Canadian Historic Sites: Occasional Papers in Archaeology and History No. 26

Analysis of Animal Remains from the Old Fort Point Site, Northern Alberta

by Anne Meachem Rick

Molluscs

Two small fragments of freshwater clam shell were found in the southwest room. Only two species of freshwater clam (family Unionidae) occur in the northwestern Canadian interior: Anodonta grandis and Lampsilis radiata Both forms have been collected from the Athabasca River near Lake Athabasca (Clarke 1973: 87, 107). Anodonta grandis is a thin-shelled clam while Lampsilis radiata has a much heavier shell; the two archaeological fragments are thick and thus probably belong to the latter species.