GEOARCHAEOLOGICAL AND TERRAIN ANALYSIS OF CLUNY FORTIFIED VILLAGE, SOUTH CENTRAL ALBERTA

Cluny fortified village is located on the T–1 terrace on the north bank of the Bow River in south-central Alberta. Occupied between about A.D. 1700 and A.D. 1750, it is similar to small fortified villages found in North Dakota and is the only precontact fortified village discovered on the Canadian Plains.

Originally excavated by Dick Forbis in 1960, the fortification consists of a palisade and trench supported by 12 peripheral pit features. Recent geoarchaeological and terrain analysis of the site suggests that aboriginal peoples who constructed the site selected the only location in the immediate area where such features could be constructed using hand tools. While not an ideal location for fortification, the presence of natural features and finer sediments facilitated the construction of the trench and pits. Stratigraphic analysis of the upper surficial sediments help trace the movement of geologic materials by the site’s inhabitants.