UNITY — Faith Boser is making her mark in her chosen career path in archaeology and anthropology.
After graduating from Unity Composite High School in 2014, Boser earned a Bachelor of Arts in Archaeology in 2021. Last fall she entered the Master of Arts in Anthropology at the University of Alberta.
Her accomplishments and studies have led to a role in the publication of “Points of View, A guide on Saskatchewan Projectile Points with Indigenous Perspectives.”
“I have always had a passion for the past and was fascinated with learning how society came to be as we know it today,” Boser says.
“Intimately learning about past people through what they left behind and reconstructing pieces of their lives through those materials is incredibly rewarding.”
Boser tells the Unity-Wilkie Press-Herald and SASKTODAY.ca the book is a guide to the projectile points commonly uncovered in Saskatchewan, which include types of early spearpoints, atlatl darts and arrowheads.
“What sets this book apart from other artifact guidebooks, is that it includes greater insight into stone tools through Indigenous ways of knowing alongside archaeological methods of study,” she explains.
“The book also provides some information on the archaeology of Saskatchewan, stone material types, as well as other stone tools one may come across such as scrapers, hand axes, etc. It includes definitions of many archaeological terms so that the reader can finish the book with a thorough understanding of archaeological concepts.”
Ethical handling of artifacts is important to people in Boser’s field. The book ends with a section emphasizing the ethical care of archaeological materials, such as reporting and documenting found artifacts to ensure the knowledge those objects can provide is not lost.
As part of an internship with the Saskatchewan Archaeological Society, May 2021 to June 2022, Boser created the layout and design of the book with input from the other authors and contributors. She was tasked with tracking down and photographing most of the artifacts for the publication as well as contributing as an author to various chapters.
Boser’s masters degree studies focus on the zooarchaeology of the Great Plains. Her thesis work is centred on the analysis of the animal remains from an archaeological site in southern Saskatchewan called Lake Midden.
The book is available for purchase at the Saskatchewan Archaeological Society office in Saskatoon or on their website, the Saskbooks website, online or in-store at McNally Robinson in Saskatoon and at the Royal Saskatchewan Museum bookstore in Regina.
“Working on this book was such an incredibly rewarding experience and I had the privilege to work with many wonderful people along the way.,” Boser says.
“This experience has really kickstarted my career and led me towards focusing my research on Saskatchewan archaeology and Great Plains archaeology broadly.”
Boser encourages anyone interested in archaeology to pick up the book as an introduction to archaeology in Saskatchewan. It was created to be useful for professionals and the general public, and Boser says it is a great book to have on hand if you ever come across an artifact.
Boser will be one of the presenters at the Saskatchewan Archaeological Society and Archaeological Society of Alberta joint conference at the Bodo archaeological site at the end of April. More information about the gathering can be found on the Bodo Archaeology website.
