Paleoeskimo Demography and Holocene Sea-level History, Gulf of Boothia, Arctic Canada

Abstract

Surveys in six areas along the Gulf of Boothia produced large collections of radiocarbon samples from raised beaches that yield six new relative sea-level curves and information on Holocene bowhead whale ranges. In addition, on the lower beaches, we documented 482 Paleoeskimo dwelling features spanning about 3500 years (4200-800 14 C years BP). Spatial densities of sites are only about half those reported by us from adjacent regions, but other attributes are remarkably similar. On the basis of feature elevation, corroborated by radiocarbon dates, Paleoeskimo occupation appears to have passed through a series of boom-and-bust cycles, the first being the most prominent. After the first peopling about 4200 BP, populations rose between about 3900 and 3600 BP to their all-time maximum, which was followed by a dramatic crash. Population recoveries after the initial crash were small and perhaps temporary. A final increase between 1900 (1500) and 800 14 C years BP was followed by the disappearance of the Paleoeskimo. No compelling evidence yet points to the cause of the population declines; climate change and resource over-exploitation are equally plausible. The frequency distributions of dwelling sizes and numbers of dwellings per site closely resemble those in adjacent regions, suggesting similar social dynamics. Specifically, dispersed nuclear families or small extended families characterized Paleoeskimo settlement patterns for most of the year, but annual aggregations involved 100 or more people. The only significant architectural change coincides with the arrival of Late Dorset people bringing distinctive triangular midpassages and soapstone lamp supports.

Out of the woods: Driftwood insights into Holocene pan‐Arctic sea ice dynamics

“…Data from 913 driftwood samples previously collected throughout the western Arctic coastline and covering the Holocene was collated from a range of previous studies [ Allard and Tremblay , ; Atkinson and England , ; Bednarski , ; Bennike , ; Bennike and Weidick , ; Birkenmajer and Olsson , ; Blake , a, b, , , , , , , , , ; Bondevik et al , ; Broecker and Olson , ; Crary , ; Dibner , ; Dyke , , , , ; Dyke and Morris , ; Dyke and Savelle , , , ; Dyke et al ., , , , ; England , a, b, , , , ; England et al ., , , ; Evans , , ; Evans and England , ; Forman , ; Forman and Ingolfsson , ; Forman et al ., , , a, b; Funder et al ., ; Glazovskiy et al ., ; Grosswald , ; Grosswald et al ., ; Häggblom , ; Hattersley‐Smith et al ., ; Henoch , ; Hillaire‐Marcel , ; Hjort , ; Hodgson , ; Hodgson et al, ; Hoppe et al, ; Ives et al, ; Johansen , ; Knuth , ; Kovaleva , ; Landvik and Salvigsen , ; Landv...…”

Paleoeskimo Demography on Western Victoria Island, Arctic Canada: Implications for Social Organization and Longhouse Development

“…2) is consistent with the behaviour of all species, including humans, moving into previously unoccupied environments, and subsequent crashes are likely consequences of over-population. We have discussed these cycles in Dyke (2002, 2009), Dyke and Savelle (2009), and Dyke et al (2011). We concluded that there is no compelling evidence that the early Paleoeskimo population decline was climate-induced.…”

“…nevertheless, these later increases do not appear to have reached anywhere near the levels of the early Pre-Dorset occupation. In this paper, following similar paleodemographic studies on Boothia Peninsula (Savelle and Dyke, 2009), on king William Island and kent Peninsula (Dyke and Savelle, 2009), and around the gulf of Boothia (Dyke et al, 2011), we augment the treatment of the Victoria Island record by Savelle and Dyke (2002). We discuss changes in population dynamics by examining site sizes and dwelling characteristics through the boom-and-bust cycles summarized above.…”

Prehistoric Neoeskimo Komatiks, Victoria Island, Arctic Canada

“…However, we found only five sites with such remains in our surveys of western Victoria Island, despite recording hundreds of archaeological sites. Furthermore, we found no such remains in equally extensive archaeological surveys farther east although archaeological sites are abundant there as well Dyke and Savelle, 2009;Savelle et al, 2009;Dyke et al, 2011). And no other direct radiocarbon dates are reported on komatiks in Arctic Canada in the Canadian Archaeological Radiocarbon Database (to 2005), indicating presumably that complete or nearly complete archaeological Neoeskimo komatiks are generally rare, if not unique.…”