<p>Over the past two decades, the oil sands region of northeastern<br>Alberta has been the site of unprecedented levels of development.<br><em>Alberta's Lower Athabasca Basin</em> tells a fascinating story<br>of how a catastrophic ice age flood left behind a unique landscape, one<br>that made deposits of bitumen available for surface mining. Less well<br>known is the discovery that this flood also produced an environment<br>that supported perhaps the most intensive use of boreal forest<br>resources by prehistoric Native people yet recognized in Canada.<br>Studies undertaken to meet the conservation requirements of the Alberta<br>Historical Resources Act have yielded a rich and varied record of<br>prehistoric habitation and activity in the oil sands area. Evidence<br>from between 9,500 and 5,000 years ago - the result of several<br>major excavations - has confirmed extensive human use of the<br>region's resources, while important contextual information provided<br>by key eological and palaeoenvironmental studies has deepened our<br>understanding of how the region's early inhabitants interacted with<br>the landscape.</p><br><br><p>Touching on various elements of this rich environmental and<br>archaeological record, the contributors to this volume use the evidence<br>gained through research and compliance studies to offer new insights<br>into human and natural history. They also examine the challenges of<br>managing this irreplaceable heritage resource in the face of ongoing<br>development.</p><br><p><br>For more than twenty years, <b>Brian M. Ronaghan</b> has<br>served in a research and regulatory compliance role with the Government<br>of Alberta. He currently directs a team responsible for overseeing<br>archaeological studies in Alberta.