ISLAND HISTORY - ANOTHER FOREST RESOURCE by Ken Mayhew 
     
     P.E.I. Dept. Energy and Forestry 
     
    
   
   
    
     To the untrained eye a scattering of stOne chips, a heap of discarded 
     
     shells, or a series of low earthen mounds may not appear as anything 
     
     interesting, but to the eye of an archaeologist they might indicate something 
     
     very special. They might provide clues about the first people to inhabit this 
     
     land, and their way of life hundreds or even thousands of years ago. 
     
    

    
     While people often think of P.E.I.'s history as beginning in 1534 when 
     
     Jacques Cartier landed near Savage Harbour, the Island was in fact already 
     
     populated by the Micnacs. They had been living here for hundreds of years, 
     
     and yet they were only the latest in a long line of peoples who had visited 
     
     and made Prince Edward Island their home. 
     
    

    
     Evidence gathered throughout the region indicates that parts of P.E.I. 
     
     have been inhabited for close to 10,000 years. Like modern people, they lived 
     
     in a variety of locations depending upon their needs, and the resources 
     
     available at that site. Several major finds have been located along seashores 
     
     or in coastal dunes systems, but many have been found in undisturbed forest 
     
     land near rivers, lakes, and ponds. 
     
    

    
     Unfortunately the historical record contains many gaps and missing 
     
     pieces but each year new information helps to fill in the puzzle. Field staff 
     
     from the Department of Energy and Forestry are in a unique position to help 
     
     archaeologists locate potential sites because their daily work often involves 
     
     road construction, and site preparation on forest sites which have never been 
     
     disturbed. However, they needed additional training to properly identify 
     
     sites and how to report them so that such sites may be explored and evaluated 
     
     before any major disturbance occurs. 
     
    

    
     Dr. David Keenlyside, Curator of Atlantic Provinces Archaeology at the 
     
     Canadian Museum of Civilization, recently conducted a one-day workshop for 
     
     Forestry Branch field staff. He gave a lecture on the importance of many 
     
     different artifacts and sites, circulated artifacts from several different 
     
     Island cultures, and visited various sites to see what indicators they should 
     
     look for and what they should do if they should find something of interest. 
     
     This workshop offered Forestry Branch staff the opportunity to explore several 
     
     recent discoveries and learn more about the interactions of aboriginal peoples 
     
     and the forests of several centuries ago. 
     
    

    
     Woodlot owners are also in a unique position to help uncover the past. 
     
     By working together with their forest management staff they can help to report 
     
     and identify sites which may shed new light on the peoples of long ago. If 
     
     you have found something of interest contact your technician and help to 
     
     discover our island's history. 
     
    
   
   
    
     FEEDERWATCH NORTH EXCERPTS Erica Dunn 
     
     Long Point Bird Observatory 
     
    
   
   
    
     There were some marked differences between feeder activity in 1991-92 
     
     and the winter before; nearly all in eruptive finches. Unlike in the 0.5., 
     
     all these species increased in Canada or at least remained stable. 
     
    

    
     The most dramatic difference between years occurred in Purple Finch 
     
     (refer to Figure 2). As detailed in the Annual Report, these birds forsook 
     
     the southeastern 0.5. and crammed themselves into the Maritimes, where numbers 
     
     increased ten-fold. Evening Grosbeak, which declined on a continental basis 
     
     and in the Northeast region, nonetheless increased in the Haritimes along with 
     
     Purple Finches (Figure 3), albeit merely doubling their numbers. 
     
    

    
     Canadian Pine siskins had a similar distribution pattern to that of the 
     
     Evening Grosbeak over the past two years. Numbers were only slightly higher 
     
    
   
   
    
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