Download or read book Saqqaq written by Jens Dahl and published by University of Toronto Press. This book was released on 2015-02-26 with total page 298 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the early eighteenth century, West Greenland became a colonial territory of Denmark. Nevertheless, a large number of Inuit communities maintained significant aspects of their cultural and economic practices. When home rule was introduced in 1979, the benign paternalism of colonial days was superseded by the incorporation of ethnic and institutional relations under a unified political system in Greenland. A national Greenlandic Inuit community was created, forcing further cultural adaptation on the part of the Inuit. Jens Dahl analyses life in Saqqaq, a small Greenlandic hunting community, and explores the changes that have taken place there over the last couple of decades. As modern technology is introduced and the worldviews of the Greenlandic Inuit change, the hunting community continues to base its life on a traditional notions, including an economy involving sharing, exchanging, and free access to the hunting and fishing grounds. Dahl demonstrates that Saqqaq and other communities have adapted to colonial and post-colonial influences by combining their practices of hunting and fishing with other forms of employment. In the midst of these economic developments, however, hunters are losing control over their traditional lands. Dahl discusses this conflict within the political context, making "Saqqaq" a unique and valuable example of Inuit survival in the modern world.

Download or read book The Frozen Saqqaq Sites of Disko Bay West Greenland Qeqertasussuk and Qajaa 2400 900 BC written by Bjarne Grønnow and published by Museum Tusculanum Press. This book was released on 2017-03-01 with total page 495 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Qeqertasussuk and Qajaa are the only known sites of the Early Arctic Small Tool tradition in the Eastern Arctic, where all kinds of organic materials - wood, bone, baleen, hair, skin - are preserved in permafrozen culture layers. Together, the sites cover the entire Saqqaq era in Greenland (c. 2400-900 BC). Technological and contextual analyses of the excellently preserved archaeological materials from the frozen layers form the core of this publication. Bjarne Grønnow draws a new picture of a true Arctic pioneer society with a remarkably complex technology. The Saqqaq hunting tool kit, consisting of bows, darts, lances, harpoons, and throwing boards as well as kayak-like sea-going vessels, is described for the first time. A wide variety of hand tools and household utensils as well as lithic and organic refuse and animal bones were found on the intact floor of a midpassage dwelling at Qeqertasussuk. These materials provide entirely new information on the daily life and subsistence of the earliest hunting groups in Greenland. Comparative studies put the Saqqaq Culture into a broad cultural-historical perspective as one of the pioneer societies of the Eastern Arctic.

