Archaeologists working near the corner of Peel and Sherbrooke Sts. have dug up more artifacts from a centuries-old village that once existed there.
"What will be preserved is pottery and that's what we found, their cooking vessels essentially, but we also found their pipes, because they were made out of ceramics and also some bones," said archaeologist Roland Tremblay.
Among the other tools they found were a beaver incisor, and a beluga tooth.
The latest dig began in 2016, and is the continuation of work that actually began more than 150 years ago. In 1859, renowned geologist and professor Sir John William Dawson — for whom Dawson College is named — began investigating the site after workers accidentally discovered bone fragments and pottery while on an excavation job.
Carbon-dating techniques indicate the village likely dates back to around 1375 — almost a century and a half before the arrival of Jacques Cartier.
For members of First Nations communities, this is an exciting find.
"It just actually means to me that the things that I heard as a child, the oral tradition, is there and it's alive and well," said Christine Zachary Deom, a former elected chief of the Mohawk Council of Kahnawake. "The things that have been found there just really highlight that the Mohawks have been a presence all the way through."
The City of Montreal is currently considering ways to publicly commemorate the existence of the village.
-With files from CTV Montreal