Introduction

Jacobsen, N. Kingo, et.al. Report of activities at Tugtuligssuaq,
Melville Bugt, 1978-79. Geografisk Tidsskrift 80: 29-44. Copenhagen,
June 1980.

A joint cooperative Greenland/Danish expedition to the Melville Bugt area, Tugtuligssuaq/Kap Seddon to throw light on the Eskimos' immigration routes to Greenland seen in relation to climatic fluctuations. Studies of geography, botany, zoology, archaeology, and ethnohistory have been carried out.

N. Kingo Jacobsen, Professor, dr. phil. Geographical Institute,
University of Copenhagen, Haraldsgade 68, DK-2100, Copenhagen
0.

The KNUD RASMUSSEN FOUNDATION was established January 20th 1934 by the Royal Danish Geographical Society to support geographical and archaeological investigations and in particular studies of the people living in the Arctic. The centenary of Knud Rasmussen's birth on June 7th, 1879, has been celebrated by a renewed cooperative Danish/Greenland scientific venture, the Knud Rasmussen Memorial Expedition to the Melville Bugt,

The focus of the expedition should be on the routes the eskimo culture took to and within Greenland. Further it deals with natural environmental studies as background of studies of the immigration from Sarqaq (2.000 8.C.) via the Dorset - (600 - 0 8.C.) and Thule culture (900 - 1860) to comprise the present day West Greenlanders (Inugsuk culture) as these movements were related to climatic fluctuations.

Tugtuligssuaq/Kap Seddon was visited by Knud Rasmussen and Lauge Koch on the 2nd Thule Expedition (1916). They reported about 50 former settlements here in the middle of the Melville Bugt at 75° N and 58° W on the Lauge Koch Kysten between the calving fields of the Steenstrup and Sverdrup glaciers.

The first European to meet the Polar Eskimos at Thule was John Ross (1818). He was followed by many American expeditions and Scottish whalers. In 1891 Robert Peary started his search for the North Pole establishing the base camp at Inglefield Bredning.

Knud Rasmussen reopened on »The Danish Literary Expedition to Greenland« 1902-4 the old sledge route between North and West Greenland. The questions are how old is this route and how important has it been through the centuries?

Knud Rasmussen was born in Jakobshavn, and he was like an Eskimo himself and yet different. Always in high spirits, a tireless hunter and an extremely good sledge driver. He was the right man to make the Eskimos yield their best.

Right from the start it was Knud Rasmussen's intention to trace the migration routes of the Eskimos back to the point of origin. The area of Smith Sund must always have been important to Eskimos migrating from the islands of Arctic Canada via Ellesmere Island to Greenland. Thanks to Knud Rasmussen's efforts a mission station was established in 1909 at North Star Bay. On August 10th, 1910, he hoisted the Danish flag on his own trading post, Thule, which under his leadership and assisted by Peter Freuchen, became a very important station. This date marked the start of an epoch in the history of Greenland as well as for Eskimo research in which Denmark has played a central role.

The finding in 1916 of the Eskimo routes on the old sledge route from Kap York to West Greenland were decisive when planning the route of the modern memorial expedition. The fact that Kap Seddon was the southernmost station of the Polar Eskimos, reflecting their migrations and the climatic fluctuations, made it the primary base of this expedition that quite naturally also determined the choice of academic disciplines and scientists to be represented.

From where did the Eskimos originate? When did they arrive in Greenland? Where did the immigrations take place within Greenland and which role has the Melville Bugt played: as a barrier of ice or as the great sledge route described by Knud Rasmussen? Finally, how did their specific culture arise?

The results from Knud Rasmussen's Fifth Thule Expedition 1921-24 by Therkel Mathiassen and K. Birket-Smith, Helge Larsen's excavation in 1934 in northeastern Greenland and 1939-50 in Alaska, research made by E. Holtved and J. Meldgaard at Thule and Sarqaq, West Greenland, and finally Eigil Knuth's investigations in Pearyland and Thule have all pointed at the existence of three main cultures which may also be subdivided. These three main cultures include first of all the Stone Age Culture, a coastal complex migrating from the Bering Strait to Greenland (approx. 2000 8.C.) which was named Sarqaq by J. Meldgaard and Independence I and II by Eigil Knuth. Second is the Dorset culture, an inland complex dated approx. 500 B.C. and some centuries thereafter. Third there is the recent coastal whaler

N. KINGO JACOBSEN

culture, the Thule culture of approx. 900-1860. These three cultures have, of course, consistently changed and adapted themselves as, for example, one can see in the West Greenland Inugsuk culture which up to present time has developed more in southwestern Greenland.

ACTIVITIES

The Preliminary Expedition 1978

Expedition by the Admiralty's »Beskytteren« 10/8 - 25/8
10/8 - 13/8 Sdr. Strømfjord-Tugtuligssuaq
13/8- 22/8 Tugtuligssuaq.

J. Me l dgaard, M.A. archaeology, keeper at the National
Museum, Copenhagen,

Vagn Pedersen, constructor, Slagelse,

H. Søgaard, senior lecturer, climatology, Geographical
Inst., Copenhagen,

Niels Thingvad, stud.scient. climatology (snow) Geographical
Inst., Copenhagen,

H. Valeur, meteorology, Danish Meteorological Inst. Greenland
Ice Branch, Copenhagen,

13/8- 22/8 Qanaq.

N. Kingo Jacobsen, professor, Geographical Inst., Copenhagen,

Peter Jensen, teacher, Qanaq

H. C. Pedersen, high school principal, Hvalsø

The Expedition 1979

29/4 - 18/6 - Expedition by 7 sledges, Dundas - Tugtuligssuaq
- Kuvdlorssuaq.

Bent Danielsen, sledge driver, Moriussaq
Paniqpak Daorana, sledge driver, Qanaq

Jens J. Fleischer, teacher, sledge driver, Godthåb
Itukusuk Kristiansen, sledge driver, Moriussaq
Angutivdluarssuk Nielsen, sledge driver, Savigsivik
Avataq Qangaq, sledge driver, Herbert 0
Kidleq Suersaq, sledge driver, Savigsivik
Bjarne Grønnow, stud.scient. archaeology, The National

Museum, Copenhagen,

Jørgen Roos, film director and photographer, Copenhagen,
Niels Thingvad, Copenhagen.

