The Pulse
Aug. 29, 2024

The spear point, a bluish-grey stone shaped like a triangle with sharpened edges, caught the light as Kyle Forsythe, curator of archaeology at the Royal Alberta Museum, held it up to the camera. "The guy who brought it in thought it was an arrowhead," he told Taproot. "That's kind of the assumption when you find something like this. But bow and arrow technology has only been in Alberta for the last 2,000 years."

To gather the artifacts that people find within Edmonton and beyond, the Archaeological Society of Alberta holds Stones and Bones events along with museums around the province. The most recent was on Aug. 17 at Fort Edmonton Park. Organizers with the ASA told Taproot turnout was good, that they set up a practice dig site to help the public recognize artifacts typically found in Alberta, but no new artifacts were collected.

Forsythe said that people regularly find artifacts within Edmonton itself. The oldest archaeological site with multiple finds in the city, radiocarbon dated to be 10,000 years old, is on the outskirts. The exact location of this site is confidential, he said, to keep the artifacts there safe. But he said there are artifact sites throughout the city aged between 500 years old and a staggering 10,000.

Some may know that the Strathcona Science Provincial Park, just east of the city, formerly had an archaeological dig site, where archaeology students dug out bones, pottery, and quartzite in the 1970s and '80s. More recently, in April, a couple inside the city were landscaping their yard when they found a black rock that looked like a piece of glass. The rock turned out to be a 4.6-pound chunk of obsidian core, or volcanic glass. The RAM is currently involved in figuring out that dazzling find.

Most Edmonton residents are not finding ultra-rare obsidian rocks. Instead, the most common artifact people find inside city limits is quartzite (rock) bifaces — or objects made of quartzite that's been chipped on two sides to make a working edge. Forsythe said such quartzite is found everywhere in Alberta, and that the biface was the Swiss Army knife of the ancient world, used for cutting, as a spear point, as a scraper, or many other things.

Beyond quartzite, when it comes to finding more easily identifiable artifacts like arrowheads, spear points, stone knives, and scrapers, Forsythe said it's important that people do not take them from where they are found. "Reason being that the most important thing to us archaeologists is the spatial context, so the contacts between different artifacts is what allows us to reconstruct what happened in the past," Forsythe said.

Instead of picking it up, he recommends taking a picture and sending GPS coordinates to the museum or the archaeological survey through the report a find service.

• Edmonton news and sports radio station 630 CHED is moving to the 880 frequency on Oct. 9. Corus Entertainment has been broadcasting CHED content on the 880 frequency since it shut down a different all-news station on that channel in June. The company is planning to sell the land where the 630 CHED transmitter is and return the licence for the 630 frequency to the CRTC, CBC News reported.
• Edmonton city councillors proposed a temporary funding solution for the Ride Transit Program without increasing fares for all transit riders. Mayor Amarjeet Sohi suggested reallocating $10.2 million from the city's existing budget to address a shortfall in the low-income transit program to avoid proposed fare hikes that would have raised cash fares up to $4.25. The City will explore options and is expected to report back in the fall. A separate fare increase is still scheduled for February to address rising transit operation costs.
• The federal government is accepting proposals to develop housing on Crown land in Edmonton's Griesbach neighbourhood and Calgary's Currie neighbourhood. The announcement follows the Liberal government's recent unveiling of the Canada Public Land Bank, a tool that contains a growing list of federal properties able to support housing development. In Edmonton, 45 new homes will be built in the Village of Griesbach, of which half are expected to be affordable housing.
• Recent Statistics Canada data on commuting trends shows that Edmonton sits around the middle of the pack when it comes to commute times in Canada. Edmonton's average commute time in May 2024 was 25.6 minutes, ranking seventh among 15 census metropolitan areas, tied with Halifax. The average commute time across Canada was 26.4 minutes, which is about the same as the pre-pandemic level from 2016.
• Metallica, which played packed shows at Commonwealth Stadium on Aug. 23 and 25 as part of their world tour, made donations to two Edmonton organizations through the band's All Within My Hands foundation. Edmonton's Food Bank and the WIN House women's shelter each received $50,000. "A donation of that size has an incredible impact on our organization," said WIN House executive director Leslie Allen.
• The Alberta government plans to establish a new provincial police agency to take on expanded duties currently handled by Alberta sheriffs, Premier Danielle Smith told attendees at a UCP town hall on Aug. 17. The agency will perform "police-like functions" and will allow for improved civilian oversight, Public Safety Minister Mike Ellis said in a statement. The move follows legislation introduced in March that laid the groundwork for the creation of the provincial force. The government says it is still assessing costs and reviewing which sheriff functions will shift to the new agency.
• RUNWITHIT Synthetics, a women-led, Indigenous-owned company that creates AI-based synthetic models for various scenarios, received a multimillion growth investment from Raven Indigenous Capital Partners, which will go toward product innovation and expanding to more cities. The funding marks a "significant milestone in RWI's journey" of empowering communities and driving sustainable development, the company said in a press release.
• Hockey fans continue to await news about the future of the relationship between the Edmonton Oilers and star forward Leon Draisaitl, who remains unsigned. This week, NHL insider Frank Seravalli said he thinks the two sides are "a little further apart than I envisioned" when it comes to Draisaitl's contract. On another note, Seravalli said the Oilers may be considering a significant trade that would "shake things up."

