Indigenous artifacts that may be up to 4,500 years old have been found in the center of Hamilton Park

Indigenous artifacts that could be up to 4,523 years old have been found in a park in downtown Hamilton, city officials say.

An archaeological dig in Victoria Park, where the city is also installing a spray cushion, has unearthed a stalked tip and a triangular tip, both made of stone. The city said they could be 4,523 and 1,523 years old, respectively. Five flint chips were also found.

There are also artifacts that are not indigenous, including an 1859 Queen Victoria coin, a 16th Regiment military button made in 1860, and a bone cut from a single piece.

Wes Kindree, supervisor of the city’s landscape architecture services, said archaeological work has been done in the park since 2007 because of its “rich history.”

The discovery of native artifacts in early June was unexpected because the area was supposedly a “Euro-Canadian site,” according to Kindree.

Within its history, the park was also home to the “glass-enclosed” Crystal Palace, which opened in 1860, according to the Hamilton Public Library, and was “used year-round for agricultural and industrial exhibitions.”

It’s not surprising that Native artifacts have been found near the core of the city, said Rick Monture, an associate professor at McMaster University in the departments of English, cultural and Indigenous studies.

Monture, who is also a member of the Mohawk Nation, Turtle clan, of Six Nations of the Grand River, said most towns and cities in southern Ontario are built on indigenous villages because of their access to clean water and their aesthetic qualities .

“You could probably put a shovel in any city block and find something remarkable,” he said.

Have native artifacts is found in the Red Hill Valley in Hamilton and, more recently, in the current area of ​​Mount Albion West.

Only licensed archaeologists are allowed to survey and excavate archaeological sites, which are protected by the Ontario Heritage Act. Anyone who loots or destroys the sites could be fined $1 million.

Monture said the artifacts in Victoria Park may not have much cultural significance, so the city should do their due diligence, but may not have to halt work for long.

“If they had found human remains…or evidence of a village…that’s one thing, but these are probably arrowheads that a man used to shoot a deer [with] and missed,” he said.

Lauren Vastano, a spokesman for the city, said the city has reached out to Huron Wendat First Nation, Six Nations of the Grand River, Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation and Haudenosaunee Development Institute to share the artifact findings and invite them to help with the rest of the archaeological work.

Kindree said the archaeological work was scheduled for this week, but may be done next week due to changing soil conditions from wet weather.

He said the spray cushion will not be open this year but should be ready by May next year.