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Dig Into These Archeology Articles

From August 1st to 31st, Archéo-Québec celebrates Archaeology Month’s 20th edition! This annual event aims to promote Quebec’s archaeological heritage and encourage a better understanding of Quebec history among the public.

For the occasion, Érudit has unearthed an assortment of scholarly and cultural articles highlighting various facets of the archaeological discipline.

Archeology in cultural articles

Dionne, Marie-Michelle. “Le secret bien gardé des artéfacts.” Cap-aux-Diamants, number 153, spring 2023, p. 46–47.

“Beyond their form and appearance, the artifacts that make up archaeological collections contain a host of well-kept secrets, which a variety of scientific disciplines help to unravel.”

Read on Érudit: https://id.erudit.org/iderudit/102826ac [Restricted access – Log in via a registered library to view]

Lominy, Martin. “La pirogue à voyager dans le temps.” Continuité, number 180, spring 2024, p. 14–14.

“Experimental archaeology stretches the borders of the past. It makes possible the reproduction of objects using ancient methods, bringing back to the present the expertise of the past.”

Read it on Érudit: https://id.erudit.org/iderudit/104508ac [Restricted access – Login via a subscribed library to view]

Tremblay Lamarche, Alex. “Des amulettes égyptiennes en Nouvelle-France.” Revue d’histoire de la Nouvelle-France, number 3, fall 2023, p. 68–73.

“Spring 2009. The archaeological excavations that began 27 years ago on the site of the former palaces of the intendants of New France are resuming in Quebec City, under the direction of Université Laval’s construction site-school. The students taking part in this spring’s operation have a mandate to document the uses of the courtyard opposite the second and third intendants’ palaces. Their objective? To discover a sandstone paving installed around 1750, and to uncover the remains of a monumental staircase that once stood at the front of the building. Little did these apprentice archaeologists know, however, that they were about to make an extraordinary discovery”.

Read it on Érudit: https://id.erudit.org/iderudit/104035ac [Restricted access – Login via a subscribed library to view]

Veber, Madelene. “Destination : les répliques de grottes comme genre / Destination in the Cave Replica Genre.” Esse arts + opinions, number 111, spring–summer 2024, p. 44–51.

“Our fascination with parietal art (also known as cave art), as with most prehistoric artifacts, often lies in the mystery of its origins, and the fact, astonishingly, of its enduring presence; it appears to us in images that speak through time. Georges Bataille, reflecting on his encounter with the images adorning the walls of the Lascaux caves, doubts that the mind could possibly imagine anything more distant than a “sight that has been waiting for us for a million years.”

Read it on Érudit: https://id.erudit.org/iderudit/104972ac [Restricted access – Login via a subscribed library to view]

Archeology in scholarly articles

Burke, Adrian L. “La formation d’Autochtones en archéologie au Québec et au Canada.” Recherches amérindiennes au Québec, volume 48, number 3, 2018, p. 105–111.

“This research note presents an overview of the current situation in Quebec and Canada regarding the training of Aboriginal archaeologists. The various Aboriginal communities of Quebec wish to develop their capacity to manage archaeological resources for themselves on their territory. To do this we must train more Aboriginal archaeologists. Several challenges exist that are specific to training, and there is the additional problem surrounding the certification of archaeologists in Quebec. We propose a general model for the training of Aboriginal archaeologists in Quebec that will be adapted to the needs and realities of each community.”

Read on Érudit: https://id.erudit.org/iderudit/1062137ar

Chapdelaine, Claude. “Laurent Girouard, un pionnier de l’archéologie québécoise.” Recherches amérindiennes au Québec, volume 43, number 2-3, 2013, p. 113–117.

“For those unfamiliar with the history of archeology in Quebec, we should point out that this discipline, which dates back to the mid-19th century in Europe, had no real representatives on Quebec soil until the onset of the Quiet Revolution. The first Quebec archeologists learned ‘on the job’, as the saying goes; others sought expertise elsewhere in Canada, the United States and Europe. Without asserting that Quebec archeology did not exist before 1961, let’s just say that it was little practiced.”

Read more on Érudit: https://id.erudit.org/iderudit/1026113ar

Clavier, Annick. “Archéologie et politique / Archéologie et décroissance.” Canadian Journal of Bioethics / Revue canadienne de bioéthique, volume 2, number 3, 2019, p. 210–214.

“This text analyses how the values of neoliberal society have determined the evolution of archaeological practice in France, whether it be research or preliminary to landscaping projects. It calls for the definition of a different archaeology, in a world without development.”

Read more on Érudit: https://id.erudit.org/iderudit/1066479ar

Santerre, Simon. “Les villages palissadés de la vallée laurentienne, un patrimoine archéologique unique.” Archéologiques, number 34, 2021, p. 19–37.

“Palisades arouse curiosity. They symbolize the challenge that the first settlers had to overcome—that of creating a protected enclave in a hostile environment with fairly rudimentary means. Forts, trading posts and missions, in particular, were surrounded by stake fences of this type. A number of villages also had defence works, but in several cases these works consisted of small forts and redoubts erected at a distance from dwellings and protecting only a few important buildings, including the church, the mill and the manor. However, three French villages founded in the late 17th century, namely, La Prairie, Boucherville and Pointe-aux-Trembles, differed from other rural settlements in that they were completely surrounded by stake fencing. The houses were grouped inside the fences and organized following a street plan. These three villages have yielded archaeological remains that are unique in Québec, and have left a visible mark on the landscape.”

Read on Érudit : https://id.erudit.org/iderudit/1086827ar [Restricted access – Login through a registered library to view]