Bodies Found in Vaughan, Ont., May Belong to Aboriginal Burial Ground

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FROM: CANADA.COM NEWS NETWORK - NATIONAL NEWS SECTION

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Bodies Found in Vaughan, Ont., May Belong to Aboriginal Burial Ground: Expert
Tara Brautigam Canadian Press

Thursday, August 11, 2005


TORONTO (CP) - The skeletal remains of as many as 15 people, accidentally
unearthed by construction workers north of Toronto, are probably part of an
ancient aboriginal burial ground that could contain as many as 100 bodies, an
archaeologist investigating the site said Thursday.
"It's pretty clearly a very important find," said Ron Williamson, one of the
six crew probing the ossuary in Vaughan, Ont. "In the end, I'm sure there
will be many more (bodies) but I'm not going to speculate on numbers until we've
done our work. . . . In other burial pits of this kind of form, sometimes
there can be over a 100 people in them."
Some of the bodies in the cemetery, estimated to be between 400 and 700 years
old, are still intact, Williamson said. But figuring out what aboriginal
group the bones belong to may take days, he added.
"Trying to determine the cultural affiliation can be a tricky matter."
David Smith, an anthropology professor at the University of Toronto, said the
number of bodies found in the small pit indicate a Huron burial ground.
"If you get that many in one place, then it's most likely a group burial, and
the only people who've ever practised that way in Ontario in this area are
the Huron."
He agreed that there are likely more bodies in the secured area, about half a
football field in length. The suburban neighbourhood where the discovery was
made was home to several villages of more than 1,000 Hurons each from 1450
to about 1600.
The Hurons were known to collect their dead every 10 to 15 years and bury
them together in a community ceremony, Smith said.
The rare find can help researchers develop a more complete picture of the
group's living habits when they roamed along the northern shores of Lake Ontario
from Mississauga to Kingston.
"You can learn about all sorts of demographic information, population sizes,
disease, growth patterns, even genetic relationships," Smith said.
But Kris Nahrgang, chief of Kawartha Nishnawbe of Burleigh Falls, Ont., said
it would be preferable if the ossuary was left undisturbed.
"I don't know if that's possible from the sounds of it," said Nahrgang, who
was contacted by coroner officials after the discovery.
"From what I understand, it's fairly well underway, this project. . . .
Hopefully we can just go around it."
He plans to visit the site Monday.
Work at the site, where a road is being widened, has been temporarily halted.

"I'm glad that it just doesn't have a road over it, or that it hasn't been
destroyed," said Nahrgang from Burleigh Falls, Ont., north of Peterborough.
Investigators are expected to pore over the site until at least next week. A
decision on what to do with the bones is expected to be made after
consultation with aboriginal groups, Vaughan municipal officials and archeologists.
© The Canadian Press 2005

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FROM: THE TORONTO STAR NEWSPAPER

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Aug. 11, 2005. 12:20 PM
Experts Probe Native Burial Ground
Native leaders to be consulted about reburial
JIM WILKES
STAFF REPORTER

Archaeologists are surveying a site in rural Vaughan today where the bones
of at least 15 native Indians were uncovered by crews lowering a road bed.
The bones were found about two metres below the surface of Teston Rd., just
east of Jane St. yesterday. Workers are relocating and widening the road to
four lanes in an area surrounded by farmland and new housing developments.
Archaeologists from Archaeological Services Inc., a Toronto firm working for
York Region, the University of Toronto and the Toronto and Region
Conservation Authority, were mapping the site where the bones were found. They were
also looking at another nearby site where bone fragments, dug up by earthmoving
machines were scattered. A blue tarp currently covers the main area.
Chief archaeologist Ron Williamson said he was "100 per cent certain" the
remains are those of native Indians who lived in villages in the area between
300 and 700 years ago.
Williamson said representatives of the Scugog First Nations have been
notified and will be consulted before any disposition of the remains.
The roadwork has been stopped while the investigation goes on.
Local residents called Vaughan Mayor Michael Di Biase to the site late
yesterday morning and Coroner Andrew Arcand later told the mayor there were
between 10 and 15 bodies in one large grave.
University of Toronto archaeologist David Smith told the Star´s Nelia Reposo
yesterday that the ossuary is most likely associated with a Huron group.
Hurons set up villages across the province in parts north of Lake Ontario
over to Lake Simcoe and into the Peterborough area. They are known to have
lived in North York and Vaughan from 1400 to 1550. They eventually moved to
what's known today as Huronia, Smith said.
When someone died they would be buried in a temporary grave shaft and then
every decade or so all the dead would be gathered up and combined into one
large grave during a community ceremony, Smith said.
He knows of at least two native villages in the area.
One is at Keele St. north of Highway 7. The other is on Major Mackenzie Dr.
west of Richmond Hill.

[Blackbear]

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FROM: THE TORONTO STAR NEWSPAPER

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Aug. 11, 2005. 06:47 AM
Bones of 15 bodies found in Vaughan
Road workers make discovery
Believed to be Indian remains
NELIA RAPOSO
STAFF REPORTER

An archaeologist will be in Vaughan this morning to examine the skeletal
remains of up to 15 people found by construction workers.
The bones were discovered yesterday on Teston Rd. at Jane St., north of
Major Mackenzie Dr., after the crew dug about two metres while widening the road.

The remains are likely those of native Indians, a University of Toronto
archaeologist said.
"There's a number of villages in that area," said professor David Smith,
adding that he's worked on similar excavations near the site in the past. Smith
is not the archaeologist, however, who will be examining the remains on this
particular case.
Local residents called Vaughan Mayor Michael Di Biase to the site late
yesterday morning.
"There's a blue tarp covering the area, but you could see bones under
there," Di Biase said.
Coroner Andrew Arcand told the mayor that there are between 10 and 15 bodies
in the same grave.
Arcand said the find was still being investigated.
Police will guard the site until the investigation is complete. Work at the
site has been stopped until the origin of the bones is confirmed.
If it is a native burial ground, community leaders will be notified and
consulted on the proper course of action, Di Biase said.
Whether this finding will halt or change the road-widening project is
something Di Biase said he couldn't answer for sure.
"I would imagine it's not the first time we've had this kind of situation
when we've come across bones, but I can't remember any during my time," Di
Biase said.
At this point, the ossuary is most likely associated with a Huron group,
Smith said.
Hurons set up villages across the province in parts north of Lake Ontario
over to Lake Simcoe and into the Peterborough area. They are known to have
lived in North York and Vaughan from 1400 to 1550. They eventually moved to
what's known today as Huronia, Smith said.
When someone died they would be buried in a temporary grave shaft and then
every decade or so all the dead would be gathered up and combined into one
large grave during a community ceremony, Smith said.
He knows of at least two native villages in the area.
One is at Keele St. north of Highway 7. The other is on Major Mackenzie Dr.
west of Richmond Hill.