OVERVIEWS

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ALBERTA, MANITOBA, NORTHWEST TERRITORIES, SASKATCHEWAN, YUKON, and PARKS CANADA

Whether dealing with an HRO in Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba, or an AOA in Northwest Territories, Yukon, B.C., or for Parks Canada, overviews are desktop studies designed to provide a detailed written understanding of the archaeological and historic background of an area.  Overviews cover a broad spectrum of reports based on proposed project size, ranging from the review of small properties to determine the need for detailed archaeological studies in several pages, to forest district-wide mapping of archaeological potential to assist strategic and operational planning.  An overview compiles existing information on previously recorded archaeological site locations within the area and beyond, geography, hydrology, surficial and bedrock geology, historical Indigenous land use, existing and past land use and disturbance, and other cultural and environmental constants or changes in the area likely to affect site presence and location.  This information is used to build predictions and/or a model of where discoverable archaeological sites are expected to be located, if at all.  Overviews provide recommendations about the need for Impact Assessment prior to development, and if so, the intensity and methodology most appropriate.  While large projects in Alberta may need still need an HRO, that Province has largely moved to a different type of formal overview document called a Statement of Justification (SoJ) for larger, more complex projects (see below).