The SCAPE Project is a five year multi-disciplinary project that is examining past human-environmental interactions within the Canadian Prairies Ecozone.

A wide range of research expertise is represented including: archaeology, ethnohistory, geomatics, geoarchaeology, paleobotany, soils science and oral traditions. The project methodology is building upon archaeological research and uses a variety of information sources including state-of-the-art Geographical Information Systems (GIS) technology, paleobotanical data, soil sciences data, and archival research. An important aspect of the research is the gathering of oral traditions preserved by Aboriginal Elders. This integrated research project is a new and different approach to answering questions about human lifeways because it incorporates the research skills of many different disciplines and covers a wide geographical area of Canada.

 

Dr. Scott Hamilton and Dr. Matthew Boyd of the Department of Anthropology, Lakehead University are project co-investigators and are researching a project component in Manitoba. Other members of the multi-disciplinary research team come from University of Brandon, University of Calgary, University of Saskatoon, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, and the Provincial Museum of Alberta.

 

The SCAPE Project is funded through a $2.5 million grant provided by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) - Major Collaborative Research Initiatives Program (MCRI).