This is a ceramic container of the Old Woman Phase, a late prehistoric archaeological culture found in southern Alberta, southern Saskatchewan and into northern Montana. It is generally thought that Old Woman Phase is ancestral to the Blackfoot people who historically occupied the region. This pot was found by Russell Graham near Hartney, Manitoba in 1918. The rim was sticking out of the sandy soil and he noticed it as he was driving by in a buggy.

Distinctive features of this ceramic type include thick walls and pronounced shoulders. The thickened lip is decorated with impressions from a cord-wrapped implement. The exterior surface is textured with some cord or textile impressions. The Old Woman Phase dates from approximately 1300 years ago until contact.

This specimen was kindly loaned for this exhibit by the Manitoba Museum of Man and Nature.

Further Reading

Walde, Dale, David Meyer and Wendy Unfreed
1995 The Late Period on the Canadian and Adjacent Plains. Revista de Arqueologia Americana 9:7-66.

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