Lisa Sonnenburg
I am a Project Archaeologist with Stantec Consulting, where I work on all stages of archaeological assessments primarily in Southern Ontario. From 2012-2014, I worked with Dr. John O'Shea investigating an 8,000 year old caribou hunting site on the bottom of Lake Huron. I have reconstructed the paleoenvironmental conditions of the lake bottom 8,000 years ago, as well as analyzed sediments for microdebitage (stone tool fragments less than 1 mm), microfossils (testate amoebae), particle size and morphology.
I originally started out as an archaeologist in my undergraduate years at Lakehead University, where I became interested in paleoenvironments, human ecology and underwater archaeology. Now I'm able to combine all those things in my present research, where I explore the various Holocene paleoenvironmental changes that lead to fluctuations in water levels and result in submerged landscapes. I am interested in how people adapt to these massive shifts in water levels, environment and resource availability. I am also interested in looking at the role of wetlands in prehistoric (Paleoindian-Archaic) cultures.
Supervisors: Dr. John O'Shea, Dr. Joe Boyce, and Dr. Ed Reinhardt (collaborator)
I originally started out as an archaeologist in my undergraduate years at Lakehead University, where I became interested in paleoenvironments, human ecology and underwater archaeology. Now I'm able to combine all those things in my present research, where I explore the various Holocene paleoenvironmental changes that lead to fluctuations in water levels and result in submerged landscapes. I am interested in how people adapt to these massive shifts in water levels, environment and resource availability. I am also interested in looking at the role of wetlands in prehistoric (Paleoindian-Archaic) cultures.
Supervisors: Dr. John O'Shea, Dr. Joe Boyce, and Dr. Ed Reinhardt (collaborator)
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Papers by Lisa Sonnenburg
The basin stratigraphy consisted of Holocene organic-rich muds (gyttja), laminated marls, and peats overlying glacial Lake Iroquois sands and clay deposits. Two erosional hiatuses indicating lowstand phases (EH-1 ca. 12.5-11 ka cal. BP EH-2 ca. 6-3 ka cal. BP) were identified by rapid shifts in particle size and thecamoebian abundance and assemblages. The dominant thecamoebian species in the open lake basin were Arcella vulgaris and Centropyxis constricta ‘aerophila’, indicating the trophic status of the lake has remained stable throughout the Holocene. In the McIntyre lagoon, the EH-1 lowstand was associated with a unique bog and wetland species (Bullinularia and Phryganella sp.) along with the recovery of microdebitage, indicating that Paleoindian peoples were likely exploiting wetland resources such as plants, fish and waterfowl. We show that the study of lacustrine paleoenvironments using a multi-proxy approach provides additional information for identifying areas of archaeological potential and gaining additional understanding of settlement patterns and resource procurement strategies of Paleoindian and Archaic peoples in Southern Ontario.
Media by Lisa Sonnenburg
The basin stratigraphy consisted of Holocene organic-rich muds (gyttja), laminated marls, and peats overlying glacial Lake Iroquois sands and clay deposits. Two erosional hiatuses indicating lowstand phases (EH-1 ca. 12.5-11 ka cal. BP EH-2 ca. 6-3 ka cal. BP) were identified by rapid shifts in particle size and thecamoebian abundance and assemblages. The dominant thecamoebian species in the open lake basin were Arcella vulgaris and Centropyxis constricta ‘aerophila’, indicating the trophic status of the lake has remained stable throughout the Holocene. In the McIntyre lagoon, the EH-1 lowstand was associated with a unique bog and wetland species (Bullinularia and Phryganella sp.) along with the recovery of microdebitage, indicating that Paleoindian peoples were likely exploiting wetland resources such as plants, fish and waterfowl. We show that the study of lacustrine paleoenvironments using a multi-proxy approach provides additional information for identifying areas of archaeological potential and gaining additional understanding of settlement patterns and resource procurement strategies of Paleoindian and Archaic peoples in Southern Ontario.