Download or read book Nipisat a Saqqaq Culture Site in Sisimiut Central West Greenland written by Anne Birgitte Gotfredsen and published by Museum Tusculanum Press. This book was released on 2004 with total page 248 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From 1989 to 1994, more than 200 m2 were excavated at the Saqqaq site of Nipisat, situated on a small island 15 km south of Sisimiut. The excellent preservation conditions for organic material, and the fact that some of the stone artefacts were not previously known from the Saqqaq Culture, were the main reasons for the excavation. More than 70,000 bone fragments, 20,000 flakes and 1,000 artefacts were recovered. A total of 33 dates, making this site one of the best dated in the entire Arctic, reveal that Nipisat was occupied continuously for nearly 1,500 years. Although protruding bedrock disturbed the stratigraphy and several lenses of crushed shells interrupted the layers, three different chronological phases could be identified. Phase 1 is dated by eight 14C dates ranging from 2020 to 1740 BC (cal). Phase 2 partly overlaps, but is mainly younger than phase 1 and dated by five 14C dates to 1860-1325 BC (cal). Phase 3 is dated by 16 14C dates to 1310-810 BC (cal). One date was very young (520 BC (cal)) and problematic because of extreme oscillations of the 14C curve. From phase 1 there is a mid-passage structure with a box-hearth. A ring of flagstones surrounds the structure. From phase 2 there is a well-defined box-hearth. There was no clear outline of a tent ring surrounding the hearth, which could be due to later disturbances in phase 3. No dwelling structures were recognised from phase 3. Instead several sherds of soapstone were recorded, indicating the use of blubber for light or cooking. From phase 1 and 2 the tool types are well known from other Saqqaq sites in Greenland and Arctic Canada e.g. small harpoon endblades, projectile points, knife blades, scrapers, burins etc. and needles, flint flakers, harpoon heads, wedges etc. But from phase 3 previously unknown types were recorded. A new tool kit for sea mammal hunting is seen in the very sturdy harpoon or lance head made of antler. In addition there are many different kinds of barbed leisters or spears. New types of bevelled harpoon heads, bevelled knife blades and bevelled projectile points, all made of killiaq (silicified slate), were also registered. The faunal assemblage of Nipisat yielded 28,823 identified bone fragments representing at least 42 species of fish, birds and mammals. The fish remains, comprising c. 2% of the faunal material, consisted nearly entirely (98%) of fairly large sized cod (). The bird remains comprise c. 47% of the material and derive from at least 24 bird species. Gulls are the dominant group (c. 54% of the bird remains) followed by eider ducks (spp.) (24%) and spp. (13%) presumably barnacle geese (), while auks () were found in lower frequencies. The most spectacular finds, however, were skeletal remains of subadult great auks () from the oldest phase. A total of 60 presumed whooper swan () remains constitute the hitherto largest, northernmost and oldest occurrence in Greenland. At least 14 mammalian species were identified revealing a surprisingly large proportion of caribou () (51% of the mammal remains) for a coastal site. Seals accounted for 45%, with the common seal () as the absolutely dominant component. Other marine mammals were walrus () and harbour porpoise (), which played an important but minor role. Polar bear () hunting was documented by the presence of four fragments from the youngest phase. Saqqaq people were accompanied by fairly large and robust dogs (). Nipisat, the first larger Saqqaq site to be excavated from the Open Water Area was a coastal site and through all occupation phases the game animals of the surrounding waters and fjords were hunted. For more than a millennium, the site was visited briefly from time to time, at least during spring, summer and early autumn. Staging geese were captured during spring. In June and July the breeding birds were exploited for their eggs and easily accessible young, as documented by large numbers of juvenile gull bones in particular. The common seal hunting specialised on immature individuals caught primarily during their first summer on the breeding grounds. The inhabitants at Nipisat also hunted caribou on the mainland. The age structure and sex distribution of the caribou remains primarily reflect stalking. Selected body parts, especially the fore and hind legs and the heads, were transported to the island for raw material, meat filleting and further processing for marrow extraction and fat rendering. The exploitation of fauna through the entire occupation period was remarkably constant with respect to choice of game animal and the selected age groups. Although eiders were more abundant in phase 1 (36%) than in phase 3 (17%) while gulls increased from 43 to 61% in the same time period. The same trend was found valid for geese, which increased over time while the importance of auks decreased. Harbour porpoise seem to have decreased while walrus increased in relative importance through time. Caribou seem to be of greater importance in phase 3 with 55% compared to 45% in phase 1. The slight shift in preferred resources may be explained by fluctuating abundance and availability of the game species combined with the development of new hunting tools. Based on the new investigations in the Sisimiut District, the gap between Saqqaq and Dorset Culture in Central West Greenland has been diminished. Although resource exploitation at the site seems to have been very stable through all three phases, there are aspects of cultural change bridging the transition from Saqqaq to Dorset Cultures. The introduction of bevelled tools, sturdy harpoon or lance heads and the abandonment of the bow and arrow in phase 3, show cultural affiliation with Dorset technology. This is also true in terms of lithic raw material preference, the introduction of soapstone artefacts and the absence of dwelling structures with a well-defined box-hearth. At the same time it looks like, the central occupation area for the Saqqaq Culture shifted southwards from the Qeqertarsuup Tunua area towards Sisimiut and Nuuk.

Download or read book Contributions to the Study of the Dorset Palaeo Eskimos written by Canadian Museum of Civilization and published by Gatineau, Québec : Canadian Museum of Civilization. This book was released on 2005 with total page 184 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This collection of papers offers exciting new insights on the Dorset Palaeo-Eskimo occupation of Arctic Canada, Newfoundland and Greenland. Featuring a wide range of recent research, the book covers topics such as biological relationships within the Dorset population; succession and discontinuity in Palaeo-Eskimo occupations of various regions; interpreting local chronological sequences based on stylistic change; Dorset technology in soapstone, metal, and skeletal materials; rare petroglyph sites; and social aspects of the stone "longhouses" associated with late Dorset occupations. An introductory essay provides historical context for these fascinating new studies of a pre-Inuit Arctic people and their distinctive way of life.

