Editorial: Four Studies in Ontario Iroquoian Prehistory
Volume: OA58
Year: 1994
Author: ALEXANDER VON GERNET
Page Range: 3 - 5
Abstract: No Abstract

Mortuary Programmes of the Early Ontario Iroquoians
Volume: OA58
Year: 1994
Author: SPENCE, MICHAEL W.
Page Range: 6 - 20
Abstract: Over the past few years, excavations and analyses of a number of sites and collections have increased our understanding of Early Ontario Iroquoian burial practices. Although this data base is still distressingly small and uneven, it has become apparent that neither of the generally recognized cultural constructs of the period (Glen Meyer and Pickering) can be characterized by a single, coherent mortuary programme. Rather, each small group of interacting communities apparently developed its own distinctive set of burial practices, responsive to the particular social, environmental and ideological factors affecting it. The absence of any overarching mortuary programme brings into question the integrity of the Glen Meyer and Pickering constructs, and the ability of either to mount the sort of concerted and sustained endeavour that is implied by J.V. Wright's conquest hypothesis.

Comment on Spence's "Mortuary Programmes of the Early Ontario Iroquoians"
Volume: OA58
Year: 1994
Author: SAUNDERS, S. R.
Page Range: 21-26
Abstract: no abstract

Peer Polities Beyond the Periphery: Early and Middle iroquoian Regional Interaction
Volume: OA58
Year: 1994
Author: RONALD F. WILLIAMSON AND DAVID A. ROBERTSON
Page Range: 27 - 43
Abstract: Much attention has recently been paid to the nature and extent of interaction between Iroquoian groups of the Great Lakes region and populations situated in the Mississippi River valley. Many of the suppositions generated by this research have been influenced by models of 'core and periphery'. This paper seeks to address the difficulties encountered in applying these models to the late prehistoric Great Lakes region. Of major concern is the comparative scarcity of clearly identified trade material on sites in southern Ontario. In the absence of clearly identified, consistent interregional contact, the basic applicability of the construct must be questioned. An alternative model is proposed emphasizing the likelihood that prolonged and consistent exchange and communication between peer polities, groups at a similar level of complexity, within the Great Lakes region is of greater significance than sporadic contacts with more highly structured, but distant, societies to the south. It is suggested that the changes that Iroquoian society experienced in southern Ontario are more likely to be understood in terms of regular interaction between groups beyond the 'peripheral' region, rather than as influences emanating from a Mississippian 'core'. It is also suggested that in order to understand the relationships between these politically autonomous groups, we must abandon the current theoretical paradigm, together with its preconceived notions concerning the socio-political affiliation of those polities.

Comment on Williamson and Robertson's
Volume: OA58
Year: 1994
Author: JAMIESON, S. M.
Page Range: 45-46
Abstract: includes rebuttal by William and Robertson

The Wilcox Lake Site (AlGu-17): Middle Iroquoian Exploitation of the Oak Ridges Moraine
Volume: OA58
Year: 1994
Author: SHAUN J. AUSTIN
Page Range: 49 - 84
Abstract: The multi-component Wilcox Lake site (AlGu-17) is situated beside a large kettle lake in the Oak Ridges Moraine physiographic region, approximately 35 km north of Toronto. The principal occupation is identified as a 1.2 ha Iroquoian village dating to the early fourteenth century. Late Archaic and Middle Woodland components have also been documented. The available evidence related to the Iroquoian component indicates year-round occupation of the village between circa A.D. 1300 and 1320, and the site is beginning to provide data on a previously unknown regional expression of the Early to Middle Iroquoian transition.

Historical Inconsistencies: Huron Longhouse Length, hearth Number and Time
Volume: OA58
Year: 1994
Author: COLIN VARLEY AND AUBREY CANNON
Page Range: 85 - 96
Abstract: Data from three Middle Ontario Iroquoian period villages in Simcoe County reveal an anomalous pattern of hearth spacing. They show greater variability and longer average spacing than is normally assumed for Ontario Iroquoian longhouses. We interpret this as an exaggerated expression of the symbolism of power and prestige normally associated with large lineages and longer houses.

Comment on Varley and Cannon's
Volume: OA58
Year: 1994
Author: KAPCHES, M. & G. WARRICK
Page Range: 97-98
Abstract: includes a rebuttal by Varley and Cannon