Polynyas and Prehistoric Settlement Patterns

Schledermann, Peter

doi:10.14430/arctic2562

Cited by 46 publications

(24 citation statements)

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“…The polynya offers the hunters early access to marine game animals at a critical time during the spring, when winter caches of food, fuel, and other staples are becoming exhausted. Ruins from many Paleo-and Neo-Eskimo structures are located along the North Water and the area has functioned as a gateway for several waves of migrants from the Canadian High Arctic to both East and West Greenland (Schledermann 1980(Schledermann , 1990. This movement was facilitated by the predictable occurrence of important marine resources like walruses, seals, and sea birds.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Significance of the North Water Polynya to Arctic Top Predators

Heide‐Jørgensen

Burt

Hansen

et al. 2012

AMBIO

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The North Water polynya (*76°N to 79°N and 70°W to 80°W) is known to be an important habitat for several species of marine mammals and sea birds. For millennia, it has provided the basis for subsistence hunting and human presence in the northernmost part of Baffin Bay. The abundance of air-breathing top predators also represents a potential source of nutrient cycling that maintains primary production. In this study, aerial surveys conducted in 2009 and 2010 were used for the first time to map the distribution and estimate the abundance of top predators during spring in the North Water. Belugas (Delphinapterus leucas) were not detected north of 77°20 0 N but were found along the coast of West Greenland and offshore in the middle of the North Water with an abundance estimated at 2245 (95 % CI 1811-2783). Narwhals (Monodon monoceros) were widely distributed on the eastern side of the North Water with an estimate of abundance of 7726 (3761-15 870). Walruses (Odobenus rosmarus) were found across the North Water over both shallow and deep ([500 m) water with an estimated abundance of 1499 (1077-2087). Bearded (Erignathus barbatus) and ringed seals (Phoca hispida) used the large floes of ice in the southeastern part of the North Water for hauling out. Most polar bears (Ursus maritimus) were detected in the southern part of the polynya. The abundances of bearded and ringed seals were 6016 (3322-10 893) and 9529 (5460-16 632), respectively, and that of polar bears was 60 (12-292). Three sea bird species were distributed along the Greenland coast (eiders, Somateria spp.), in leads and cracks close to the Greenland coast (little auks, Alle alle) or widely in open water (thick-billed guillemots, Uria lomvia).

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Significance of the North Water Polynya to Arctic Top Predators

Heide‐Jørgensen

Burt

Hansen

et al. 2012

AMBIO

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“…Because Saqqaq ruins and artefacts are so sparse within the area of Young Sund and Walrus Island, it seems that these people visited the northern parts of Northeast Greenland only sporadically, unlike the Independence I and Greenlandic Dorset groups. All of the above Palaeo-Eskimo groups have also been identified in the High Arctic Thule region, demonstrating that they were well adapted to extreme environments (Schledermann 1990).…”

Section: Identifying Different Palaeo-eskimo Cultures On Walrus Islandmentioning

confidence: 91%

Walrus Island – A pivotal place for High Arctic Palaeo-Eskimo societies in Northeast Greenland

Sørensen

2013

etudinuit

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In this article, the Palaeo-Eskimo ruin features of the Walrus Island site are presented and analysed. The Walrus Island site was investigated in 2008 and more than 2,000 stone features were recorded, of which 445 were the remains of dwellings attributed to Palaeo-Eskimo occupations. These ruins are described as “mid-passages,” “tent rings,” “clearings,” and “pavements.” They are associated with lithic artefacts that attest to the presence of all the previously identified Palaeo-Eskimo cultures of Northeast Greenland, i.e., Independence I, Saqqaq, and Greenlandic Dorset. Based on the ruins’ location near sloping terrain and lack of peripheral stones, it is argued that the Greenlandic Dorset people built snow houses on the site. Walrus Island has the second largest known Palaeo-Eskimo site in Northeast Greenland, the largest one being the Kap Skt. Jacques site on the island Île-de-France, which has 548 features. Both sites, and four other large or potentially very large sites, have in common a shore location on the Northeast Greenland coast near polynyas. These large sites were of pivotal importance for the Palaeo-Eskimos of Northeast Greenland and may help us understand their way of life in the extreme High Arctic.Dans cet article, nous présentons et analysons les vestiges paléoesquimaux du site Walrus Island. En 2008, l’étude du site a révélé plus de 2 000 structures en pierre, dont 445 habitations attribuées à des occupations paléoesquimaudes. Les vestiges sont décrits comme étant des «aménagements axiaux», des «cercles de tentes», des «aires dégagées» ou encore des «pavages». Les vestiges lithiques témoignent de la présence sur ce site de toutes les cultures paléoesquimaudes identifiées au nord-est du Groenland: Indépendance I, Saqqaq et Dorsétien groenlandais. En nous basant sur la localisation des structures en bordure de pentes et sur l’absence de pierres dans leur périphérie, nous formulons l’hypothèse que les Dorsétiens groenlandais utilisaient des iglous sur le site. Walrus Island est le deuxième plus grand site paléoesquimau au nord-est du Groenland, le premier étant celui du cap Saint-Jacques sur l’Île-de-France, qui a 548 structures. Ces deux sites, ainsi que quatre autres potentiellement très vastes, ont ceci en commun qu’ils sont situés près de polynies le long du rivage du nord-est du Groenland. Ces grands sites étaient d’une importance capitale pour les Paléoesquimaux du nord-est du Groenland et peuvent nous aider à comprendre leur mode de vie dans l’extrême Haut Arctique

