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William Fox

Trent University, Anthropology, Faculty Member

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William Fox has been involved in Ontario archaeology for over 50 years and participated in research throughout the northeast U.S., in several European and Asian countries - most extensively in Cyprus. He was employed by the Provincial government for 19 years as Regional Archaeologist of northwestern, north central, and then, southwestern Ontario; next as Senior Archaeologist for the province, and finally supervisor of the Development Plans Review Unit, when the requirement for archaeological assessments was established under the Planning Act. Additional responsibilities included unmarked grave investigations throughout southern Ontario with local and provincial police and the Provincial Cemeteries Branch, plus liaising with First Nation band councils and traditionalists. In 1992, Bill was hired by Parks Canada as Chief of Archaeology for the Prairie and Northern Region (Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Yukon, NWT (including Nunavut)). His 22 year career with the Federal government took him from Winnipeg to Inuvik to Ucluelet to Peterborough in various management roles. Today he continues his research as an Adjunct Professor in the Anthropology Graduate Program at Trent University, and is an instructor in the Anthropology Department. Throughout these years, he has had the honour of working with Indigenous communities from Quebec to BC and across the entire north of Canada.

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Papers by William Fox

Kewa 2022 4 5 6 Elliott Chapter 2

KEWA Newsletter of the London Chapter, Ontario Archaeological Society, 2022

This multi-issue edition of the KEWA features an update on the chapter and events, the second Wil... more This multi-issue edition of the KEWA features an update on the chapter and events, the second William Fox and John Creese article on the Elliott Villages Community Pattern (Houses 5-8), and the first of many Nineteenth Century Notes revitalized by Nicole Brandon. Much like Ian Kenyon's artifact showcases, we hope to create an artifact reference for different thematic 19th century finds. This inaugural showcase will feature Military Artifacts.

Early Palisaded Villages in Southwestern Ontario

by William Fox and Andrew M Stewart

Midcontinental Journal of Archaeology, 2023

We review the initiation of palisade enclosed village communities in central southwestern Ontario... more We review the initiation of palisade enclosed village communities in central southwestern Ontario, using data from a series of related early Late Woodland sites that we interpret as showing an east to west settlement sequence. New AMS dates based on samples of carbonized maize provide a revised chronology for the origin of village life, which began in the twelfth century. We show how villages developed alongside community pattern and ceramic attribute trends into the fourteenth-century middle Late Woodland period. A suite of dates from the most westerly site in the sequence on the Norfolk sand plain document the timing of an abrupt change in community pattern during the late fourteenth century.

Ais Giorkis volume preface

From the Mountains to the Sea Ais Giorkis, An Early Neolithic Hamlet in the Troodos Foothills of Western Cyprus, 2023

Describes the initial stages in the identification and description of the early Neolithic hamlet ... more

CATLINITE BEADS: LES AUTRES DIAMAS DU PAIS

BEADS: Journal of the Society of Bead Researchers , 2023

Archaeological evidence is combined with 17th-century documents to record the production of red s... more Archaeological evidence is combined with 17th-century documents to record the production of red stone beads by Anishinaabe communities in southern Ontario for exchange with neighboring Iroquoian populations as far away as the Seneca in upstate New York. A transition from local red siltstone to exotic catlinite appears to have been influenced by the mid-century Iroquois Wars, while the symbolism inherent in these items may have been related to the introduction of European diseases.

Shell Beads Among the Neutral and Their Ancestors

KEWA Newsletter of the London Chapter Ontario Archaeological Society, 2020

Shell-bead data recovered from both domestic and mortuary sites in Southwestern Ontario will be e... more Shell-bead data recovered from both domestic and mortuary sites in Southwestern Ontario will be examined concerning trends in both style and function during the millennium preceding A.D. 1650. Most information derives from rescue and salvage excavations undertaken by the government of Ontario over the last decade. Special emphasis will be on the florescent period of shell-bead use among the Neutral, from the mid-sixteenth century until the time of their dispersal (Hayes and Ceci 1988: 205).

The Elliott Villages Community Pattern: Houses 1-4

KEWA Newsletter of the London Chapter, Ontario Archaeological Society, 2022

First of six planned descriptions of recoveries from the 13th century Ontario Iroquoian Elliott v... more

Bipolar Reactions

KEWA Newsletter of the London Chapter, Ontario Archaeological Society, 2008

A brief protest article concerning the inane either/or discussions concerning bipolar core function.