77/7 - 30/8 - expedition by ship, the Admirality's »Ingolf«
Chr. Bay, stud.scient. botany, Greenland Botanical Survey,
Copenhagen,

Jes Christensen, commander, chartered surveyor, Copenhagen

Anders Fischer, M.A., archaeology, The National Museum,
Copenhagen,

Bent Fredskild, senior lecturer, dr., manager of Greenland
Botanical Survey, Copenhagen,

Bjarne Grønnow, Copenhagen,

Bjarne Holm Jakobsen, stud.scient., soil/geomorphology,
Geographical Institute, Copenhagen,

Arine Kristiansen, teacher, archaeology, Qanaq,
Hans Engelund Kristiansen, teacher, zoology, Qanaq,
Morten Meldgaard, stud.scient., quaternary zoology, Zoological
Institute, Copenhagen,

Niels Gylling Mortensen, stud.scient., geomorphology, Geographical
Inst., Copenhagen.

Jørn Berglund Nielsen, stud.scient., ethnohistory, Eskimological
Institute, Copenhagen

6/8 - 30/8 - Film Expedition Upernavik (N. district) - Kap
Seddon

J. Meldgaard, Copenhagen,

Jørgen Roos & assistant, Copenhagen

Jens Rosing, archaeology, the »Landsmuseet«, Godthåb,
Lars Jensen, West Greenlander, Kuvdlorssuaq,
Nikolai Jensen, West Greenlander, Kuvdlorssuaq.

The purpose of the expedition was to survey and excavate ruins at Tugtuligssuaq in order to determine and date the different culture periods. Further the question of climatic fluctuations is essential in all the discussions. To trow light on these topics some central research efforts will include studies and analysis of local deposits, soil profiles, slope processes, and periglacial phenomena, polygon soils, perma frost, stone circles, solifluctuation slopes, actual quantities of snow and sea ice as well as climatic conditions in general. Furthermore botanical investigations concerning plant production will be needed in order to find out whether reindeer have lived in the area since the place name Tugtuligssuaq means »the big reindeer area«.

The joint cooperative Greenland/Danish efforts mean that the expedition is carried out by participation of the Thule Municipality, the Landsmuseet (central museum) in Godthåb, the National Museum in Copenhagen, and with various Danish scientific institutions. The protector of the expedition is His Royal Highness Prins Henrik. The 3-year expedition (1978, 79, and 1980) and the establishment of the camp at Tugtuligssuaq has been possible only due to the great assistance received from the Admiralty and the financial aid granted by various funds. The 1979 expedition was paid by the Carlsberg Foundation.

The Preliminary Expedition 1978

It was necessary to establish working spaces in a small hut which was later on supplemented with tent camps. For the climatic studies regular measurements the whole year around had to be carried out on temperatures, air pressure, wind velosities and wind directions, and soil temperatures at 3 depths (5, 22, and 62 cm). The meteorological station, the

UGO, was established about 30 m a.s.l. on the southern side of Tugtuligssuaq at 250 m from the shore. Freely exposed to winds coming from directions within the 80° - 245° range, whereas the mountains ridge having a gradiant of 1-7° to a great extent shelters against winds from other directions, especially from the NW. On August 10th 1978 7 persons boardered the Admiralty's »Beskytteren« accompanied by 10 tons of gear and supplies. They were landed on August 13th. The camp was established and remnants of 15 old settlements were registered as well as of dwellings dating from the turn of this century and from the period 1920-27 were registered.

The Expedition 1979 By sledge

In April 1979 first part of the Memorial Expedition went by sledge from Thule to Kap Seddon via the old sledge route. On 7 sledges were two scientists, some Polar Eskimos with their family, and film director Jørgen Roos who participated in order to make a film.

The trip took place from 29/4 to 14/5. One sledge stayed at the destination, the others continued to Kuvdlorssuaq, and thus the connection to the Upernavik district was established. The last two ledges returned to Savigsivik on June 12th.

By Ship

While most of the Greenland expedition members returned from Kap Seddon, Bjarne Grønnow and Niels Thingvad proceeded their studies on the spot, and by the middle of July ten other scientists from Denmark and Greenland arrived. They were transported by sea on the Admiralty's Ingolf and now they should commence the main tasks. During the voyage the first occurrence of pack ice was reached at 73° N - the actual ice border appeared on July 14th at 74° N, where the coverage was 8-10/10 with sporadic icebergs and ice packs up to 1.5 metre. The slow voyage made it possible to accomplish some minor tasks at the cap of Red Head, The islands Depotøerne and N.E. Balles 0, all S of Kap Seddon, and the islands Sabineøerne W of Kap Seddon.

On July 15th at 6.27 a.m. the expedition reached a position of 3 nautical miles from Kap Seddon. The vessel got stuck in the ice, and landing had to be carried out by helicopter. It took 28 crossings and more than 24 hours to land about 5!/2 tons of goods at Kap Seddon.

Upernavik - N. district

6/8 - 30/8 four expedition members made an archaeological reconnaissance of the Upernavik N. district. In two 15 feet open boats the scientists made the trip Kuvdlorssuaq-Kap Seddon in search for ruins and former settlements on scattered islands along the margin of the inland ice.

Expedition 1980

In the summer of 1980 the self-recording climatic station will be retrieved and thus the final data-collection goal of the expedition will have been fulfilled. Further investigations on geomorphology, botany as well as archaeology will be carried out.

