Carbon dating puts Sask. Indigenous archaeological site at almost 11,000 years old

A piece of charcoal unearthed at a Saskatchewan archaeological site and tested in a lab suggests the site is 11,000 years old and was likely used as a long-term settlement by Indigenous people.

The site near Prince Albert, Sask., suggests Indigenous people lived in the region about 1,000 years earlier than previously thought, according to the Sturgeon Lake First Nation (SLFN).

Researchers who worked at the site last summer and collected samples for testing shared some early findings in January with the Âsowanânihk Council, the SLFN body leading the project.

Radiocarbon dating tests of charcoal taken from a hearth at the riverbank site suggest the settlement dates back about 10,700 years, confirming early speculation about the site along North Saskatchewan River.

The findings match oral histories that elders in the area told researchers, said University of Saskatchewan professor Glenn Stuart, one of the researchers invited to work at the site last summer. Researchers believe people started living at the site shortly after glaciers receded about 10,000 years ago.

"When you hear somebody talking about these huge floods that happened many, many years ago, then that makes us think that, OK, well, maybe there is a connection here because we could see from looking at this hearth that as soon as there was a stable landscape here, people were living there," Stuart said.

One of the next steps is taking core samples further inland, because it's not clear how far the site extends from the cut bank, Stuart said.

The results confirm the site is one of the oldest examples of Indigenous settlements in North America, according to a SLFN news release.

"This places it among some of the world's most well-recognized ancient sites, such as the Great Pyramids of Egypt, Stonehenge in England, and Göbekli Tepe in Turkey — each known for their immense historical significance and their role in shaping human civilization," the news release stated.

SLFN wants protections established to preserve the site and is planning to open a cultural interpretive centre.

Archaeologists look to determine when people first lived in northern Sask.

7 months ago

Duration 2:06

A team of archaeologists searching a site near Prince Albert, Sask., believe the artifacts they’ve found can prove Indigenous people lived in the region potentially about 1,000 years earlier than previously thought.

SLFN elders told CBC News last year that the location on the river was an important site for migratory animals such as bison, making it an ideal place to camp. It's not yet clear how long people stayed at the site at any given time.

"We do know that people certainly kept coming back to this location over and over and over again, and there could be hundreds of years between some of these occupations," Stuart said.

"They know where animals are going to be crossing the river. So they keep coming back to this spot."