Our family moved to Peterborough from Coburg in 1964. We had not intended to move as we had already built a house on the shores of Lake Ontario. However, a job beckoned and we sold the house ( for a tidy profit) without ever having lived in it, and moved to the bigger city.
This was a period of widespread expansion in Canada, and Peterborough had ambitious plans for a brand new university on the Otanobee River.I well remember watching the expanse of rough bush along the river edge slowly transformed itself into towering concrete buildings. We had never seen anything like it! Universities, in our experience, were venerable institutions, in existence for many years.
One of the faculty attached to this new adventure was Joan Vastocas. She was an anthropologist, and by some accident we heard that she and her husband had discovered some petroglyphs in the bush north of Peterborough. In actuality, they had been found by some linesmen looking to install electricity in the vicinity. They seem not to have been known to any of the local aboriginal people, and were the source of considerable interest. I remember that one report indicated that the Vastocas’ had made efforts to delineate the carvings more clearly by filling them in with something darker than the white rock. They had been dug into the white crystalline rock long ago and needed more definition.
I think we were looking for an expedition that summer and decided to see if we could find the carvings. There were no maps or instructions on how to get there so we were not especially hopeful about finding them. They were on Crown Land and in a place that was scheduled to become a provincial park at some time in the future.
We would give it our best shot and have a hike and a picnic on the way. We found what seemed to be the correct turn off, a muddy track tailing off into the bush. There were no signs, so at least it was not visibly private land. Pretty soon the trail petered out so we pulled the car off the track a bit and set off.
Our youngest was only two and soon tired. We took turns carrying her in our Swedish back carrier. It was hot and the mosquitoes buzzed about our heads. What did we expect in the bush in an Ontario summer!! We found a good stopping spot and made a fire to make tea. The kids were glad to stop and went for a short explore. Kirsty found a tree which had been gnawed by a beaver. There is a delightful picture of her somewhere standing by this stump, pretending to gnaw like a beaver!!Her very large bib is hanging from her neck and trailing on the ground!
We did not feel very committed to continuing, but decided to go a little further. Then without any preamble, there they were .The underbrush was not very dense and the white crystalline rock showed through in places. Ahead there seemed to be a more open stretch and as we stepped onto this, the carvings were right underfoot.
There is no way that people like us could understand their meaning. It is unclear to me whether any of the aboriginal people in that area could make sense of them either .Most petroglyphs as far as I can make out were placed at significant landmarks and were some kind of place to acknowledge the ancestors. The native people from this area, although they were not aware of their existence, felt they had been teaching rocks, where young people were brought to hear the myths and beliefs of their ancestors .At a best estimate, they are thought to be between 5,000 and 10,000 years old.
There are pictures of boats, not at all similar to the canoes used now. There are animals, especially turtles and snakes. There are stylized people, and one particularly large person with a head like a sun.
We sat on the rocks and looked around at the carvings. It was hot. The smell of the earth and the vegetation was very pervasive. As we were tired we sat rather quietly and just looked around. In the quiet, with only the buzz of insects disturbing the atmosphere, it was not difficult to imagine the approach of a group of people from a past era, slipping through the trees towards us.
Unfortunately this contemplative mood was broken by the sight of a crudely carved, modern design, someone loves someone!!! How can people be so incredibly insensitive!
It later became clear that we were privileged to have seen these carvings just as they had been used by the people who made them. This was obviously not going to last. They would have to be enclosed and cared for as so many historic sites are, to keep them from destruction. How privileged we were then, to have seen them without the necessary enclosure.
We sat for quite a long time right on the rocky outcrop, basking in the sun coming through the scraggly trees. It did not need much of an imagination to feel the spirits of long gone tribes making their way to the sacred rocks. Was it only shamans and the younger people who came to be instructed and learn the stories told by the stones? Maybe everyone came and made a long stay of celebration and remembrance. Who was actually allowed to carve the images? What did the young people learn about their past?
Because no information has come down to us from the then we will never know for certain. Within the general knowledge we have of ancient aboriginal beliefs it is probable these were part of initiation learning for the young of the tribe.
At some point in my research, I think an elder had observed that enclosing the space had interfered with the spirituality of the space. His contention was that in order to really get in touch with the spiritual world, one needed to be able to hear the underwater trickle beneath the rocks, and the sighing of the wind through the trees
Now the place has become a bit of a tourist trap! The carvings are well protected and enclosed. There are plaques explaining possible meanings to the glyphs although no one knows anything definitive. There is a gift store run by the local bands with booklets and explanations. It is good to know the site is accessible with appropriate washroom facilities! It is even great to know that the local aboriginal people have cooperated amicably with the province on developing the site.
Why then do I remember our expedition with such nostalgia? Perhaps because, at that time, I still had little real knowledge of the sorry history of Canada’s relationship with its aboriginal people. Even with the knowledge I have now, that time of discovery seems magical and a real, if fleeting, connection with long ago peoples.
For some background on this see: The Peterborough Petroglyphs…… building over an ancient Algonquin Ritual Site. On Google.
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