Archaeology and environment in the Scoresby Sund fjord. Ethno-archaeological investigations of the last Thule culture of Northeast Greenland

Abstract

In 1983, during archaeological investigations of Jameson Land in Northeast Greenland, Kalaallit Nunaata Katersugaasivia (Grønlands Landsmuseum) excavated a winter dwelling from the last Thule Eskimo settlement in that area. The results of the excavation are the subject of this book. where they are analysed and presented from an ethno-archaeological point of view.

The introductory section describes the natural conditions and living resources of the area, and is followed by a short historical/archaeological review of Northeast Greenland. Next, the results of the excavation are presented with a description of the finds, and the archaeological data is evaluated in relation to previous material from Northeast Greenland.

This is followed by a section on the material and cultural development and adjustments made by the present population of the Scoresby Sund area, as regards ecology and resources.

An ethno-archaeological analysis is undertaken on the basis of the ethnological material presented, and theories put forward to describe patterns of resource exploitation, mobility, seasonal movements etc. for the people living in the last Thule culture in the Scoresby Sund area. Opportunities for contact with European Whalers and other cultural developments are also discussed.