- Report of Activities at Tugtuligssuaq, Melville Bay, 1979 -

The ice-filled waters of the Melville Bay stretch from Kap York in the NW to Devil's Thumb in the S. The bay, in Greenlandic known as Qimugseriarssuaq, The Great Sledge Route, is to the N and E rimmed by the Lauge Koch Kyst. The entire lenght of this coast is dominated by the Inland Ice, with only the islands off the coast and a few steep rocky headlands remaining ice-free. One of the most conspicuous of these ice-free 'lands' is the peninsula of Tugtuligssuaq, situated at 75° (20' - 27') N and 58° (14' - 42') W, between the calving fields of the Dietrichson Gletscher to the N and the Steenstrup Gletscher to the S (Fig. 4). The peninsula has an area of 68 sq.km and consists of three pronounced mountain massifs. The investigations of the expedition were concentrated in the westernmost massif. This part of the peninsula covers 39 sq.km and reaches a height of 619 m a.s.l. The NW coast is everywhere steep, permitting only a few landing possibilities from the sea. The mountainside is rocky and barren, giving room along its upper rim to a row of firn niches. The mountain-slopes to the E and S are more gentle, and the S coast is in part rimmed by low-lying land. This, in addition to the two small river valleys opening to the S coast, makes an easy acces from the sea. The waters around Tugtuligssuaq are^v ice-bound from September/October until mid-July; the tidal range is about 1.5 m. Tugtuligssuaq experiences midnight sun from April 27 until August 15; from November 11 until February 7 the sun remains below the horizon.

GEOGRAPHICAL INVESTIGATIONS

Gylling Thingvad The geographical field-investigations at Tugtuligssuaq, during July and August 1979, have been planned and carried out with two specific aims. Firstly, in order to support the ethno-archaeological investigations, emphasis has been laid upon aspects of geomorphology and pedology that gives clues to an understanding and reconstruction of the Holocene climatic history of Tugtuligssuaq; climate and physical

CHR. BAY, B. FREDSKILD, B. GRØNNOW, B. HOLM
JAKOBSEN, M. MELDGAARD,
N. GYLLING MORTENSEN & N. THINGVAD

environment being of crucial importance to the life of the
Eskimos, and thus to the interpretation of the historical development
and spreading of the Eskimo cultures.

Secondly, because this part of Greenland (i.e. the Lauge Koch Kyst) is rather poorly known as regards the presentday physical environment, it has been a wish to gather as much information as possible concerning this, e.g. meteorological observations, observations on sea-ice conditions in Melville Bay, on snow conditions and glaciers, water-balance studies etc.

Meteorological and hydrological investigations

Since the nearest weather stations are app. 350 km to the NW and S (Dundas and Upernavik) it was found essential to establish a recording series of at least two years to ensure comparability of the observed parameters with the two weather stations mentioned. An automatic recording station (UGO) was established, consisting of an Anderaa taperecording datalogger, equipped with heating batteries to ensure proper working temperatures inside the recorder. Every three hours recordings were made of air temperature at a height of 2 meters, windspeed and winddirection at a height of 10 meters, barometric pressure, and soil temperatures in three levels, 0.05, 0.22, and 0.62 meters below the surface. The recorder was started August 1978, it was reequipped with fresh batteries and tape summer 1979, and will subsequently be dismantled in the summer 1980.

The station was manned in the period from May 13 1979 until August 22 1979. During this period daily observations were made of air temperature and humidity, cloudiness, visibility, precipitation, evaporation, windspeed and winddirection. The air temperature and humidity was also recorded by a thermohygrograph, and the shortwave radiation was recorded every three hours by a Kipp & Zonen radiometer

A well defined catchment area of app. 3 sq.km was selected for water balance studies. The snow depth in the area was measured at 200 points, and the snow density was measured at regular intervals. The catchment area was drained by one single stream, and immediately after this stream broke up on June 29, a streamgauging station was established. A waterstage recorder was erected, streamgauging with an Ott-Labor current meter was carried out at intervals throughout the period, and also samples of suspended load were collected. In the melt period daily readings of snow melt was made, and pit studies of the snow pack together with temperature recordings were carried out.

On the ridge NW of the hut at a height of 375 m a.s.l. an
automatic photostation was established, in order to record
weather situations and the break up and drift of the sea ice.

The photostation consisted of two 35-mm cameras equipped with 250-frame backs, motor drive and a timer. The two cameras, overlooking the sea to the N and S of Kap Seddon, made exposures every 30 minutes on Ektachrome 200-film. The photostation, operating from June 18 till July 20, experienced several breakdowns because of failing batteries and the breaking of films due to the cold weather.

The weather at Tugtuligssuaq. (Fig. 5)

In late May and the beginning of June the rather stable winter-weather was over, milder and more humid airmasses came in, and the sea ice gradually opened up. This period from the beginning of June till the beginning of July was characterized by temperatures oscillating around 0° C and frequent precipitation in the form of snow. In the first half of July snow melt set in for real, the rivers and streams broke up, and around July 15 the sea ice was in drift. Precipitation in the form of rain, and temperatures above 0° C even in night-time prevailed for nearly a month. In mid-August, autum was announced by falling temperatures and the downfall of snow and slush.

Throughout the observation period winds were mostly
very light, and winddirections from the NE through E to the
SE dominated.

In the observed period the precipitation amounted to 147
mm, of which 81 mm fell as snow and slush, and 66 mm as
rain.

Topographical survey

To almost any of the different kinds of investigations that were carried out at Tugtuligssuaq, the question of location is of great importance. For instance, the archaeologist wishes to account for the topographical setting of the Eskimo settlements and related meat-caches, graves, traps etc., their distance from the sea, altitude and relative position in the terrain. To the botanist, the altitude and exposure of a locality is of importance, as this will determine the local microclimate, and thus to a great extent the conditions under

which the plants are growing. Finally, the significance of a
detailed topographical knowledge as to the studies of geomorphology,
pedology and of drainage basin, is evident.

The need for an adequate topographical map was hence obvious, from the very outset of the expedition. As the existing maps of the area were far too small in scale to cover the needs outlined above, one of the main tasks before the field season, was to prepare a suitable map material.

In spite of the lack of sufficient geodetic field control, a preliminary map was compiled photogrammetrically on the basis of vertical aerial photographs taken from a height of app. 6000 m (US Air Force 1953). The scale and contour interval were chosen to 1:20,000 and 25 m respectively. Furthermore, areas of specific interest were supplied with 12.5 m contours, and the main activity area (fig. 6) was covered with a map in scale 1:10,000 and a contour interval of 10 m.

