Reflections: The Annual Meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology in Quebec on Ice

This post is part of the UMD Anthropology student reflections series. Adam Fracchia is a PhD student in the Anthropology Department studying the historical archaeology of labor, urbanization, space, and capitalism  He currently is finishing his dissertation which examines the relationship between industry and everyday life in the small quarry town of Texas, Maryland.

Looking up at the Hotel Frontenac from the Lower Town and St. Lawrence River

The annual meeting of the SHA was a great opportunity to present my dissertation work on the town of Texas to the wider field and explore the amazing city of Quebec.  My presentation was but one of the fifteen given by students and faculty in the Department.  All of these papers were amazing and showed a wide range of research interests and perspectives.   Equally as interesting were the many papers given about French-American archaeology and how strong and focused the discipline is in this region of Canada.  Exposure to this non-US or even non-Anglo American historical archaeology was eye opening and definitely broadened my perspective on the field and its practice.  I think everyone who attended learned a great deal in this way. Thank you to the Graduate School for helping to partially fund this trip for so many of us.

The old city walls of Quebec covered in ice

We also became acclimated to the bitter cold we are now experiencing and more importantly, the ice.  For much of the conference, the city literally was covered in a sheet of ice—ice on the roads, ice on the sidewalks, ice falling from the roofs (chutes de glace!), and even ice all over the runway.  Walking down the sidewalk one had to be careful not to step too near the downhill sidewalks or else he or she would start sliding downward unable to stop until the ground leveled out.   Adding to the challenge, the conference was at the highest point in Quebec.  This winter wonderland was great preparation for this week, although a local shopkeeper told me the weather had been a little too warm for Quebec that week!

Mike Roller learning about the transatlantic trade system and the dangers of crossing the Atlantic at Musée de la place Royale

Still, we all managed to slip around and attempt a few French words while exploring the many sites and establishments in and around the old city.  Dodging in and out to warm up, we visited museums on the French colony and the later history of Quebec and even archaeology.  The time depth of this history and the amount of pride invested in it was unexpected and refreshing to see.  We also spent some time sampling the local food and beverages, such as Poutine.  Who would have thought that covering french fries with cheese curds and gravy and everything else imaginable could be so good?  I think it is worth another trip to Quebec—in the summer.