The Prehistory and Protohistoire of Quebec are the two periods which precede the beginning by the Histoire of Quebec.

The Préhistoire of the Quebec begins some 9.000 years before J. - C. with the arrival on the territory from the first human populations. It finishes with the appearance of the first documents written in connection with the territory and of its human populations.

The Protohistoire is one period which comes to fit between Prehistory and History, during which people and civilizations report the existence of other people and civilizations which do not have a written form to record their own history. In the case of Quebec, this period corresponds to that of the exploration and the beginnings of French colonization.

Prehistory

Note: for the artic region of Quebec (Nunavik): See Inuit

Paléoindien (9 000 to 6.000 before J. - C.)

Approximately 12.000 years A.A., coming from Alaska and of the Yukon, of the groups of hunters of big games are spread in most of the North America. For those which skirted the Icecap, the climate was rigorous and the landscape of Toundra resembled that of the Scandinavian areas of today. They surely sheltered under tents of skins and had boats to move. They used cut stone points of type Clovis for hunting for the Mammouth S, with the Mastodonte S, the horses, the camels, with the ancient and different bisons, a mégafaune now disappeared.

11.000 years ago, at the moment when the Mer of Champlain was withdrawn, certain hunters paléoindiens arrive in the valley of the the St. Lawrence. They continued the herds of caribou S and other large Cervidé S. As for them, they manufactured points of projectiles of the plano type whose culture came directly from the large plains of the West. As regards the tools and habitat, there is very little difference with those of the culture of Clovis.

The Antiquated one (6 000 to 1.000 before J. - C.)

6.000 years ago, Quebec was free ices except for the Monts Torngat at the septentrional border Quebec-Labrador. In the valley of the St. Lawrence, vestiges belonging to the culture planoenne were found on the coast Gaspésie, but of people of Antiquated old were also present in Québécois ground. Laurentiens lived the upstream part of the river and Maritimiens was found along the estuary.

At the end of this period, 3.000 years A.A., hunters of Antiquated the bouclérien invaded the part is Canadian shield. While Planoens drove out mainly the caribou, the Amerindians of Antiquated, much more, diversified their activities by the exploitation of the animal and vegetable resources available. The latter lived a seasonal nomadism as a practitioner hunting, fishing and the gathering. In addition to cutting their tools in the stone, these Autochtones the polish and hammer the native Cuivre imported Higher Lac. As of this time, a vast network of exchanges existed since the Labrador until in the area of the big lakes.

Planoen

The culture planoenne occurred in the meadows of North America. Circumventing northern bank of the Higher Lake and Lake Huron, the hunters planoens reached the high valley of the St. Lawrence, 9.000 years ago. The lake Lamsilis, vestige of the Mer of Champlain was withdrawn gradually. Later, they went until to Gaspésie. What characterizes this culture, it is the smoothness of the objects of cut stone. It is proven that contacts took place between Planoens and Laurentiens old and, later, people of Plano even absorbed those of the antiquated culture of the St. Lawrence.

Antiquated the laurentien

In the valley of the St. Lawrence, the populations of Laurentiens drive out, fish and gather fruits and plants. Their subsistence depends mainly on the Chevreuil, the Orignal, the Ours, the Castor, the Poisson, of the migratory birds and sometimes, of the Mollusque S. the stone tools cut or polished are points of projectiles, knives, Grattoir S, gouges, polishing machines, drills, weights of Propulseur and Filet S of fishing. They used also the bones and native copper.

Towards the end of this period, containers in Stéatite (stone with soap) appear, precursors of the Poterie. On the other hand, one has no indication on the type of dwellings used: the archaeological Fouille S remained dumb on the subject until now. In addition, one can suppose that rudimentary shelters were appropriate during the summer season and of more resistant constructions were used when the families gained their territory of hunting to spend the winter there.