During the field season, a number of control-points were coordinated in relation to the Greenlandic Geodetic Net and a detailed topographical reconnaissance were carried out, in order to rectify and complete the preliminary maps.

In addition to the overall photogrammetric survey, the two main settlement areas have been surveyed in detail by means of a Wild tachymeter (figs. 7 & 8). A reference level for altitude measurements was established by registration of the sea-level variations in July and August, 1979.

Geomorphology

In order to obtain a general impression of the geomorphology

of Tugtuligssuaq, and especially, as a framework to pedological
and geomorphological investigations of particular areas
or topics, a systematic mapping of the geomorphology was

photographs (f.h. app. 6000 m), enlargements of the vertical photographs (scale: 1:20,000 at 5.1.), and a topographical map on the scale of 1:20,000 with a contour interval of 25 m. For the greater part of the area the mapping has been based on foot traverses, with a 'reconnaissance intensity' of more than 2 km/sq.km; and several localities have been investigated in some detail. Due to the steepness and inaccessibility of the coastal area, especially the northern coast, this has been supplementarily surveyed from an inflatable boat.

All observations and measurements have been plotted in the field, on a transparent covering on the photo-enlargements. As the geomorphological map is still in preparation, including the conversion of the field map into a parallel projection, and as the results of most investigations are not yet available, only a brief account of some characteristics of the landscape can be given at the present time.

The overall appearance of Tugtuligssuaq is greatly determined by the structural setting of the bedrock, which has a foliated structure trending NE-SW and dipping to the SE. This causes the NW- and N-directed slopes to be precipitous cliffs, with scattered occurences of scree. In some places pronounced rock-fall chutes have developed, and in the westernmost massif, nivation hollows occur; the perennial snow and firn reaching almost down to sea-level.

SW-, through S-, to NE-directed slopes are generally much less steep, and have only in few cases developed a small free-face. The cover of debris is in most places rather thin, with protruding bedrock, and consists mainly of angular cobble- and boulder-size rock-fragments, detached from the bedrock by frost-bursting. Obviously rock- and taluscreep play a role in the downward movement of this rockwaste. Debris islands, solifluction lobes and earth-slips occur occasionally on these block-slopes.

Where the slopes are gentler, solifluction lobes, sorted stripes and sorted circles and nets become more frequent. Solifluction is the dominating process on certain slopes and occurs widespread at the foot of the block-slopes, where the terrain flattens out and the proportion of finer material increases. Sorted stripes, circles and nets occur on gently sloping to horizontal ground, one often as an extension of the other. These gently sloping areas are mainly found in the two or three small valleys, in the depressions between elevated areas, and in a few places along the coast. It is characteristic that the stony part of these landforms consists of very coarse, angular material, i.e. cobbles and especially boulders. Due to this, and the presence of a frost-table, it was not possible to excavate any of these forms of patterned ground, so as to determine whether or not ice-wedging occurs. The frost-table was found at depths from a few dm to one meter.

In continuation of these investigations, two small experimental sites were established. One concerning sorted circles, the other, mass-movement in solifluction lobes of different size. In both cases, targets were placed on the surface and in depth, in order to obtain a rough estimate of the massmovements in the horizontal and vertical plane.

Traces of former glacial activity are abundant at Tugtuligssuaq, most widespread as roches mountonnées, glacial striae, marks and other erosional forms. The main activity area of the expedition (fig. 6) is thus predominantly made up of a series of stoss-and-lee-side hills, with the Eskimo settlements situated in the interjacent areas of debris accumulation. Landforms of glacial deposition, on the other hand, are far less conspicuous, and generally not easy to identify and correlate with certainty, as they have been influenced greatly by periglacial processes.

The most distinct expression of glacial activity is the historical moraines and related trim-line zones observed on both sides of Tugtuligssuaq. To the S, the position of the glacier front is now app. 3 km behind the outermost margin of the trim-line zone, which reaches an elevation of 40-50 m above the glacier surface, in the vicinity of the present frontal position. This glacier seems rather unproductive, as there were observed no ice-bergs at all in front of it, the fiord containing only unbroken sea-ice.

Along the northern coast, the historical moraines extend app. 9 km from the front of the Dietrichson Gletscher. Compared with the aerial photographs of 1953, a total of 10.5 sq.km of the glacier snout have been detached and drifted away. This corresponds to a retreat of the front of 4.5 km at the southern margin, and of app. 1.5 km at the northern. The southern glacier has only been subjected to minor adjustments in frontal position since 1953.

During the geomorphological mapping, considerable attention has been paid to the recognition of former marine shore-lines, and to the marine limit. Steep rock cliffs and slopes dominated by mass-wasting constitute roughly 9/10 of the more than 45 km long coastline, and this stretch is therefore not susceptible to lasting signs of marine and/or fluvial erosion or deposition. A thorough examination of the remaining coastal area has not revealed unambiguous evidence concerning the marine limit. The distribution of 'perched boulders' indicates a marine limit not very much above the present sea-level, i.e. below 15-17 m, but further analyses, e.g. of sediments in two small lakes near the coast, will be required to elucidate this matter.

Pedological investigations

The investigations of the soil development were made for several reasons. First of all it was important to recognize the various pedological soil types, which are represented in an arctic environment as that found in the small landareas between the Inland Ice and the sea in the Melville Bay. Such studies of soils in polar landscapes can, if properly used, give important information for the understanding of fossil soil characteristics. These are found in areas, where early soil development took place in a periglacial environment during the Pleistocene and early Holocene.

The soil profile will reflect the integral of the present soil forming factors and to a certain extent profile characteristics developed under different climatic conditions. It is evident, that a comparative study of soils covering the entire peninsula, can give important clues about the change in natural environment and especially about the relative age of the soils. Such information about the deglaciation and trends in climatic history can be usefull for the interpretation of the area in relation to archaeological studies.

This preliminary report present a short description of the typical soils and their position in the landscape. Furthermore some clearly occurring differences in profile development due to different age of the soils will be mentioned.