Download or read book Inuit Studies written by and published by . This book was released on 2004 with total page 924 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Ancient Harp Seal Hunters of Disko Bay written by Morten Meldgaard and published by Museum Tusculanum Press. This book was released on 2004 with total page 200 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Saqqaq Culture site Qeqertasussuk (2400-1400 BC) is situated in the south eastern corner of Disko Bay, West Greenland. The site was excavated between 1983 and 1987 by Qasigiannguit Museum. The stratified cultural deposits are exceptionally well preserved by permafrost and yielded hundreds of thousands of animal bones, feathers, plant remains, insect remains, wooden implements, and a wealth of other organic refuse as well as stone tools, house ruins, stone set fireplaces and other traces of habitation. In order to understand the life conditions of the inhabitants at Qeqertasussuk, a comparative survey of the historic distribution, density and availability of the living resources in the area is undertaken. This resource model is then evaluated against the paleo-environmental data. Also, comparative ethnohistorical and ethnographic data on the exploitation of the living resources in the area is presented. Subsistence and subsistence change at Qeqertasussuk is studied through a comprehensive analysis of the faunal material that consists of more than 200,000 animal bones. Quantitative methods are supplemented by detailed studies of seasonality and age composition of the hunting bag. Forty three species of animals are represented. Harp seal and ringed seal represent the most important game, but sea birds such as fulmar, Brünnich's guillemot, and little auk also play a significant role in the subsistence economy. Fish, especially Atlantic Cod, have been caught and remains of large whales indicate that these animals were utilized, but it can not be decided whether they were actively hunted. Most of the game was taken close by the site, however finds of caribou indicate that inland caribou hunting was undertaken and that Qeqertasussuk was part of a larger subsistence-settlement-system. Several species of plants were also utilized. Temporal changes in the composition of the faunal material indicate that significant changes occur in the subsistence at Qeqertasusuk. Four phases are identified: (1) Basecamp period I (2400-2100 BC). A pioneer phase where the site is used as a year-round base camp with more than 90% of the biomass being harvested within an area of approximately 80 km2, (2) Base-camp period II (2100-1900 BC), which seems to be the period of most intensive use and where new methods (probably netting) of harp seal hunting are introduced, (3) Hunting camp period (1900-1700 BC), where the site becomes more specialized and more seasonal with a focus on spring-summer hunting for harp seals, (4) high activity period (1700-1400 BC) indications of continued heavy sea mammal hunting. The site was abandoned around 1400 BC. The causes of the abandonment of Qeqertasussuk is discussed and the impact of the general cooling around 1500 BC on key resources such as harp seal and capelin is highlighted.

Download or read book Crossroads to Greenland written by Peter Schledermann and published by Calgary : Arctic Institute of North America of the University of Calgary. This book was released on 1990 with total page 396 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This study of the archaeological evidence of the Thule and Dorset cultures in the High Arctic focusses on sites in the Bache Peninsula and Skraeling Island on the east coast of Ellesmere Island, and discusses the links of the culture to Greenland, as well as the significance of polynyas in its existence and distribution.

Download or read book Encyclopedia of the Arctic written by Mark Nuttall and published by New York : Routledge. This book was released on 2005 with total page 770 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "The Encyclopedia of the Arctic offers a rich and dynamic view of, and introduction to, an enormous, incredibly diverse, and rapidly changing part of the world. Its three volumes comprise overviews of hundreds of topics, events, places, people, human cultures, animals, and environments, ranging from geological history, exploration, the cultures and livelihoods of indigenous peoples, geopolitics, international environmental cooperation, natural history, physical processes, life sciences, and environmental change."--Page xxxix.

Download or read book Fifty Years of Arctic Research written by R. Gilberg and published by Copenhagen : Department of Ethnography, the National Museum of Denmark. This book was released on 1997 with total page 348 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Anthropos written by and published by . This book was released on 2001 with total page 720 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Dynamics of Northern Societies written by Jette Arneborg and published by Aarhus University Press. This book was released on 2006 with total page 426 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The prehistory and early history of northern societies -- from the Palaeo-eskimo pioneers to the Viking Norse Settlers -- is unfolding through archaeological and historical research and through interdisciplinary studies including natural sciences. The more insight we have gained on Arctic and North Atlantic archae-ology the more we have realised how diverse and dynamic these societies were and how complex their stories are. This volume includes articles on New approaches to dynamic analysis of Palaeo-Eskimo artefacts; Interaction with the environ-ment; Dynamics of small scale societies; Archi-tecture and social organisation of space in Palaeo-Eskimo and Inuit contexts; Origins and spread of the Palaeo-Eskimo and Inuit cultures; Demography, death and burials; Norse culture in Iceland and the Faroe Islands, e.g. outlaws of Viking Age Iceland; Trade and burials in Viking Age Britain.

Download or read book Genetic A Conceptual Approach written by Benjamin A. Pierce and published by Macmillan Higher Education. This book was released on 2013-12-27 with total page 876 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With Genetics: A Conceptual Approach, Ben Pierce brings a master teacher’s experiences to the introductory genetics textbook, clarifying this complex subject by focusing on the big picture of genetics concepts and how those concepts connect to one another.

Download or read book Science written by John Michels (Journalist) and published by . This book was released on 2008 with total page 578 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A weekly record of scientific progress.

Download or read book Threads of Arctic Prehistory written by Canadian Museum of Civilization and published by Hull, Quebec : Canadian Museum of Civilization. This book was released on 1994 with total page 440 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Foreward by George Macdonald. Essays by eighteen contributors. Includes an abstract in French.

Download or read book Polar Research written by and published by . This book was released on 1996 with total page 378 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Man Culture and Environment in Ancient Greenland written by Jette Arneborg and published by . This book was released on 1998 with total page 218 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The Oxford Handbook of the Prehistoric Arctic written by T. Max Friesen and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2016 with total page 1001 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Despite its extreme climate, the North American Arctic holds a complex archaeological record of global significance. In this volume, leading researchers provide comprehensive coverage of the region's cultural history, addressing issues as diverse as climate change impacts on human societies, European colonial expansion, and hunter-gatherer adaptations and social organization.