Antiquated the bouclérien

It is believed that this culture is resulting from the culture planoenne west. Then, these populations moved towards the east and ended up occupying all the Canadian shield. They finally reached the lowlands of the Hudson Bay and the Labrador, 3.000 years ago. On this Scandinavian territory strewn with lakes and rivers, they had surely good clothing, boats of bark and rackets with snow. They preserved this lifestyle during millenia, until very recently. To live in these areas with the rigorous climate, the dwellings consisted of imposing semi-underground structures, equipped with a corridor of access. One nourished especially caribou and of fish, but also of bear, hare and migratory birds. They are the ancestors of the Cris, the Algonquins and the Montagnais of today.

Antiquated the maritimien

A maritime culture, coming from the south, opens out on banks of the gulf the St. Lawrence, 8.000 years ago. They move with boats on long distances and drive out the marine mammals as large as the Morse. The food resources were mainly made up of the Phoque, of the failed Baleine, marine fish and Anadrome S, of the migratory birds and the large deer tribe (caribou, stag and dash of America). The majority of the tools were made stone, of wood, tines and teeth of beavers. All the family clans built several types of houses or tents, according to required dimensions, the season, the duration of the stay and the materials available.

The Forestry one (1 000 before J. - C. at 1500)

At the beginning of the last millenium before J. - C., the Amerindians of the plain laurentienne borrow from groups of the south, innovations like the pottery and the culture of the Maïs. It is the beginning of the Agriculture and as it was the case in the Middle East at the time of the Neolithic , there is population increase. In spite of these important changes, hunting, the fishing and the gathering of the fruits and seeds are not forsaken for as much. The agricultural bands iroquoiennes thus produce a great quantity of ceramics containers for the storage and the cooking of food. As regards husbandries, the corn which made its appearance in Mexico 3.500 years ago arrives in southernmost Quebec. It is followed by the culture of the Haricot S, the Tournesol and the Courge. The Tabac will arrive at the end of the 14th century.

The culture Point-Péninsulienne and Meadowoodienne

At the beginning of Forestry, populations coming from the Big lakes establish a network of commercial exchanges with those of the area laurentienne. The craftsmen of the culture Point-Péninsulienne work the Chert of Onondaga to make of them cut objects of forms triangular, ready to become points or knives. At the same period, a second population appears in Quebec: Meadowoodiens. The burials powdered with red Ocre constitute the main feature of this culture. It is as at that time as the arc and the arrow arrive and replace the Propulseur.

Iroquoiens of the St. Lawrence

As evoked previously, the integration of the horticulture and the culture of corn involved a demographic explosion which overflowed until in the area of Stadaconé (the town of Quebec today). The villages iroquoiens were relatively far away from the river for safety reasons. They could gather to 40 houses a 30 meters length each one. The populations could thus reach 2000 people. On arrival of the first explorers, they cultivated corn, the sunflower, beans and marrows. On the other hand, it should be noted that on arrival of Samuel de Champlain in 1608 in News-France, Iroquoiens of the St. Lawrence had completely disappeared. The real causes are still unknown but it is possible that the wars, the famines or the diseases are in question.

Algonquiens of the Maritime ones

The arrival of the pottery, 500 years before J. - C., leads us in straight line to the formation of the Micmacs and the Malécites of Quebec. It is the end of Antiquated and the beginning of the forestry period for the people of the Atlantic coast. Very the vast majority of the sites occupied by this culture find itself on the coasts and river banks. The deltas of rivers and the brackish water lagoons are characterized by the abundance of migratory birds, molluscs and shellfish. The salmon and the eel also appreciated these ecosystems.

Algonquiens of North

In Quebec, the Cries, the Montagnais, the Naskapis, the Algonquins and the Attikameks do all left the populations algonquiennes of North. They occupied the northern forest and the forest tundra of Labrador until the North-East of the Ontario. They continued to use the stone cut like their predecessors. On the other hand, the weak use of the pottery comes from interbanded marriages with their neighbors: Bouclériens recent of the West and Large-Lake-Saint-Laurentiens recent. The more one ventures towards the east, the more the remainders of pottery seem rare in the archeological sites. The habitat and the search for food remain unchanged with the previous period and will remain it until the arrival of Europeans.

Protohistoire

August 1st

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