Dorset Palaeoeskimo Skin Processing at Phillip's Garden, Port au Choix, Northwestern Newfoundland
This paper examines artifactual and palaeo-limnological evidence of sealskin processing associated with Phillip’s Garden, a Dorset Palaeoeskimo site at Port au Choix in northwestern Newfoundland. We propose that harp seals were hunted from Phillip’s Garden as much for skins as for meat and fat, and...
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The Arctic Institute of North America
2009
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.14430/arctic5 http://arctic.journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/arctic/index.php/arctic/article/viewFile/5/5 |
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crarcticinstna:10.14430/arctic5 2024-06-09T07:42:03+00:00 Dorset Palaeoeskimo Skin Processing at Phillip's Garden, Port au Choix, Northwestern Newfoundland Renouf, M.A.P. Bell, T. 2009 http://dx.doi.org/10.14430/arctic5 http://arctic.journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/arctic/index.php/arctic/article/viewFile/5/5 unknown The Arctic Institute of North America ARCTIC volume 61, issue 1, page 35 ISSN 1923-1245 0004-0843 journal-article 2009 crarcticinstna https://doi.org/10.14430/arctic5 2024-05-14T12:53:43Z This paper examines artifactual and palaeo-limnological evidence of sealskin processing associated with Phillip’s Garden, a Dorset Palaeoeskimo site at Port au Choix in northwestern Newfoundland. We propose that harp seals were hunted from Phillip’s Garden as much for skins as for meat and fat, and that processing sealskins was the first step in the important activity of making clothes, boots, and other items. We outline the steps and tools involved in sealskin processing throughout the northern circumpolar world, and we identify specialized skin-processing tools in the Phillip’s Garden tool assemblage. Sealskin processing is also inferred from pollen and chironomid data from Bass Pond, adjacent to Phillip’s Garden. Disturbance across pollen taxa is evident at 2200– 1400 cal BP, and anomalous salinity values are evident at 2000–1400 cal BP. We argue that these are connected to Palaeoeskimo activities at the pond, in particular Dorset sealskin soaking and tanning. This study shifts our perception of Dorset activities at Phillip’s Garden away from a narrow focus on seal hunting and the site itself and broadens our view to include more of the multiplicity of day-to-day human activities that took place within a larger cultural landscape that included Phillip’s Garden and Bass Pond. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Newfoundland Port au Choix Arctic Institute of North America Port au Choix ENVELOPE(-57.365,-57.365,50.717,50.717) ARCTIC 61 1 35 |
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Arctic Institute of North America |
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This paper examines artifactual and palaeo-limnological evidence of sealskin processing associated with Phillip’s Garden, a Dorset Palaeoeskimo site at Port au Choix in northwestern Newfoundland. We propose that harp seals were hunted from Phillip’s Garden as much for skins as for meat and fat, and that processing sealskins was the first step in the important activity of making clothes, boots, and other items. We outline the steps and tools involved in sealskin processing throughout the northern circumpolar world, and we identify specialized skin-processing tools in the Phillip’s Garden tool assemblage. Sealskin processing is also inferred from pollen and chironomid data from Bass Pond, adjacent to Phillip’s Garden. Disturbance across pollen taxa is evident at 2200– 1400 cal BP, and anomalous salinity values are evident at 2000–1400 cal BP. We argue that these are connected to Palaeoeskimo activities at the pond, in particular Dorset sealskin soaking and tanning. This study shifts our perception of Dorset activities at Phillip’s Garden away from a narrow focus on seal hunting and the site itself and broadens our view to include more of the multiplicity of day-to-day human activities that took place within a larger cultural landscape that included Phillip’s Garden and Bass Pond. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Renouf, M.A.P. Bell, T. |
spellingShingle |
Renouf, M.A.P. Bell, T. Dorset Palaeoeskimo Skin Processing at Phillip's Garden, Port au Choix, Northwestern Newfoundland |
author_facet |
Renouf, M.A.P. Bell, T. |
author_sort |
Renouf, M.A.P. |
title |
Dorset Palaeoeskimo Skin Processing at Phillip's Garden, Port au Choix, Northwestern Newfoundland |
title_short |
Dorset Palaeoeskimo Skin Processing at Phillip's Garden, Port au Choix, Northwestern Newfoundland |
title_full |
Dorset Palaeoeskimo Skin Processing at Phillip's Garden, Port au Choix, Northwestern Newfoundland |
title_fullStr |
Dorset Palaeoeskimo Skin Processing at Phillip's Garden, Port au Choix, Northwestern Newfoundland |
title_full_unstemmed |
Dorset Palaeoeskimo Skin Processing at Phillip's Garden, Port au Choix, Northwestern Newfoundland |
title_sort |
dorset palaeoeskimo skin processing at phillip's garden, port au choix, northwestern newfoundland |
publisher |
The Arctic Institute of North America |
publishDate |
2009 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.14430/arctic5 http://arctic.journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/arctic/index.php/arctic/article/viewFile/5/5 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-57.365,-57.365,50.717,50.717) |
geographic |
Port au Choix |
geographic_facet |
Port au Choix |
genre |
Arctic Newfoundland Port au Choix |
genre_facet |
Arctic Newfoundland Port au Choix |
op_source |
ARCTIC volume 61, issue 1, page 35 ISSN 1923-1245 0004-0843 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.14430/arctic5 |
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ARCTIC |
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61 |
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1 |
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35 |
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1801370950435864576 |