwell of Port au Choix uncovered a cemetery while bulldozing a basement for a theatre. The excellent preservation of bone allowed Dr. Jim Tuck and his associates to do a comprehensive study of the 117 skeletons and burial goods. This work is still going on today, providing greater insight into the way of life of these people. Dr. Jim Tuck renamed these people the Maritime Archaic Tradition because of their marine adaptation.

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