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Prehistory

About 20 kilometers north-west of Willow Bunch is one of Saskatchewan’s biggest archeological mysteries. The St. Victors Petroglyph site is a provincial park that is host to over 300 rock carvings . The carvings are located on a sandstone cliff that is elevated at 950m . The uniqueness of the plateau is characterized by being only one of five sites in Canada where petroglyphs are on a horizontal structure of a rock.

The view of the sandstone cliff at St. Victors Petroglyph Provincial Park.

The petroglyphs are dominated by the Plains Grizzly Bear , but there are also carvings of footprints of other animals such as bison, elk, deer, birds and pictures of human figures. There is no group given credit for making these carvings, but it is predicated they were made between 500-1,700 AD. The best time to see the petroglyphs, according to the Friends of the Petroglyphs, is later in the day or very early in the morning, so that the sun casts shadows making them more visible to view.

The sandstone also has plant fossils trapped in it. These fossils date to before the time of the Ice Age (Pleistocene Epoch. Many mammal from before the Ice Age can also be found on higher plateaus of the park. The bone and teeth remains of Woolly Rhinoceros and three-toed horses are just some examples of prehistoric life in the area.

During the Ice Age, mammoths, horses, camels and saber-toothed cats would have roamed as well. Mammoth remains have been found as close as two hours away in Mortlach, SK. These were mostly gone by time humans arrived . Once, the Wisconsin Ice Sheet, which covered most of North America had retreated, the area became habitable for humans. When humans could inhabit the area, the land would have been “open woodland and aspen parkland”, while the northern part of the province would have remained under glacial ice.

Willow Bunch, located in Southern Saskatchewan, would have gone through three “cultural periods” common for the area: the “Early years”, the “Middle years”, and the “Late years”.

The early years span between 12,000-8,000 years ago. The middle years are from 8,000-2,200 years ago, which also brought a warmer climate . These areas are often characterized by projectile points used, such as spear points. The major change between the early years and middle years for this was size, with projectile points becoming smaller, with side-notches on the point . The bison was a primary resource for people in Southern Saskatchewan as well .

Points found in Willow Bunch, kept at the Willow Bunch Museum.

The late years range from 2,200 years ago to 1690 AD, where the climate became similar to what it is today . Arrowheads used with bows starts to be used during this time in hunting. The bison also remained a large resource for people during this time.

Many bison kill sites are located near the St. Victor Petroglyphs Provincial Park, though many have been buried by the hills over time .