The archaeology of toxic heritage: novel approaches to understanding contamination and heritage in Labrador, Canada

Abstract

This dissertation uses a novel approach to incorporate contamination and pollution as an archaeological class of evidence, in Labrador, Canada. Although contamination from human activity exists across Canada, northern regions hold many of the ~27,000 orphaned or abandoned mines, 63 DEW Line sites, and military infrastructure from WWII. Contemporary archaeological practice is only beginning to grapple with toxic contamination despite the many disciplines, such as geography and history, already confronting this issue. Filling this gap, this dissertation focuses on the archaeology of toxic contamination from military installations in Labrador. Using traditional archaeological modes of analysis, such as mapping, survey, and geochemical and statistical analyses, this research not only shows the extent of contamination in Labrador, but also its everlasting impacts on people, place and heritage. There are three manuscripts that serve as the body of this dissertation, each one addressing a specific aspect of the project. The first manuscript uses mapping and spatial analysis to illustrate the interactions between settlements, heritage sites, contamination and the military in Labrador. The second manuscript explores dendrochemistry applied within archaeology to investigate historical and environmental contamination impacts. The final manuscript conceptualizes contamination as heritage to leverage further archaeological inquiry into the past. Combined, this body of work represents a new approach in archaeology integrating dendrochemistry, spatial analysis, and applications of existing theoretical framing.