The Dorset-Thule Succession in Arctic North America: Assessing Claims for Culture Contact
Most Arctic archaeologists believe that the people of the Thule culture, who arrived in the eastern Arctic approximately 1,000 years ago, met people of the Dorset culture and acquired important knowledge from them while replacing them in this region. The most convincing indication for technology tra...
Published in: | American Antiquity |
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Language: | English |
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Cambridge University Press (CUP)
1993
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/281966 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0002731600057139 |
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crcambridgeupr:10.2307/281966 2024-10-13T14:04:39+00:00 The Dorset-Thule Succession in Arctic North America: Assessing Claims for Culture Contact Park, Robert W. 1993 http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/281966 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0002731600057139 en eng Cambridge University Press (CUP) https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms American Antiquity volume 58, issue 2, page 203-234 ISSN 0002-7316 2325-5064 journal-article 1993 crcambridgeupr https://doi.org/10.2307/281966 2024-09-25T04:03:14Z Most Arctic archaeologists believe that the people of the Thule culture, who arrived in the eastern Arctic approximately 1,000 years ago, met people of the Dorset culture and acquired important knowledge from them while replacing them in this region. The most convincing indication for technology transfer comes from the Thule adoption of Dorset harpoon-head styles. However, a review of radiocarbon dates, artifact styles, and site data reveals no conclusive evidence for face-to-face contact between the people of these two cultures. Given evidence that the Thule actively salvaged harpoon heads and carvings from abandoned Dorset sites, I contend that salvage was the sole means of contact between these cultures and the means by which harpoon-head technology was transferred. This example points out the importance of salvage as a mode of culture contact and the weakness of studies that interpret changes in material culture solely in a culture-historical context. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Dorset culture Thule culture Cambridge University Press Arctic American Antiquity 58 2 203 234 |
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Cambridge University Press |
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English |
description |
Most Arctic archaeologists believe that the people of the Thule culture, who arrived in the eastern Arctic approximately 1,000 years ago, met people of the Dorset culture and acquired important knowledge from them while replacing them in this region. The most convincing indication for technology transfer comes from the Thule adoption of Dorset harpoon-head styles. However, a review of radiocarbon dates, artifact styles, and site data reveals no conclusive evidence for face-to-face contact between the people of these two cultures. Given evidence that the Thule actively salvaged harpoon heads and carvings from abandoned Dorset sites, I contend that salvage was the sole means of contact between these cultures and the means by which harpoon-head technology was transferred. This example points out the importance of salvage as a mode of culture contact and the weakness of studies that interpret changes in material culture solely in a culture-historical context. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Park, Robert W. |
spellingShingle |
Park, Robert W. The Dorset-Thule Succession in Arctic North America: Assessing Claims for Culture Contact |
author_facet |
Park, Robert W. |
author_sort |
Park, Robert W. |
title |
The Dorset-Thule Succession in Arctic North America: Assessing Claims for Culture Contact |
title_short |
The Dorset-Thule Succession in Arctic North America: Assessing Claims for Culture Contact |
title_full |
The Dorset-Thule Succession in Arctic North America: Assessing Claims for Culture Contact |
title_fullStr |
The Dorset-Thule Succession in Arctic North America: Assessing Claims for Culture Contact |
title_full_unstemmed |
The Dorset-Thule Succession in Arctic North America: Assessing Claims for Culture Contact |
title_sort |
dorset-thule succession in arctic north america: assessing claims for culture contact |
publisher |
Cambridge University Press (CUP) |
publishDate |
1993 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/281966 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0002731600057139 |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic Dorset culture Thule culture |
genre_facet |
Arctic Dorset culture Thule culture |
op_source |
American Antiquity volume 58, issue 2, page 203-234 ISSN 0002-7316 2325-5064 |
op_rights |
https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.2307/281966 |
container_title |
American Antiquity |
container_volume |
58 |
container_issue |
2 |
container_start_page |
203 |
op_container_end_page |
234 |
_version_ |
1812810009523781632 |