1. Tree-ring analysis of white cedar (Thuja occidentalis L.) archaeological and historical wood in Québec City (Québec, Canada).
- Author
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Querrec, Lydia, Filion, Louise, Auger, Réginald, and Arseneault, Dominique
- Subjects
TREE-rings ,THUJA occidentalis ,ARCHAEOLOGY ,CLIFFS ,ARCHAEOLOGICAL excavations ,IDENTIFICATION of wood ,PREMIER palais de l'intendant Site (Quebec, Quebec) - Abstract
Abstract: In Québec City, a segment of an old wooden palisade built for protection was found buried in situ. The palisade was excavated by the Laval University archaeology field school in 2004–2005, and 29 posts were recovered and sampled. The palisade enclosed the Intendant''s Palace compound, which was the residence of the governor of New France at the end of the 17th century. Tree-ring analysis was performed on wood excavated from the Intendant''s Palace archaeological site (PDI) and additional wood from two historical military buildings, the Artillery Park (ART) (early 18th century) and the Québec Citadel (CIT) (17th–19th centuries). Wood identification revealed that white cedar (Thuja occidentalis L.) was used for wood construction at the three sites. Many trees used for the construction of the PDI palisade were felled after the 1690 growing season, likely in September/October 1690. Posts probably came from trees growing close to the site on the banks of the Saint-Charles River. A white cedar ring-width chronology from the Rimouski area, approximately 300 km northeast of Québec City, along the St. Lawrence River, was used for cross-dating. Archaeological and historical wood samples from two of the three sites (PDI and ART) were first assembled in a 235-year tree-ring chronology, called the Québec chronology, extending from 1489 to 1723. The two master chronologies (Québec and Rimouski) were merged into a single 513-year tree-ring chronology (1489–2001), called the Saint-Laurent chronology. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]
- Published
- 2009
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