Nearly 10 000 years ago, the Abitibi-Témiscamingue region lay under a sheet of ice. The ice cap gradually receded leaving in its wake a large lake, known as Lake Ojibway-Barlow, which has since disappeared. That same period, roughly 8 000 years ago, marked the arrival of the first humans to settle in the region. Since then, the Abitibi-Témiscamingue region has been uninterruptedly occupied by human groups which have left traces of their presence in the course of their wanderings.

Since 1986, the archaeologists of Archéo-08 have set about studying the history of the region and specifically the Native period predating the arrival of the white man. Recently, however, research has been extended to include the first contact between Native groups and Europeans in Quebec. By dint of shifting soil, scoop after scoop, archaeologists have brought to light significant elements of our heritage with the result that some 400 archaeological sites have now been inventoried and slightly over one million artefacts collected. Thousands of pages have been written documenting thousands of years of occupation in the Abitibi-Témiscamingue region as well as the cultural vigour and technological ingenuity of the area's first inhabitants.

Photos:
1. Archaeological dig in the Rouyn-Noranda district.Coll. Archéo-08.
2. Reproduction of a ceramic vase dated 1450 A.D.Coll. Archéo-08.