Natural Resource Use in Prehistoric Alberta: Stone, Bone, and Plants as Tools of Survival and Culture
It is often said that necessity is the mother of invention, and nowhere is that principle more vividly demonstrated than in the lives of Alberta’s Indigenous peoples during the prehistoric period. In a landscape both rich and challenging, survival required ingenuity, adaptability, and an unparalleled understanding of the land’s resources. Alberta’s Indigenous nations were not passive recipients of what nature provided; they were skilled stewards and master craftspeople who understood how to transform the raw materials of their environment into tools, clothing, shelter, and medicine. Stone, bone, and plants — seemingly simple elements — became the foundation of survival, as well as the threads that wove together their cultural and spiritual lives.
When we speak of tools and weapons, we begin with stone. The peoples of Alberta, like their counterparts across the continent, learned early on to shape the stones around them into objects of precision and utility. Flint, chert, and quartzite were among the most sought-after materials, prized for their ability to hold a sharp edge and their availability across Alberta’s varied landscapes. Archaeologist Jack Brink, in “Imagining Head-Smashed-In: Aboriginal Buffalo Hunting on the Northern Plains,” describes the process of working stone as an art form: “To take a rough piece of flint and transform it into a spear point or knife was not simply a mechanical task; it was a deliberate and skilled act, born of patience, observation, and deep knowledge.”
Stone tools were versatile and essential. Flintknappers — artisans of the prehistoric world — used a process called knapping, striking stone with antler or harder stones to flake off razor-sharp edges. This process produced spear points, arrowheads, knives, scrapers, and drills. These tools were essential for hunting, processing animals, and crafting shelter. Points were attached to wooden shafts to create spears and arrows, used in hunting bison, deer, elk, and other game that roamed Alberta’s plains and forests. Larger blades served as knives for butchering, while smaller tools allowed for delicate work, such as scraping hides or carving intricate designs into bone. Evidence of these tools remains scattered across the province — at buffalo jumps like Head-Smashed-In and along riverbanks, where generations of Indigenous peoples worked stone into objects that would ensure their survival.
Of equal importance to stone was bone, a material that reflected the interconnected relationship between humans and animals in prehistoric Alberta. The bison, central to the survival of plains nations like the Blackfoot Confederacy, provided not only food but an array of tools and materials that sustained entire communities. As Brink points out, “The bison was more than a resource; it was a partner in survival, its body offering everything the people needed to live.” Bones were turned into tools of remarkable utility and artistry. Long bones were shaped into scrapers for preparing hides, ensuring that every bit of the buffalo was put to use. Smaller bones became awls, needles, and punches, used in sewing clothing, crafting containers, and creating fine details in leatherwork. The shoulder blades of the bison, broad and sturdy, were repurposed as hoes for digging roots or working soil in regions where agriculture began to emerge.
Even the skull and rib bones of the bison found purpose. Ribs were sharpened into weapons or fashioned into sled runners, while skulls became objects of ceremony and spiritual connection. Across Alberta, bones were never discarded lightly. Their transformation into tools spoke not only to the ingenuity of Indigenous peoples but also to their respect for the animals that gave their lives to sustain them. Every part of the bison was used, a practice born from necessity but rooted in a cultural ethos that saw the natural world as sacred and deserving of reverence.
Plants, too, were critical to life in prehistoric Alberta, their importance extending far beyond the realm of sustenance. The Indigenous peoples of Alberta were botanists as much as they were hunters and craftspeople. They knew the land intimately, recognizing plants for their nutritional, medicinal, and ceremonial value. Sweetgrass and sage, two of the most sacred plants, were used in rituals to purify and cleanse both people and spaces. The smoke of sweetgrass, braided and burned, carried prayers to the Creator and created a link between the physical and spiritual worlds. Historian Nancy Turner, in “The Earth’s Blanket: Traditional Teachings for Sustainable Living,” writes: “To the Indigenous peoples of the plains and forests, plants were not mere resources; they were gifts from the Creator, imbued with spirit and purpose.”
Medicinal plants played a vital role in maintaining health and treating illness. Sage, in addition to its ceremonial significance, was used as a remedy for colds, fevers, and digestive issues. Yarrow, another common plant, was applied to wounds to stop bleeding and fight infection. Willow bark, abundant in Alberta’s forests, contained salicylic acid, the natural compound used in modern aspirin, and was chewed or brewed into teas to relieve pain and inflammation. Roots like ratroot (sweet flag) were used to treat headaches, fevers, and toothaches. The knowledge of these plants — where to find them, how to prepare them, and how to use them — was passed down orally from elders to younger generations, ensuring the continuity of this vital wisdom.
Plants also provided material for tools, shelter, and clothing. The bark of birch trees, lightweight yet durable, was crafted into canoes that glided across Alberta’s rivers, connecting communities and trade routes. Willow branches and poplar saplings were used to construct tipi frames, their flexibility and strength allowing for the creation of portable homes that were perfectly suited to the nomadic lifestyles of Alberta’s plains peoples. Fibres from plants such as dogbane and nettle were woven into twine, ropes, and fishing nets, while cattail leaves were transformed into mats and insulation.
The ingenuity of Alberta’s Indigenous peoples lay not in their domination of nature but in their ability to work in harmony with it. Stone, bone, and plants were more than materials; they were gifts, each with its own purpose and value. This relationship with the land was not transactional but reciprocal — the people took what they needed, but they did so with respect and an understanding that their survival depended on maintaining balance. As Jack Brink observes, “What we see in the tools and materials of prehistoric Alberta is a reflection of a worldview that understood the land not as something to be conquered but as something to be lived with.”
This balance ensured that the resources of Alberta were not depleted but sustained for generations. The stone tools, bone implements, and plant materials that remain scattered across archaeological sites today are silent witnesses to this history. They remind us of the ingenuity and adaptability of Alberta’s first peoples, who transformed the seemingly ordinary into objects of extraordinary value. These tools not only ensured survival in a harsh and often unforgiving environment but also connected communities to the land, to the animals, and to the spiritual forces that governed their world.
In the end, the story of stone, bone, and plants in prehistoric Alberta is a story of deep knowledge and profound respect. It is a story of people who understood that everything they needed was already present in the world around them, waiting to be shaped with skill and care. The tools they left behind — a flint knife, a bone awl, a braid of sweetgrass — are more than artifacts; they are echoes of a way of life built on balance, ingenuity, and reverence for the land.
References:
- Brink, Jack. Imagining Head-Smashed-In: Aboriginal Buffalo Hunting on the Northern Plains. Athabasca University Press, 2008.
- Turner, Nancy J. The Earth’s Blanket: Traditional Teachings for Sustainable Living. Douglas & McIntyre, 2005.
- Ray, Arthur J. Indians in the Fur Trade: Their Role as Trappers, Hunters, and Middlemen in the Lands Southwest of Hudson Bay, 1660–1870. University of Toronto Press, 1998.
- Ives, John W. Alberta Formed, Alberta Transformed: The Archaeology of Prehistoric Life. University of Alberta Press, 2007.
- Reeves, Brian. “Indigenous Craftsmanship and Resource Stewardship in Alberta.” Canadian Plains Studies Journal, vol. 12, 1995, pp. 45–67.