10,500 to 7,800 years ago: Early Plains Period

The grasslands established themselves on the plains and the Qu’Appelle Valley itself was in a parkland savannah environment. Pleistocene megafauna such as the mammoth became extinct, thus establishing bison as the primary human food source.

Archaeological sites in the region indicate humans began to inhabit the Qu’Appelle Valley sometime between 9,200 and 8,000 years ago.

From left to right. . . .
Folsom point (10,500 yrs ago)
Scottsbluff point (8,800–8,400 yrs ago)
Eden point (8,800–8,400 yrs ago)
Cody Knife (8,800–8,400 yrs ago)
Point collection courtesy of The University of Saskatchewan’s Department of Anthropology and Archaeology