New Brunswick's Oxbow Site and Augustine Mound (Designated National and Provincial Historic Sites)

Archaeologist

People living in earlier times left behind clues that tell us about their day-to-day lives. Archaeologists use these clues to give us a window on the past.

Archeologists explore what has been lost, discarded, or left behind. They unearth, search for, examine, and research historic materials and artifacts to learn more about our cultural heritage.

Archaeological Site

An archaeological site is any location where people have left tangible evidence of their existence such as small hunting camps, large fishing villages, "caches" of tools, clam gathering camps, "forts", walrus butchering stations, duck hunting sites, caribou crossing camps, trading posts, villages, and many other meeting locations.

In Atlantic Canada, archaeological sites thus far have been dated as early as 11,000 years ago. Each archaeological site is unique and fragile, and has something to offer towards our understanding of the past.

Archaeological Survey

During an archaeological survey, the condition and location of each archaeological site is recorded in great detail and photographed. Once it is recorded, a site is protected from major development such as the building of a new highway.

Augustine Mound

Rediscovered in the 1970s by Red Bank Elder Joseph Augustine, this native burial ground is about 2600 years old. Native artifacts and the earliest example of fabric produced in Atlantic Canada were found during an archaeological excavation in 1975-76.

It is recognized as a sacred place for Native people; it is a National and Provincial Historic Site.

Oxbow Site

This is the largest and deepest stratified native campsite known in the Maritime provinces. A 2500 year-old fishing village, it produced artifacts, food remains, and other much-needed information for archaeological survey. It is a National and Provincial Historic Site.

Pow-wow

A "pow wow" is a Native celebration where people, young and old, gather to sing, dance, feast and conduct special spiritual ceremonies. The celebrations may last for several days as people renew relationships between themselves and their culture.

Sweet Grass Ceremony

A "sweet grass ceremony" is a traditional Native ceremony where "sweet grass", a sacred Native plant, is slowly burned. The fragrant smoke of the sweet grass is fanned, usually with an eagle feather, over individuals participating in the ceremony. This cleansing ceremony takes place at the beginning of meetings, events and gatherings to wash away negative thoughts or feelings.

Terrace

A terrace is a raised piece of land where the top has been leveled. A terrace can also be a series of horizontal ridges made on a hillside to increase cultivatable land, conserve moisture, or minimize erosion. The terrace between the Northwest and the Little Southwest Miramichi Rivers is naturally level and was formed following the retreat of the last glacial ice.

Debris

Debris is an accumulation of scattered fragments of something broken, destroyed, lost or thrown away.

Meadowood People

The homeland of the Meadowood People was the Great Lakes region of central Canada. A small group of Meadowood are believed to have visited Red Bank nearly 3000 years ago, travelling to the Miramichi area along the St. Lawrence River waterways. The Meadowood presence at Red Bank is revealed by their hunting and fishing tools that were left at the Wilson site and in a small cemetery overlooking the Northwest Miramichi.

Freshet

A freshet is a sudden flood or overflowing of fresh water usually caused by heavy rains or melting snow. At Red Bank the spring freshet happens as the winter ice moves from the river.

Mitchell Site

The Mitchell site is a large (long and narrow) seasonally occupied fishing camp that is located within the present day community of Red Bank along the Little Southwest Miramichi. The site is at least 2000 years old and once again demonstrates the Mi’kmaq use of all good fishing locations along this stretch of river. The site contains many thousands of stone chips produced by the manufacture of tools for cleaning and filleting the various types of fish offered by the Miramichi river.