Here are opportunities to help shape municipal planning for high-density development, rezoning, and more. Please only answer surveys from municipalities where you are a resident.

• Priority Growth Areas Rezoning — The City of Edmonton is planning to rezone five priority areas within the Anthony Henday ring road that are expected to experience near-term growth. Residents can participate in digital engagement for the 156 Street and Stony Plain Road corridors, the University-Garneau node, and the Wîhkwêntôwin Node and 124 Street corridor until Sept. 2.
• Strathcona/St. Anthony School Site Rezoning — The City of Edmonton received an application to rezone 10425A 84 Avenue NW and 10425 84 Avenue NW to allow for various housing, recreation, and commerce uses. The site currently contains a building erected in 1906 that used to house St. Anthony School, the first Catholic school on Edmonton's south side. The developer said it intends to preserve the school, but the application does not guarantee preservation. Residents can ask a question or share their thoughts until Sept. 8.
• Midtown Park (Concept Design) — The City of St. Albert wants to create a 0.77-hectare urban square in Midtown, a high-density neighbourhood being developed on the southwest edge of the city. Residents are invited to review a proposed design and complete an online survey until Sept. 8.
• Economic Development Strategy Open House — The City of Leduc wants resident feedback as it creates an economic development strategy and action plan. An open house will take place at the Leduc Recreation Centre from 5-6pm on Sept. 10.

More input opportunities

• Until Aug. 30: Municipal Development Plan (Town of Morinville)
• Until Aug. 31: Business Census (City of Edmonton)
• Until Sept. 6: Submissions for Made in Leduc County cookbook — 2nd edition (Leduc County)
• Until Sept. 20: Traffic calming in Mission, North Ridge, Oakmont, and Riverside (City of St. Albert)
• Until Sept. 22: Applications to join municipal boards and committees (Town of Morinville)
• Until Oct. 20: Naturalization Survey (City of Edmonton)

Photo: The City of Edmonton plans to proactively rezone properties in areas it expects will see the most near-term growth, including parts of the 124 Street corridor. Residents can indicate which lots they think have the best potential for density, where they think tall buildings are appropriate, and more. (Mack Male/Flickr)

Here are some events happening today in the Edmonton area.

• Sustain YEG: Morning Meetup starting at 8:30am at Edmonton Unlimited
• Prosperity International Business Expo at the Edmonton Convention Centre
• TechBOOST Student and New Graduate Information Session starting at 10am online
• TechBOOST Employer Information Session starting at 11am online
• Website Maintenance Essentials | Business Learning Series starting at 1pm online
• Embroidery with Carley Pettitt starting at 4pm at the Art Gallery of Alberta
• Lawn Bowling Networking Mixer starting at 5pm at Commonwealth Lawn Bowling Club
• Talking Up Edmonton starting at 5pm at Fu's Repair Shop
• Historic Tours: Mission Hill tour starting at 6p at Father Lacombe Chapel
• Servus Séries Patio: Front Porch Roots Review starting at 7pm at Café Bicyclette
• Edmonton Jazz Alley - Sean Croal starting at 7pm at The Carrot Community Arts Coffeehouse

And here are some upcoming events to keep in mind:

• Sept. 6-8: Purple City Music Festival
• Sept. 13: MacEwan University Griffins vs. University of Alberta Golden Bears Hockey at Clark Drake Arena
• Sept. 14: Barrel Fest starting at 1pm at the Ritchie Community League

Visit the beta version of the Taproot Edmonton Calendar for many more events in the Edmonton region.