Evidence for Sixteenth-Century Exchange

University of Ottawa Press eBooks, Apr 24, 2018

The Skinner Burial of Ontario, Canada, and the Question of Paget’s Disease in the Americas

International Journal of Paleopathology, Mar 1, 2021

Nettling: an Overview of an Early Archaic "Kirk Corner-notched Cluster" Site in Southwestern Ontario

Canadian journal of archaeology, 1991

Looking Eastward

University of Ottawa Press eBooks, Apr 24, 2018

Otson Tsokhio and Zuun Shovkh: the Initial Upper Palaeolithic in Eastern Mongolia

Journal of Paleolithic Archaeology, Apr 22, 2023

Chemical Analysis of Copper Alloy Trade Metal from a Post-Contact Huron Site in Ontario, Canada

Archaeometry, 1995

ABSTRACT

Distinguishing European Trade Copper and North-Eastern North American Native Copper

Archaeometry, 1991

... 1948; Tanabe 1964; Forbes and Barsdate 1969; Witthoft and Eyman 1969; Rapp et al. ... Hurst a... more

Prehistoric Antigorite Procurement in Cyprus

Archaeometry, 1992

The Canadian Palaipaphos Survey Project in the Paphos district of south‐western Cyprus investigat... more The Canadian Palaipaphos Survey Project in the Paphos district of south‐western Cyprus investigated extensive areas of the Esouzas, Xero, and Dhiarizos River valleys, locating hundreds of archaeological sites spanning the nine millennia from the aceramic Neolithic period to the recent era (Rupp et al. s1984 and 1986). Antigorite artefacts were recovered from Neolithic, Chalcolithic and Bronze Age settlements. A number of geological sources have been proposed for the material from which these artefacts were manufactured. The results of neutron activation analyses of archaeological and geological specimens suggest that the Troodos ophiolite/Kouris River secondary deposits were the primary source of antigorite for the prehistoric populations of the study area. Extreme care must be taken when analysing antigorite samples to avoid material with grey‐black magnetite‐rich inclusions. since these have radically different trace element chemistries from the pure antigorite.

Chemical analysis of archaeological copper and brass from Northeastern Ontario

Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry Articles, 1993

Terminal Neutral Iroquoian Glass Bead Assemblages: A Refinement of the "Red Shift" Metrics

Ontario Archaeology, 2021

Postcontact Ontario Iroquoian site chronologies were originally established using the presence or... more Postcontact Ontario Iroquoian site chronologies were originally established using the presence or absence of specific European goods, particularly glass bead types. We here consider mid-seventeenth-century glass bead style trends defined for the well-established Seneca site sequence in New York State as applied to the glass bead assemblages of the Sealey (AgHa-4) and Walker (AgHa-9) villages, which sites represent the final Ontario occupation of a population that had moved southeast into the Brantford area over a period of two centuries. Nineteenth-century legacy collections held by the former Provincial Museum, Ontario, are used to modify red glass tubular bead frequencies previously calculated on the basis of twentieth-century collections. We reaffirm the value of European trade goods as providing reliable chronological information for the early seventeenth century.

George Gustav Heye and His Looted Lake Medad Collection: An Allegory for All That Went Before in Ontario

Ontario Archaeology, 2020

The looting history of the Lake Medad seventeenth century Neutral Iroquoian village and cemetery ... more

Fox Publications to 2023

An update concerning primarily peer reviewed articles published by Fox and co-authors.

Kewa 2022 4 5 6 Elliott Chapter 2

KEWA Newsletter of the London Chapter, Ontario Archaeological Society, 2022

This multi-issue edition of the KEWA features an update on the chapter and events, the second Wil... more This multi-issue edition of the KEWA features an update on the chapter and events, the second William Fox and John Creese article on the Elliott Villages Community Pattern (Houses 5-8), and the first of many Nineteenth Century Notes revitalized by Nicole Brandon. Much like Ian Kenyon's artifact showcases, we hope to create an artifact reference for different thematic 19th century finds. This inaugural showcase will feature Military Artifacts.

Early Palisaded Villages in Southwestern Ontario

by William Fox and Andrew M Stewart

Midcontinental Journal of Archaeology, 2023

We review the initiation of palisade enclosed village communities in central southwestern Ontario... more We review the initiation of palisade enclosed village communities in central southwestern Ontario, using data from a series of related early Late Woodland sites that we interpret as showing an east to west settlement sequence. New AMS dates based on samples of carbonized maize provide a revised chronology for the origin of village life, which began in the twelfth century. We show how villages developed alongside community pattern and ceramic attribute trends into the fourteenth-century middle Late Woodland period. A suite of dates from the most westerly site in the sequence on the Norfolk sand plain document the timing of an abrupt change in community pattern during the late fourteenth century.

Ais Giorkis volume preface

From the Mountains to the Sea Ais Giorkis, An Early Neolithic Hamlet in the Troodos Foothills of Western Cyprus, 2023

Describes the initial stages in the identification and description of the early Neolithic hamlet ... more

CATLINITE BEADS: LES AUTRES DIAMAS DU PAIS

BEADS: Journal of the Society of Bead Researchers , 2023

Archaeological evidence is combined with 17th-century documents to record the production of red s... more Archaeological evidence is combined with 17th-century documents to record the production of red stone beads by Anishinaabe communities in southern Ontario for exchange with neighboring Iroquoian populations as far away as the Seneca in upstate New York. A transition from local red siltstone to exotic catlinite appears to have been influenced by the mid-century Iroquois Wars, while the symbolism inherent in these items may have been related to the introduction of European diseases.