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“…By establishing and running an RCMP post (the Bache Detachment) in the years 1926 -33, the Canadian Government marked its sovereignty over Ellesmere and prohibited hunting by the Inughuit on the western side of Smith Sound. The ban was not strictly observed, and when the station was abandoned, the Inughuit hunting expeditions were resumed (Vibe, 1948;Schledermann, 1996Schledermann, , 2003.…”

Section: The Avannarliit Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…High Arctic recurrent polynyas are rare and separated by vast distances and areas of sea ice, but these Arctic oases, which offer an abundance of marine game and other resources (e.g., Vibe, 1950;Born and Böcher, 2001;HeideJørgensen et al, 2016), have always been crucial to humans in the High Arctic (Schledermann, 1980;Born, 1987). In recent decades, studies of pre-Inuit and Thule culture settlement and subsistence around polynyas have been carried out in Greenland through interdisciplinary research initiatives involving geography, biology, anthropology, and archaeology.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…1), the North Water has rich biotic resources that have attracted humans through four millennia. This gateway to Greenland (Appelt and Gulløv, 1999) has a complex cultural history that led to the present Inughuit settlement (Schledermann, 1990;Grønnow and Sørensen, 2006). Thus, the North Water, in contrast to the other polynyas in High Arctic Greenland, is connected to rich ethnohistoric material.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Living at a High Arctic Polynya: Inughuit Settlement and Subsistence around the North Water during the Thule Station Period, 1910–53

Grønnow¹

2016

ARCTIC

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ABSTRACT. The settlement and subsistence patterns of the Inughuit of the Avanersuaq (Thule area) are described and analyzed for the years 1910 to 1953, when Knud Rasmussen's trading station at Dundas was active. Inughuit subsistence was based on the rich biotic resources of the North Water polynya between Ellesmere Island and Greenland, but the analysis shows that trade, primarily with fox furs at the Thule Station, also played a major role in shaping the settlement pattern of the period. During the Thule Station Period, the named winter settlements amounted to c. 40 sites; however, only 10 -15 of them were settled at any given time. The Inughuit settlement close to the station, Uummannaq, soon became the largest site in the area. The sources enable us to follow changes of residence of some hunting families over four decades. By moving their winter sites every second or third year, the families gained primary knowledge of the topography and seasonal variation of the hunting grounds in the entire Thule district during their active years. In the same way, they connected with diverse family networks through the years. Tracing the sledge routes that connected the sites over great distances reveals how decisive proximity to main and escape routes over the Ice Cap was for site location. Dog sledge technology, and thus capacity to transport people, gear, and stored food, boomed during the Thule Station Period with the wealth created from trade and access to raw materials. Mapping the main hunting grounds on the sea ice and modeling the hunters' annual range of possibilities for accessing different game-mainly walrus, ringed seal, narwhal, and sea birds (plus some caribou)-showed that ringed seal formed the bread and butter of the subsistence economy. However, bulk resources, gained in particular from intensive spring walrus hunts at a few hot spots, as well as carefully timed consumption and sharing of the stored meat and blubber, were keys to life at the North Water polynya. Temporary settlement at the trading stations in the area-a couple of winters at a time-was also part of the risk management strategy of the Inughuit.

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Polynyas and Prehistoric Settlement Patterns

Cited by 46 publications

References 11 publications

The Significance of the North Water Polynya to Arctic Top Predators

The Significance of the North Water Polynya to Arctic Top Predators

Walrus Island – A pivotal place for High Arctic Palaeo-Eskimo societies in Northeast Greenland

Living at a High Arctic Polynya: Inughuit Settlement and Subsistence around the North Water during the Thule Station Period, 1910–53

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