Withrow Archaeological Site Commemorative plaque, 2021.
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Resource ID
8744
Access
Open
Address
25 Bain Ave, Toronto, ON M4K 1E5
Credit Line
Heritage Toronto
Date of Creation
2021
Historical Themes
Archaeological Heritage, Indigenous Heritage
Program Category
Historical Plaques
Rights
Heritage Toronto
Time Period
Pre-colonization, 1835-1899
Caption
Withrow Archaeological Site Commemorative plaque, 2021.
Description
One of Toronto’s most complex archaeological sites was located near here until it was excavated and removed in 1886. The site contained 5,000-year-old artifacts and a possible 700-year-old ossuary, a type of communal burial chamber.
Around 1,000 years ago, the Wendat, Neutral, and Tionontati (Petun) peoples all lived in this area. The Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy moved into the region in the mid- to late-17th century and Anishinaabe Peoples, who later signed treaties with the British, lived in what is now Toronto by the late 17th century.
The Wendat, Neutral, Tionontati, and Haudenosaunee spoke related languages and farmed crops such as corn, beans, and squash. The nearby Don River provided drinking water, fish, plants, and rich hunting grounds.
In 1886, workers building a road disturbed an archaeological site near here. David Boyle, Ontario’s first professional archaeologist, excavated tools, pottery, and 30 to 400 sets of human remains (the precise number is not known), which suggests a nearby village, most likely Wendat.
The work was not meticulous, and many of the remains were lost. More than 200 years of development have destroyed much of the archaeological evidence of the Indigenous presence in this area
Marker lat / long: 43.670872, -79.351994 (WGS84)