Princess Point palaeoethnobotany (Ontario)

This dissertation explores the human-plant interrelationship of Princess Point in southern Ontario. Princess Point is one of a number of prehistoric populations that inhabited the Lower Great Lakes region and is likely ancestral to later Iroquoian horticultural societies. This complex dates from about 1570 to 970 B.P., ascribing it to the early Late Woodland of southern Ontario.; The goal of this study is to explore early horticulture, together with plant use generally, in southern Ontario, and to gain a better understanding of a time when people were changing their subsistence pattern from one based on wild plant resources to one that incorporated crops. Nearly 1700 litres of soil samples were analyzed, resulting in the identification of over 3400 macrobotanical remains. The study also explores the microbotanical techniques of biochemical analysis of organic residues and phytolith analysis.; Princess Point represents the first shift to a subsistence pattern that incorporated horticulture into a hunting, fishing, and plant collecting lifeway. The earliest dates for evidence of corn horticulture in Ontario are from Princess Point. By Glen Meyer, a reliance on agriculture had increased in Ontario. The continued use of many plant species exists from Princess Point to Glen Meyer; however, Princess Point exhibits a greater frequency of the greens and grains category. An interconnectedness between Princess Point and those populations to the south in the Northeast is seen. Starchy and oily-seeded annuals, such as chenopod, erect knotweed, and purslane, are common both in the Northeast and with Princess Point. This study concludes that rather than simply replacing wild plants, Princess Point incorporated maize horticulture into their economic pattern and continued to be dependent on wild plant foods, especially fleshy fruits, and greens and grains. By exploring the continuum of mild interaction with the environment to intensive interaction, it is possible to obtain a better understanding of all phases of the human-plant interrelationship. This study hopes to stimulate ongoing research on early horticulture in Ontario and encourage continued investigations of Princess Point, together with the time periods before and after Princess Point.