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Settlement of Quebec. What is Settlement ?. The process by which humans occupy a territory that they organize and transform according to their needs. The first traces of occupation in what is today Quebec dates back about12 000 years. Beringia Theory.
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WhatisSettlement? • The process by whichhumansoccupy a territorythattheyorganize and transformaccording to theirneeds.
The first traces of occupation in whatistodayQuebec dates back about12 000 years.
BeringiaTheory • Most archeologistsbelievethathumansmigrated to NorthAmericafromAsia over the Beringia land bridge. • About 15 000 yearsago, as the climatewaschanging, an ice-free corridor opened up and allowed people to travelinto the continent.
Migration via ocean routes • New discoveries have castsomedoubt on the ice-free corridor theory. • Someresearchersthinkthat the climatewould have been too hostile for people to pass by that route. • Insteadtheybelievethatsmallgoups of people may have come to NorthAmerica by boat.
It isverylikelythatNorthAmerica’s first settlers came fromAsia. • The precise date of theirarrivalisdifficultprove.
Occupation of Quebec • The occupation of the territory of Quebectook place over a very long time. • About 15 000 yearsago, the LaurentianIceSheetstarted to melt. • This causedsea water to flow into the St. Laurence lowlands. • The tops of mountainslike Mount St-Hillaire and Rougemont formedislands in the Champlain Sea.
The occupation of Quebectook place during 3 distinct periods. • Paleoindianperiod (10 000 to 8 000 BCE) • Archaicperiod (8 000 to 1 000 BCE) • Woodland period (1 000 BCE to 1 500 CE)
PaleoindianPeriod(10 000 to 8 000 BCE) • This periodiswhen the first occupants arrived in the territory of Quebec. • Icestillcovered a large part of the area. • The climatewasharsh. • The Champlain Seawasslowlyreceding, leavingbehind the St. Lawrence River and manylakes and rivers.
Animals came to inhabit the territory and groups of hunter-gatherers came into the territory to hunt the herds of large gameanimals. • Thesenomadic groups travelledalongwaterways and throughmountain passes.
ArchaicPeriod(8 000 to 1 000 BCE) • Major change occurred in the landscape and the settlement of the territory. • The end of the glaciation periodmean the inhabitable territoryincreased in size. • The environmentbecameincreasingly stable and movingaroundbecameseasonal. • Trade networks developed.
The nomadic populations of the Archaicperiodwereveryfamiliarwith the resources of the territory. • The population increased. • Food and toolsdiversified.
Woodland Period(1000 BCE to 1500 CE) • Trade networks permitted the spread of objects, plants and new techniques. • 3 major innovations transformeddaily life for Aboriginal populations: • The bow and arrow • Pottery • agriculture
Bow and arrowsimprovedhunting techniques. • Pottery and cultivation of corn spreadinto the area fromsouth of the greatlakes. • Agriculture lead to increase population in the region. • Gradually groups came together to formorganizedcommunities, whichlead to the creation of villages.
The settlement of the Arctic2 500 BCE to 1 500 CE • About 4 500 yearsago groups of nomadic hunters fromSiberiaarrived in ArcticQuebec. • Theyhuntedseamammals (seal, walrus, narwal) and flourished in a very hostile environment due to theirhunting techniques.
Theyhad to be good hunters because of the rarity of vegetation and rawmaterials. • Around the year 1 000 CE the arcticexperiencedanotherwave of migration from Alaska. • Theywere the Thule, ancestors of the Inuit.
The Thulehuntedwhales and movedaround in their kayaks or umiaks. • Theyalsotravelled by dogsled. • Theyusedspears, harpoons, and bows and arrows.