Saturday, March 28, 2009

The Jesuits And St. Joseph In Canada

The Jesuit Missionaries who had visited the area in the 1600s had made reference to these sites and had given the Christian name of "St. Joseph" to them. However, very little information about these sights came to light until Jones' examination of these sites in the 1870s.

According to Jones' amateur archaeological survey these native towns were built in a semi-circle with entrances fronting an open space of about one and half acres used as a public playground for sports, contests, feasts, tribal powwows, speaking forums and other gatherings.

Jones also found in his excavations many stone balls measuring one and a half inches, and two and a half inches in diameter. These balls were so well rounded that they approximated spheres. Exactly what game was played with them was not determined by Jones but he speculated that, if the game was lacrosse, then it explains the number of injuries and deaths reported by natives playing this game with such lethal stone balls.

Jones, on the site of to-day's city cemeteries, found tally sticks, which were lengths of flat bone incised crosswise with notches. Each one was possibly a count of big game or possible an "enemy killed" the amateur archaeologist speculated.

As has been reported in several accounts, early native people enjoyed, as did Europeans, various games of chance. He found, at these local sites, examples of counters made of deerhorn about two inches long, a half-inch wide, a quarter inch thick, nearly oval and rounded at the ends. Jones speculated that these items were tossed from a bowl and wagers made on how they fell.

Jones's exploration of these sites known as "St. Joseph" by the Jesuits revealed items that clearly displayed their inherent artistry and craftsmanship. He found well-shaped weapons and implement handles as well as shards of pottery with indented designs colored with wood dyes.

Link (here)

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