As the relief energy is high and the peninsula dominently consists of gnejsic bedrock, large areas, as the high lying mountain area (> 150-200 m) and steep sloping areas in other regions, showed no sign of soil development. Exposed bedrock and Lithosols dominate, where the only process is the physical weathering of the rock. In these areas various types of weakly developed patterned grounds were found, e.g. debris islands, sorted circles and sorted stripes. The weak development is probably due to the shallowness of the soils and to the very coarse materials consisting of boulders and cobbles with only traces of fines.

In the lower lying region in horizontal or only gently sloping areas one finds more well developed soils on materials as tills, glaciofluvial deposits, delta deposits and materials brought to the area by mass - wasting. In these areas well developed patterned grounds were found (sorted nets,-circles and -stripes), especially in the lower parts of the slopes and in the areas immidiately in front of the slopes. This is probably due to the wide range in textural composition (boulders to clay) likely to be found here. In these lower lying areas the soil is moved downslope by creep- and gelifluction-processes due to low waterstress in greater parts of the year. Furthermore processes of cryoturbation are active in these materials. The influence of these horizontmixing processes on the profile-picture will be mentioned in the description of the typical soils.

The genetic soils in the area can be arranged in forms of sequences starting with the zonal soil the artic brown. Progressing through more poorly drained conditions we reach, through various tundra soils, soils with major organic accumulations. As a result of the weakening of soil-forming potential, either by lack in time for profile development or by entering areas with more arctic desert-like environment, one meets miniature profiles and profiles where no observable soil formation has taken place.

Arctic brown: Fig. 9a and Fig. 9b. In well drained
positions with a permafrost table at a depth of > 50 cm and
a sparse vegetation one finds arctic browns. Some of these

profiles, espacially those developed on wellsorted delta sands show signs of clay migration (weakly developed Bfbands) and weak podzolization seen as a somewhat paler A2 and a narrow zone (B) coloured by small accumulations of humus and sesquioxides. These profiles also show a somewhat lower Ph in the A-horizon (Ph(H2O) at 5) compared to the typical arctic brown. These profiles often showed soil creep at the surface and some profiles were totally dislocated due to cryoturbation and interfering gelifluction lobes. At some places one finds a »double« arctic brown, where the youngest soils is developed in material brought into the area by mass - wasting.

Tundra soils: More poorly drained soils are represented by both upland- and meadow tundra soils. An example of a meadow tundra soil is seen in Fig. lOa and Fig. lOb. These tundrasoils are often connected with permafrost tables near the ground surface and the Ph profile reveales only weak leaching in these soils. Often and especially in areas with hummocks concentrations of »bases« in the uppermost horizons, due to the special waterregime existing in the soils, are found.

The soil forming factors which are mainly responsible for the small scale pedovariance in the area are relief, depth of permafrost table and soil drainage. Especially in this area time is an important soil differentiating factor. About 30 profiles were examined, and more detailed information about the actual processes in the soils will be revealed when various laboratory tests have been concluded.

The comparison of profiles developed in positions with similar material and soil forming conditions showed marked differences. The following data on soil development may be useful as an indication of age: Horizon thickness, intensity of weathering and leaching, particle size distribution, organic matter content and Ph. At this preliminary stage it is obvious, that good results can be achieved when limiting the comparative study to the zonal arctic brown. Here it seems possible to establish a useful relation between depth and intensity of weathering and leaching and the age of the soil. According to the investigations made at Tugtuligssuaq it seems unlikely, that good results are possible when comparing either tundrasoils or well drained shallow soils. This is mainly due to the difficulty in controlling the locally occurring dominant soil forming factors, which just determines the azonality of these soils.

BOTANICAL INVESTIGATIONS

Botanical investigations were carried out with the two-fold purpose of studying 1) the present flora and vegetation, 2) the vegetational development since the last glaciation and - if possible - by that means to trace former climatic changes.

The present vegetation Vegetation analyses

Snow-cover is one of the most important factors as regards the distribution of plants in the Arctic. The duration of the snow-cover influences the lenght of the period of growth, while the thickness is decisive for the temperature in the vegetation. Snowbeds and snow-protected dwarf-shrub heaths are the most prominent vegetation types in the lowland of Tugtuligssuaq. Consequently the investigations of the present vegetation were concentrated on these types.

On July 17 a 680 m long N-S line was laid out perpendicular to the coast and to the low parallel ridges in the bedrock (Fig. 6). The line cut through 17 snow-covered areas with interjacent ridges being free of snow on that date. On July 23 only 12 areas were covered with snow. These are termed snowbeds. On August 24 one remained still. A l m square was placed every second metre along the line and the degree of cover was noted for all species (incl. higher plants, mosses and lichens) using a modified Hult-Sernander scale: In this 6 marks a degree of cover between 1/1 and 3/4, 5 = 3/4 - 1/2, 4=l/2- 1/4, 3=l/4- 1/8, 2=l/8- 1/16, 1 = 1/16 - 1/32, + (in Fig. 11 marked with a dot) = < 1/32. In each square the thickness and the texture of the soil were described. Deeper soil profiles were dug in the different vegetation types along the line, and soil samples were taken for later analyses. A total of 21 higher plants, 28 mosses and 23 lichens was met with in the squares.

Fig. 11 shows the distribution of some selected plant species, the depth of the snow on July 17 and the duration of the snow-cower along part of the line, including a southand a north-exposed snowbed and a ridge. The distribution of Luzula confusa, which is the most abundant species on Tugtuligssuaq, does not seem to be related to snow-cover. It occurs as frequently in snowbeds as on the ridges. This is valid also for e.g. the moss Polytrichum piliferum. Judging from Fig. 11 the distribution of the übiquitous liverwort Anthelia juratzkana seems to be highly related to snow-cover but in other parts along the line this is not the case. However, Luzula arctica and Solorina crocea grow almost consistently in snowbeds only. In the latest part of the snowbed shown to the right in Fig. 11 only two mosses grew: Andraea rupestris and Cynodontium tenellum.

Cetraria nivalis is a distinct chionophobe species. It occurs in the vast majority of the squares on the ridges, but in only few of the snowbed-squares. Some species of Alectoria: A. ochroleuca, A. nigricans and A. nitidula (not shown in the figure) have a very similar distribution.

