October 1, 2022
By Jean-Luc Pilon
Archaeologist, Former Curator of Ontario Archaeology at the Canadian Museum of History, Gatineau, Quebec.
In 2021, Jean-Luc Pilon and his daughter Laina produced Paddling Through the Past – a 46 minute video that allows viewers to virtually visit a number of locations situated between the mouth of the Gatineau River and the Chaudières Falls. Jean-Luc Pilon and Randy Boswell (journalist and historian, Carleton University) have suggested that these archaeological sites were part of a cultural landscape that existed for thousands of years. They have proposed that the sum of these parts, was far more significant and meaningful in ancient times than any of the sites on their own. An important issue brought up is the way people travelled between the Ottawa and Rideau Rivers. The probable portage route that begins in Rockcliffe Park is one of the sites explored during this canoe trip.
Paddling Through the Past – now posted by the Ottawa Chapter of the Ontario Archaeological Society.