67 
In Canada no attempt was made to distinguish the artifacts of one 
culture from another until 1900 when the writer pointed out certain differ- 
ences between artifacts found on sites of what he called a pre-Neutral 
people and those from sites of undoubted Neutrai-Iroquoian occupation. 1 
Since then Parker, 2 Houghton, 3 and Skinner 4 have published articles on 
the characteristics of Algonkian and Iroquoian cultures in New York. 
In spite of all that has been written on the subject, however, Algonkian 
artifacts are still being classed as Iroquoian, because they were found in 
territory known to have been occupied by that people. Some have 
attempted to identify the culture of a site from the shape and disposition 
of the so-called ash-beds (refuse deposits), classing those sites with groups 
of small, round deposits clustered around a central larger one as Algonkian, 
and those with long, narrow deposits as Huron, but without considering 
the character of the material found on each kind of site, which is often the 
same on sites with both kinds of deposits. After excavating several 
Iroquoian sites the writer has come to the conclusion that refuse deposits 
are not always located on the site of a dwelling; that long or oblong deposits 
do not necessarily indicate where a long-house stood, or that round cabins 
stood on small, round deposits. The kinds of artifacts found on a site, 
especially pipes and pottery, as will be pointed out in this article, are the 
most reliable criteria for identifying the culture. 
There is still much to be learned respecting the Algonkian and Iroquoian 
cultures, and such questions as the effect of Algonkian influence on Iro- 
quoian culture and vice versa, the relations of both with mound-building 
Indians and Eskimo, what differences there are between the earliest and 
latest Algonkian and the various groups of Iroquoian people, in addition 
to those mentioned in this article, and whether or not the Huron, Tionon- 
tati, Mohawk, and Onondaga, with their highly developed culture, were 
originally part of the Neutral nation, whose culture alone shows what 
seem to be earlier stages of development, await solution. 
This paper will deal only with the differences between the cultures of the 
Algonkian and Iroquoian inhabitants of Ontario and Quebec. For con- 
venience the artifacts of the two cultures are grouped under the various 
materials of which they are made, including stone, copper, earthenware, 
bone, antler, and shell. 
CHARACTERISTICS OF ALGONKIAN AND IROQUOIAN SITES 
Algonkian sites are located on the banks of streams and lakes, usually 
on the north or west banks, in many cases below a hill where they are 
sheltered from north and west winds. The Algonkian shunned clay soils, 
even preferring to camp on an unprotected, sandy south shore if the north 
shore happened to be clay. Temporary camps in many cases are located 
1 See “Indian Village Sites in the Counties of Oxford and Waterloo”; Arch®ological Report, 1900, being Appendix 
to the Report of the Minister of Education, Ontario, Toronto, 1901, pp. 37-39. 
s See his “The Origin of the Iroquois as Suggested by their Archaeology”; Am. Anthropologist, N.S., vol. 18, 
pp. 479-507 (1916)”. The Archaeological History of New York"; op. cit., pp. 46-79 and 9S-151. “Aboriginal 
Culture and Chronology of the Geuessee Country”; Proc., Rochester Acad, of Sei., vol, 6, No. 8 (1929). 
•Houghton, Frederick: “The Characteristics of Iroquoian Village Sites of Western New York”; Am. Anthro- 
pologist, vol. 18, pp. 508-520 (1916). 
•Skinner: "Notes on Iroquois Archaeology”; op. cit.; "General Archeological Criteria of Early Algonkian 
Culture"; Researches and Transactions of the New York State Archaeological Association, Morgan Chapter, 
Rochester, N.Y., 1923, pp. 1-48. 
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