The Draper Site, an Ontario Woodland Tradition Frontier Coalescent Village in Southern Ontario, Canada: Looking Back, Moving Forward by William D. Finlayson (Our Lands Speak- Occasional Papers in Ontario Archaeology No.2)

The Draper Site is the newest addition (Paper No. 2) in the 'Our Lands Speak Occasional Papers in Ontario Archaeology' series, written by William D. Finlayson. Forewords by Gidigaa Migizi, Michi Saagiig Nation Knowledge Keeper, and Joyce M. Wright. The Draper Site, excavated in 1975 and 1978, remains the largest and most significant Iroquoian site subject to salvage excavation in southern Ontario. In this innovative study, Dr. William D. Finlayson reviews more than 40 publications, theses, articles, and unpublished reports as a prelude to the reconsideration of some of the key aspects of the site. This includes presentation of a new sequence of expansions of the village, new perspectives on the use of defensive strategies in the planning of the village, and the presence of menstrual houses. Draper is used to define a specialized type of coalescent village, the Frontier Coalescent Village. This study provides new insights into the coalescence of at least five smaller villages, some from Duffin Creek and some from further afield at Draper, and the special mechanisms which made this possible and sustainable.