The Taltheilei Shale Tradition is the archeological name of the material culture of a late prehistoric western-area subarctic people dated to the period of 750 BC to AD 1000. The Taltheilei Shale Tradition is named after the "Taltheilei Narrows" (''place of open water'') of
Great Slave Lake
Great Slave Lake (french: Grand lac des Esclaves), known traditionally as Tıdeè in Tłı̨chǫ Yatıì (Dogrib), Tinde’e in Wıìlıìdeh Yatii / Tetsǫ́t’ıné Yatıé (Dogrib / Chipewyan), Tu Nedhé in Dëne Sųłıné Yatıé (Chi ...
.
Taltheilei people were Proto-
Athapaskans.
Ethnography
The Taltheilei were
Boreal Forest
Taiga (; rus, тайга́, p=tɐjˈɡa; relates to Mongolic and Turkic languages), generally referred to in North America as a boreal forest or snow forest, is a biome characterized by coniferous forests consisting mostly of pines, spruc ...
people who moved into the lands previously inhabited by
Arctic
The Arctic ( or ) is a polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Canada (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm (Greenland), Finland, Iceland, N ...
groups when the climate changed around 750 BC. Their territory included the central
District of Mackenzie and the interior area of the
District of Keewatin during the period of 700 BC until early trading posts were established. Sites attributable to the Taltheilei Shale Tradition have been found in several places. Their Little Duck Lake site later became the site of a
Hudson Bay trading post called "Caribou Post" due to its proximity to the migration path of the caribou; these Taltheilei are ancestors of the
Sayisi Dene
The Sayisi Dene ('People under the Sun'http://skfn.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Sayisi-Dene-First-Nation.pdf or 'People of the East', chp, ᓴᔨᓯ ᑌᓀ, Sayisi Dene) are Chipewyan peoples, a Dene group, living in northern Manitoba. They are ...
, now a
Chipewyan
The Chipewyan ( , also called ''Denésoliné'' or ''Dënesųłı̨né'' or ''Dënë Sųłınë́'', meaning "the original/real people") are a Dene Indigenous Canadian people of the Athabaskan language family, whose ancestors are identified ...
band. Other Taltheilei lived at Shethanei Lake (traveled later by
Samuel Hearne
Samuel Hearne (February 1745 – November 1792) was an English explorer, fur-trader, author, and naturalist. He was the first European to make an overland excursion across northern Canada to the Arctic Ocean, actually Coronation Gulf, via the C ...
in the early days of the
Hudson's Bay Company
The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC; french: Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson) is a Canadian retail business group. A fur trading business for much of its existence, HBC now owns and operates retail stores in Canada. The company's namesake business di ...
), Caribou Lake (on the
Manigatogan River system) and
Egenolf Lake, all in northern
Manitoba
, image_map = Manitoba in Canada 2.svg
, map_alt = Map showing Manitoba's location in the centre of Southern Canada
, Label_map = yes
, coordinates =
, capital = Winn ...
.
Taltheilei economy was based on
barren-ground caribou
The barren-ground caribou (''Rangifer tarandus groenlandicus''; but subject to a recent taxonomic revision. See Reindeer: Taxomony.) is a subspecies of the reindeer (or the caribou in North America) that is found in the Canadian territories of Nu ...
. For hunting, Taltheilei made very distinctive spear and arrow points, some of which changed over time. Their tools included awls, adze bits, knives, scrapers, stone drills, whetstones.
The Taltheilei people are considered proto-
Athapaskan, and are ancestors to two
Dene
The Dene people () are an indigenous group of First Nations who inhabit the northern boreal and Arctic regions of Canada. The Dene speak Northern Athabaskan languages. ''Dene'' is the common Athabaskan word for "people". The term "Dene" ha ...
people, the
Yellowknives
The Yellowknives, Yellow Knives, Copper Indians, Red Knives or T'atsaot'ine ( Dogrib: ''T'satsąot'ınę'') are indigenous peoples of Canada, one of the five main groups of the First Nations Dene who live in the Northwest Territories of Canada. ...
and the
Chipewyan
The Chipewyan ( , also called ''Denésoliné'' or ''Dënesųłı̨né'' or ''Dënë Sųłınë́'', meaning "the original/real people") are a Dene Indigenous Canadian people of the Athabaskan language family, whose ancestors are identified ...
[ and possibly the Dene Dogribs.][ Taltheilei are distinct, linguistically and culturally, from the Cree, ]Ojibwe
The Ojibwe, Ojibwa, Chippewa, or Saulteaux are an Anishinaabe people in what is currently southern Canada, the northern Midwestern United States, and Northern Plains.
According to the U.S. census, in the United States Ojibwe people are one of ...
and other Algonkian people of the Boreal Forest
Taiga (; rus, тайга́, p=tɐjˈɡa; relates to Mongolic and Turkic languages), generally referred to in North America as a boreal forest or snow forest, is a biome characterized by coniferous forests consisting mostly of pines, spruc ...
.[
]
Early, Middle, Late periods
Archaeologist divide Taltheilei Shale Tradition into periods based on their tools.lanceolate
The following is a list of terms which are used to describe leaf morphology in the description and taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (a single leaf blade or lamina) or compound (with several leaflets). The edge of the leaf may be regular ...
specimens.
* The ''Late Period'', AD 700 - 1700, is characterized by the introduction of side-notched and corner-notched points.
Notes
Further reading
* Shinkwin, Anne D., et al
Proto-Athapaskans ND50
EHRAF collection of archaeology. New Haven, Conn: Human Relations Area Files, 1999.
{{refend
External links
* ttp://www.heritage-online.net/Timeline/taltheil.htm Heritage Online Taltheilei Tradition Complex website
Early Taltheilei period
Archaeological cultures of North America
Dene culture
Indigenous peoples in Northern Canada