Shell Beads Among the Neutral and Their Ancestors

KEWA Newsletter of the London Chapter Ontario Archaeological Society, 2020

Shell-bead data recovered from both domestic and mortuary sites in Southwestern Ontario will be e... more Shell-bead data recovered from both domestic and mortuary sites in Southwestern Ontario will be examined concerning trends in both style and function during the millennium preceding A.D. 1650. Most information derives from rescue and salvage excavations undertaken by the government of Ontario over the last decade. Special emphasis will be on the florescent period of shell-bead use among the Neutral, from the mid-sixteenth century until the time of their dispersal (Hayes and Ceci 1988: 205).

The Elliott Villages Community Pattern: Houses 1-4

KEWA Newsletter of the London Chapter, Ontario Archaeological Society, 2022

First of six planned descriptions of recoveries from the 13th century Ontario Iroquoian Elliott v... more

Bipolar Reactions

KEWA Newsletter of the London Chapter, Ontario Archaeological Society, 2008

A brief protest article concerning the inane either/or discussions concerning bipolar core function.

Evidence for Sixteenth-Century Exchange

University of Ottawa Press eBooks, Apr 24, 2018

The Skinner Burial of Ontario, Canada, and the Question of Paget’s Disease in the Americas

International Journal of Paleopathology, Mar 1, 2021

Nettling: an Overview of an Early Archaic "Kirk Corner-notched Cluster" Site in Southwestern Ontario

Canadian journal of archaeology, 1991

Looking Eastward

University of Ottawa Press eBooks, Apr 24, 2018

Otson Tsokhio and Zuun Shovkh: the Initial Upper Palaeolithic in Eastern Mongolia

Journal of Paleolithic Archaeology, Apr 22, 2023

Chemical Analysis of Copper Alloy Trade Metal from a Post-Contact Huron Site in Ontario, Canada

Archaeometry, 1995

ABSTRACT

Distinguishing European Trade Copper and North-Eastern North American Native Copper

Archaeometry, 1991

... 1948; Tanabe 1964; Forbes and Barsdate 1969; Witthoft and Eyman 1969; Rapp et al. ... Hurst a... more

Prehistoric Antigorite Procurement in Cyprus

Archaeometry, 1992

The Canadian Palaipaphos Survey Project in the Paphos district of south‐western Cyprus investigat... more The Canadian Palaipaphos Survey Project in the Paphos district of south‐western Cyprus investigated extensive areas of the Esouzas, Xero, and Dhiarizos River valleys, locating hundreds of archaeological sites spanning the nine millennia from the aceramic Neolithic period to the recent era (Rupp et al. s1984 and 1986). Antigorite artefacts were recovered from Neolithic, Chalcolithic and Bronze Age settlements. A number of geological sources have been proposed for the material from which these artefacts were manufactured. The results of neutron activation analyses of archaeological and geological specimens suggest that the Troodos ophiolite/Kouris River secondary deposits were the primary source of antigorite for the prehistoric populations of the study area. Extreme care must be taken when analysing antigorite samples to avoid material with grey‐black magnetite‐rich inclusions. since these have radically different trace element chemistries from the pure antigorite.

Chemical analysis of archaeological copper and brass from Northeastern Ontario

Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry Articles, 1993

Terminal Neutral Iroquoian Glass Bead Assemblages: A Refinement of the "Red Shift" Metrics

Ontario Archaeology, 2021

Postcontact Ontario Iroquoian site chronologies were originally established using the presence or... more Postcontact Ontario Iroquoian site chronologies were originally established using the presence or absence of specific European goods, particularly glass bead types. We here consider mid-seventeenth-century glass bead style trends defined for the well-established Seneca site sequence in New York State as applied to the glass bead assemblages of the Sealey (AgHa-4) and Walker (AgHa-9) villages, which sites represent the final Ontario occupation of a population that had moved southeast into the Brantford area over a period of two centuries. Nineteenth-century legacy collections held by the former Provincial Museum, Ontario, are used to modify red glass tubular bead frequencies previously calculated on the basis of twentieth-century collections. We reaffirm the value of European trade goods as providing reliable chronological information for the early seventeenth century.

George Gustav Heye and His Looted Lake Medad Collection: An Allegory for All That Went Before in Ontario

Ontario Archaeology, 2020

The looting history of the Lake Medad seventeenth century Neutral Iroquoian village and cemetery ... more

Fox Publications to 2023

An update concerning primarily peer reviewed articles published by Fox and co-authors.

Fox Presentations

An updated list of public presentations to June, 2024.