Paleoindian Period

The first human populations to inhabit Southern Ontario arrived between 12,000 and 10,000 years ago, coincident with the end of the last period of glaciation. Climate and environmental conditions were significantly different then they are today; local environs would not have been welcoming to anything but short-term settlement. Termed Paleoindians by archaeologists, Ontario's first peoples would have crossed the landscape in small groups (i.e., bands or family units) searching for food, particularly migratory game species. In this area, caribou may have provided the staple of Paleoindian diet, supplemented by wild plants, small game, birds and fish.

Given the low density of populations on the landscape at this time and their mobile nature, Paleoindian sites are small and ephemeral. They are sometimes identified by the presence of fluted projectile points manufactured on high quality raw materials. Sites or find spots are frequently located adjacent to the strandlines of large glacial lakes. This settlement pattern has been attributed to the strategic placement of camps in high, dry areas and at logistical points for the interception of migrating caribou herds.

Archaic Period

The archaeological record of early Indigenous life in Southern Ontario indicates a change in lifeways beginning circa 8000 B.C. at the start of what archaeologists call the Archaic Period. The Ontario populations are better known than their Paleoindian predecessors, with numerous sites found throughout the area. The characteristic projectile points of early Archaic populations appear similar in some respects to early varieties and are likely a continuation of early trends. Archaic populations continued to rely heavily on game, particularly caribou, but diversified their diet and exploitation patterns with changing environmental conditions.

A seasonal pattern of warm season river or lakeshore settlements and interior cold weather occupations has been documented in the archaeological record. Since the large cold weather mammal species that formed the basis of the Paleoindian subsistence pattern became extinct or moved northward with the onset of warmer climate, Archaic populations had a more varied diet, exploiting a range of plant, bird, mammal and fish species. Reliance on specific food resources like fish, deer and nuts becomes more pronounced through time and the presence of more hospitable environs and resource abundance led to the expansion of band and family sizes. In the archaeological record, this is evident in the presence of larger sites and aggregation camps, where several families or bands would come together in times of resource abundance. The coniferous forests of earlier times were replaced by stands of mixed coniferous and deciduous trees by about 4000 B.C. The transition to more productive environmental circumstances led to a rise in population density. As a result, Archaic sites become more abundant over time.