A common trend along the line is the paucity of species as well as of individuals. Often just one single, tiny specimen of a species was recorded, and especially as regards phanerogams, the vegetation is very open.

Bent Fredskild & Christian Bay

Outline of the vegetation types on Tugtuligssuaq Dwarf-shrub heaths. - Generally the vegetation on top of the above mentioned ridges and on fine-textured, early snowless, south-exposed slopes elsewhere in the lowland can be termed poor dwarf-shrub heaths dominated by Vaccinium uliginosum (mostly sterile), rich in Salix arctica and Empetrum hermaphroditum, and less often with some Dryas integrifolia. With a little longer lasting snow-cover Cassiope tetragona enters the vegetation and Dryas disappears. With a still later melting Cassiope becomes the dominating species, Salix herbacea appears, while Empetrum and later also Vaccinium disappear. Having the widest ecological range within the dwarf-shrubs Salix arctica is subdominant in these snow-protected heaths. Luzula confusa, Pedicularis hirsuta and Carex bigelowii are most common among the few herbs. The vigorous growth and numerous young individuals of Cassiope indicate optimal conditions to this species in the high-arctic maritime climate of Tugtuligssuaq. This is concordant with the vegetation of N. Greenland which can be divided into two main regions: an outer coast and high altitude Cassiope-region and a Dryas-region in the continental, interior lowland.

On horizontally, patterned ground the Cassiope-Salix arctica heaths gradually change into snowbeds and the degree of cover of the higher plants diminishes, whereas the soil is covered by a carpet of cryptogams. While lichens (apart from Solorina crocea) are dominating on the ridges, mosses and liverworts take over in the snowbeds, e.g. Rhacomitrium lanuginosum and Anthelia juratzkana. Silene acaulis, always sterile here, and Huperzia selago are the most conspicuous herbs in the middle-late snowbeds in which also tiny specimens of Cassiope, Salix arctica and Luzula arctica are growing. In extremely late snowbeds only cryptogams occur.

Fell-fields, rocks and screes. - Almost every slope and plateau at elevations above the upper marine limit (c. 15m a.5.1.) are covered with blocks. Apart from lichens and mosses only few Luzula confusa and rarely a single Cardamine bellidifolia are found. Sandy-gravelly south-exposed screes are found in places. Here a number of species characteristic of dry soil can be found: Carex nardina, Poa glauca, Antennaria ekmaniana, Campanula uniflora, Draba nivalis and Saxifraga tricuspidata. In spite of the small extent of the peninsula a marked difference in the dry plant communities was observed. Thus Potentilla chamissonis, Kobresia myosuroides and in small rock-crevices also Woodsia alpina, W. glabella and Cystopteris fragilis were found only in the eastern part.

Herb-slopes. - A herb-slope bordered the waterfall on the south side of Itivdlip aluk. Oxyria digyna, Ranunculus pygmaeus, Antennaria canescens, Carex bigelowii, Salix herbacea and a few Pedicularis flammea were growing in the moist carpet of moss.

Fens. - Carex stans fens intersected by melt water brooks covered a great part of a plateau 200 m a.s.l. east of Itivdlip aluk. Eriophorum scheuchzeri and E. angustifolium (not E. triste) are common, and Juncus biglumis, J. castaneus, Koenigia islandica and Deschampsia pumila were also growing here. Clayey polygons in the fen harboured Sagina caespitosa, S. intermedia, Draba lactea and Phippsia algida. Small or fragmentary fens were met whith in the valley 2 km SE of »Kunupaluk« and at the W end of Langesø.

Lakes and ponds. - Stagnant water is uncommon on Tugtuligssuaq. No higher plants were found in the lakes, whereas mosses and liverworts, especially Drepanocladus exannulatus and Marsupella arctica cover the lake bottom even at depths exceeding 5 m.

Ranunculus hyperboreus was found in a temporary pond at Kap Seddon. Rivers and brooks in valley bottoms often are bordered with carpets of mosses and liverworts: Calliergon sarmentosum, Marsupella arctica and Anthelia. Sphagnum is not frequent.

Seashore vegetation. - Seashore vegetation proper was not found, but a few specimens of Puccinellia phryganodes, Stellaria humifusa and Carex glareosa were growing in protected places. Saxifraga rivularis, Sagina intermedia and Phippsia algida were often met with in rock-crevices just above the high water mark.

Summing up, the vegetation on Tugtuligssuaq is extremely poor, not only in individuals but also in number of species (83 higher plants). This can be ascribed to 1) the easily disintegrating bedrock which excludes species demanding stable soil or rock walls, 2) the acid bedrock excluding calciphile plants, and 3) the long snow-cover excluding species demanding warmth and a long growing season.

The former vegetation

The hope of being able to support the archaeologists with palaeobotanical and thereby palaeoclimatical information by stratigraphical investigations in kitchen-middens and in moist, peaty places close to the former Eskimo sites failed as a result of periglacial phenomenoms which spoiled any stratigraphy everywhere. Thus only remained coring in the two lakes at »Kunupaluk«, unofficially named Rundesø and Langesø.

The ice floe in Rundesø (c. 15m a.5.1.) and in Langesø (c. 16 m a.5.1.) disappeared very late (August 8 resp. 19). The sequence of sediment in both lakes was similar: 30 cm of coarse sand was covered by 5-10 cm sticky clay, in the upper part with some mosses and a touch of gyttja. Resting on this was c. one metre of gyttja with mosses. Usually the deepest 10-15 cm was more clayey.

Some preliminary analyses of the sediment have been carried out. According to the content of diatoms (N. Foged anal.) the whole sequence in Langesø is limnic. The transition from a lake rich in suspended clay to a clear water lake took place 8,540 ± 120 Cl4yrC^I4yr ago (K-3276, the dating of the deepest 1.5 cm gyttja, H. Tauber anal.). The lake was fairly rich in the beginning of its existence as illustrated by the production of half a million Pediastrum/ml and the finding of Hippuris vulgaris pollen, but shortly after it became

oligotrophic. In the present gyttja the number of Pediastrum is less than 50/ml. In the beginning the terrestrial vegetation consisted of pioneer plants like Oxyria digyna, Papaver radicatum, Gramineae, Tofieldia and Armeria scabra, the latter two like Hippuris now extinct on the peninsula. After some time (one millenium?) Salix arctica, S. herbacea and Cassiope immigrated, the pioneer plants were reduced in number or disappeared, and after a period, in which the pollen of Cyperaceae dominated, Cassiope gradually became dominating (B. Fredskild anal.).

ARCHAEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS

The archaeological investigations at the peninsula Tugtuligssuaq
form a considerable part of the Memorial Expedition.

Below a survey of the archaeological subjects, the methods
applied and the different sites investigated will be
presented.

Tugtuligssuaq is the most conspicuous peninsula in the southern part of the Melville Bay. Travelling »The Eskimo Way« (dog sledge on the sea ice) across the several hundred kilometer wide bay, one will find that Tugtuligssuaq is one of the few natural dwelling-places on the route. For that reason - and also Knud Rasmussen's information on the rich hunting grounds taken into consideration - this area was expected to offer particulary good possibilities for tracing the prehistoric Eskimos. Datings of the settlements at Tugtuligssuaq throw new light on the problems about the migrations of the Eskimos from North Greenland to West Greenland.

Another aim was to elucidate the life of the prehistoric Eskimos in this particular area. Human survival in a harsh nature, as that of the Melville Bay. demands a specific cultural adaptation to the natural environment: a highly developed and specialized hunting community. The closer investigation of this was made possible by concentrating the archaeological work on the following main subjects:

1. Location of the sites and settlement structure.
2. The structure and internal arrangement of the houses.
3. The exploitation of the game (the subsistance).
4. The burial customs.

The Fieldwork

The team working in the field represented: archaeology, eskimology (ethnography) and quaternary zoology. The fieldwork was furthermore closely coordinated with the geographers and botanists of the expedition.

The fieldwork at Tugtuligssuaq comprised the following
activities:

reconnaissance - registration and mapping of the house
ruins, tent rings and other structures (graves, meat-caches,
traps etc.).

surveying - topographic measurings of the settlement-areas.
excavation - systematical excavations of selected house - and
tent-ruins and graves.

ethnographical investigation - collecting ethnographical information
from the present hunters - the Greenlanders.

Accomplishing such a comprehensive fieldwork in the High Arctic naturally causes many special problems. First of all the summer season - and thereby the duration of the excavation work -is limited to 11/2 month, and secondly the permafrosen soil inevitably slows down the excavation activities - difficulties with which the eskimo-archaeologist must learn to live.

The reconnaissance

Primarily through written accounts by Knud Rasmussen and Lauge Koch from the beginning of this century we knew that at least two former settlements existed at Tugtuligssuaq: Igdluminerssuit and Uisakavsaqs Boplads (see the maps Fig. 6, 7 &8.) The examination of these will be discribed below.

However - the tracing of further human activity was an important task. Through comprehensive reconnaissances a large number of »structures« made by the prehistoric Eskimos as well as the present Greenlanders were localised and registrated.

Besides the house- and tent-ruins of the settlement areas one finds a large number of single ruins - preferentially remains of summer tents, i.e. tent rings and sleeping-platformes made of stoneflags. Most of these appear to be from this century and are situated along the S-coast between the two older settlements.

The remaining structures comprice meat-caches, foxtraps, cairns and graves. The meat-caches are situated either near the settlements or in groups near the landingplaces for caught narwhales. The fox-traps are concentrated in the proximity of the meat-caches, but they are also found in virtually all accessible places at the peninsula.

At the SW-point of Tugtuligssuaq we found a veritable
cemetry consisting of about 30 graves (stonebuilt chambergraves).
They are several hundred years old (see below).

The current analyses of these structures yield valuable
information on the human activities in the vicinity of the
settlements.

The excavations at Igdluminerssuit

The oldest and largest settlement is Igdluminerssuit (i.e.
»The Place with Many Old Houses«). A detailed topographical
survey was carried out (see map Fig. 7).

Today the ruins of ten houses or house-groups are visible
on the surface. They are located on a gently sloping terrain
close to the coastline.

A ruin appears as a grass-grown depression shaped like a cloverleaf. »The stalk« is the entrance-passage (length 4-6 m, width !/2-l m) and »the leaf« is the room itself. The passages are distinct - the big vertical stoneslaps forming the walls are mostly in original position in spite of soil-movements during centuries. Unfortunately the direction of solifluction is at right angles to the back walls of the rooms and consequently these are often damaged.

Bjarne Grønnow & Morten Meldgaard

Excavations were carried out in three of the ruins (no. 5, 9, 11). Two of these ruins were well preserved and during the excavation the wall constructions, the flooring (stoneflags), kitchen-niches, pits, platforms, passages etc. were registrated by means of technical drawings and photos (including vertical photos). Both these houses were double-houses with two connected rooms and two passages. The excavation method applied makes it possible to replace the findings in grid squares of l/4 m², and analysis on the distribution of artifacts and waste products will provide information on the everyday life in the houses.

In the frosen floor sediments in the passages the state of preservation was extreemly good. All organic material - wood, bone, antler, feather, hair, baleen - was carefully excavated.

The bone material demonstrates the inhabitants' exploitation of the game, and in zoological context the bones yield information on the different species and their prehistoric distribution. The bone material is dominated by marine mammals e.g. seal, polar bear, narwhal and species of larger whales. The last indicating catching methods nowadays unknown in Greenland.

But also terrestrial mammals are represented. Thus marrowbroken caribou bones indicate the hunting of these animals in the Tugtuligssuaq area. The former presence of caribou is remarkable, considering the small area of land and the scarce vegetation.

In one of the passages the Eskimo's domesticated animal
the dog - was found. In the frosen floor deposit a puppy with
the fur preserved was encapsulated (Fig. 12).

Among the artifacts found in the houses only a few types will be mentioned here: harpoon head, bodkin (large bone needle), wound plug, comb (made of narwhal tooth), wooden shaft, tooth pendants (made of polar-bear canine tooth). The harpoon head from ruin 11 was found in a pit under the platform and it dates the house to an early phase of the Thule Culture (1000 - 1200 A.D.). The findings from the other ruins are in accordance with this.

