| Pollen analysis on a lake core is used to reconstruct early Holocene environments of the Boreal forest region of northeastern Alberta. Together with the archaeological record of this area, these data indicate that Early Prehistoric Plains groups first exploited northeastern Alberta during the warming period known as the Hypsithermal, starting after 10,000 BP. During this time, forests were more open and may have acted as refugia that supported some Plains big-game. It is theorized that by co-existing in the woodland environment with Plains big-game over the several thousand-year duration of the Hypsithermal, Plains hunter-gatherers not only discovered and learned to exploit the rich fish resources of this region, but gradually lost their Plains cultural identity. By the time the forests closed with the onset of cooler conditions around 7500 BP, Plains-derived Northern Plano cultures had fully acculturated to the forests, and continued their woodland exploitation. |
