Over 40,000 artefacts were unearthed while the Canadian Museum for Human Rights was being constructed in Winnipeg. Some of those were unveiled on Wednesday by museum officials and archaeologists.

Most of the artefacts which were unearthed just beneath the future classrooms include various ceramic pieces and arrow points. The museum is going to open next year. The classrooms will be used for hosting students of elementary as well as high school among others.

Many of the relics belong to 1,100 A.D. They give an idea of the lifestyle of the aboriginal people who used to live at the Forks. This is the same place where both the Assiniboine and the Red rivers meet. The discoveries also include 191 hearths and fragments of ceremonial pipes. These are substantial evidences which apparently prove that people used to meet at the place to celebrate. It took 4 years and $1 million to complete the excavation successfully.

It was originally presumed that the museum would cost $260 million. However, about a decade passed since the projection and it finally cost $351 million. It was feared that the traditional location belonging to the aborigines would be disturbed if there was any construction. The location had been used earlier as one rail yard.

Some of the relics including ceramic pottery show a mixed style which is generally seen in pieces belonging to First Nations. The Forks is now considered to be an interesting melting pot of diverse cultures, where people used to meet and discuss their individual uniqueness. However, the question that remains is how people travelled in order to reach the meeting place for sharing cultures.

Bean and maize residues along with hoe fragments are found on ceramics. Archaeologists suggest that the evidence proves that people used to do farming centuries back. In addition, there is another possibility that people could have brought the farming implements from elsewhere.

The archaeological evidences may further confirm the oral history popular among the aborigines, which says that over 6 First Nations used to gather in a place around 500 years ago.

Video source: YouTube/WinnipegFreePress