From shipwrecks to dugout canoe, exhibition highlights Quebec archeology

Pointe-à-Callière museum in Quebec
(Photo from the official Twitter account of Pointe-à-Callière)

MONTREAL—The Pointe-a-Calliere museum says its new show “Fragments of Humanity,” opening Feb. 13, is the first major exhibition dedicated entirely to Quebec archeology.

About 350 significant pieces will be displayed, marking 50 years of archeological discovery in the province, the museum says.

It singled out a rare 15th-century dugout canoe as the show’s star attraction. Found in a lake in the Lanaudiere region in the mid-1980s, the canoe is considered the best preserved of its kind and era in the province.

Remains from several shipwrecks will also be featured, among them the Machault, the Auguste, the Empress of Ireland and the Lady Sherbrooke.

Thematic sections explore ancient history, trade and commerce (including trade between Europeans and aboriginals), daily life in the 18th and 19th centuries, and subaquatic archeology.

Items have been sourced from about a dozen lenders, including Parks Canada, the Quebec Culture Ministry’s archeological reserve, the City of Montreal and the Avataq Cultural Institute. Many are being shown publicly for the first time.

“Fragments of Humanity” will run to January 2017. Plans are to later tour it in Quebec and elsewhere in Canada.

For Nuit Blanche, on Saturday, Feb. 27, during the Montreal en Lumiere Festival, visitors can see the exhibition for free from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m.