The “Dorset Problem” Revisited

• Main Author: Ryan, Karen
• Other Authors: Friesen, Max, Mason, Owen
• Format: Book
• Language: unknown
• Published: Oxford University Press 2016
• Subjects: Arctic; Dorset culture
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199766956.013.37

The origins and development of Dorset culture, recognized in 1925 by Diamond Jenness, remain poorly understood despite decades of research. This chapter considers how Dorset was initially defined, before highlighting the three competing theories proposed to explain the transition from Pre-Dorset to Dorset: the first arguing for widespread continuity and gradual change from Pre-Dorset into Dorset throughout the Eastern Arctic; the second contending that large-scale population discontinuities occurred as regional Pre-Dorset groups were replaced by a single expanding “Core Area” Dorset populace; with the third envisioning a more complex demographic history involving local developments and multiple minicore areas. Following this, the traits most frequently used to distinguish Early and Middle Dorset are summarized before the ramifications of new analyses on the perceived culture-historical position of Early and Middle Dorset are discussed.