Specific attention should be payed to the metal objects from Igdluminerssuit. The people of the Thule Culture knew the use of iron! - they hammered out small pieces of the meteors from the Thule District and used them for knives. Such a knifeblade of (meteoric) iron with bone shaft were found (Fig. 13), but two of the specimens - an iron nail and three iron rings chained together - are objects not made by the Eskimos. Probably these iron objects originate from the Norsemen in Greenland. Metal analyses are in preparation.

Further analyses and interpretations of the Igdluminerssuit-material
will provide us with a detailed insight into this
early Melville Bay Community.

The excavations at Tupersuai

In a small valley opening to the coast approx. 1 km WSW of Igdluminerssuit many tent-ruins are situated - all probably of later date. The site is called Tupersuai (»The big Tents«).

One of these tent-ruins was examined (Fig. 14). The flagstone flooring, the stones supporting the tent poles and the sleeping-platform were remaining. According to the hunters from Upernavik District this summer camp has been inhabited during the 1920's by a family from Uisakavsaqs Boplads. The examination included sampling the artifacts and waste products (mostly marrow-broken bones) from the surface, which was divided into a grid of V* m². The purpose was to provide a bone material from the summer period and to collect a material for testing different archaeological interpretations.

Uisakavsaqs Boplads

Uisakavsaqs Boplads is situated at a natural harbour delimited
on the E- and W-side by steep cliffs (See map Fig. 8).

A great deal of historical information on the period from

the turn of the century to this 1920'5, when the settlement finally was abandoned, is available. Partly these informations derive from the works of Knud Rasmussen and Lauge Koch, and partly they exist as oral traditions among the hunters of the Upernavik and Thule District.

During the first stage of the Memorial Expedition - the sledge travel from Thule to Tugtuligssuaq - the author (BG) talked with the old Anguvdluk Umaq from Savigsivik. He was among the last inhabitants at Uisakavsaqs Boplads.

The settlement is named after »The Pioneer of Tugtuligssuaq« - the famous Uisakavsaq. The remarkable lifestory of this outstanding personality and great hunter is told by Knud Rasmussen.

This summer the settlement was surveyed and a registration of the very well preserved ruins (winter-houses) was carried out (Fig. 15). Relating these data to the Greenlanders' accounts many ethno-historical perspectives open up.

The purpose of the excavations at this site was primarily to trace settlements older than the historically known (pre 1900 A.D.). Therefore a couple of cross-sections through the midden deposits in front of the houses were made, and beneeth the midden layer from this century two older were found. Excavations in relation to the sections were made in order to date the old layers, but at present only the upper one can be dated preliminary to 17-18'th century A.D.

Beneeth later midden deposits a 2-3 hundred years old ruin in a very bad state was found. Obviously the Eskimos, as they often do, had reused stones and turf from the walls of this house as building material in the younger houses. The stratigraphy of the cultural deposits at such an intensively inhabited site is desturbed by these reuses (e.g. artifacts from old turfgrown middenlayers are sometimes found in the walls of younger houses). Thus the only certain trace - an artifact - of the Paleo Eskimos (i.e. in Greenland the Eskimo Cultures older than approx. 900 A.D.) at Tugtuligssuaq was found in much younger cultural layers. The specimen is a small asymetrical knife blade made of jasper, the type belonging to the latest Dorset Culture in Greenland (6-800 A.D.).

The graves

The 30-40 graves registrered at Tugtuligssuaq are primarily
situated in the close vicinity to Uisakavsaqs Boplads.

The most common type of grave is the chamber-grave, which is a rectangular chamber (length 1 Vi - 2 m, width ¥2 -1m) built of big stones. The dead body is placed in the chamber lying on the back with bent knees. Up against the big chamber a smaller one is often built for the grave goods. The grave chamber is covered with flagstones and a big pile of stones.

Unfortunately nearly all the graves are desturbed in recent time by the Greenlanders of the district, yet three comparatively unspoilt graves, which could still yield good archaeological information, were found.

During the excavation the moss layer partly covering the skeletons were removed (Fig. 16). The bones protruding the moss layer in the graves were the best preserved - i.e. some limb bones and the cranium. In a couple of the graves pieces of the dead person's clothing were preserved.

Two graves contained the same characteristic grave goods showing that the buried persons were women. In each grave the woman was provided with a complete set of sewing gear consisting of a needle case with plug, 3-4 ornamental bodkins (large bone needles with carvings) and a so-called thimbleholder. (Fig. 17). One needle case still contained a tiny iron needle.

The caracteristic, ornamented »winged« needle case dates the graves to the same period as the excavated houses at Igdluminerssuit, and probably the majority of the graves situated at this outermost part of the peninsula are built by the inhabitants of this settlement.

Ethnographical information

It is necessary to have an intimate knowledge of the Melville Bay hunters of today to understand the cultural patterns of the prehistoric Eskimo as expressed in the archaeological findings.

Collecting ethnographical and ethnohistorical information on the hunting and the way of life at Tugtuligssuaq formed a very inspiring part of the fieldwork. Nowadays the game of the Tugtuligssuaq-area is exploited by West Greenland hunters from the Upernavik District. The peninsula serves as a base primarily for the catching of narwhals migrating northward along the coast in the summer. The narwhal is caught with harpoon thrown from kayak - a traditional hunting method.

Through conversations we have collected important information
on the whaling and sealing tackle, the hunting techniques
and the behaviour of the marine game in this area.

In this report a short outline of the purpose of the archaeological investigations and their practical accomplishment have been presented, and a comprehensive and time-consuming phase of analysis is ahead.

The findings and the many technical drawings, photos and notes must be structuralized. The large quantum of bones must be treated by a quaternary zoologist and the knowledge deduced from this can be used both in archaeological and zoological context.

By our interdisciplinary approach we will be able to achieve a better understanding of the life of the prehistoric Eskimos - an understanding, which hopefully can be used by the Greenlanders of today.

After the analysis all the material will be transferred to
Grønlands Landsmuseum, Godthåb. (The National Museum
of Greenland).