Walrus Island – A pivotal place for High Arctic Palaeo-Eskimo societies in Northeast Greenland

• Published in: Études/Inuit/Studies
• Main Author: Sørensen, Mikkel
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: Association Inuksiutiit Katimajiit Inc. 2012
• Subjects: Arctic; Greenland; Île-de-France; Kap; Dorsétien; eskimo*; Études/Inuit/Studies; greenlandic; Groenland; groenlandais; Saqqaq; walrus*
• Online Access: http://id.erudit.org/iderudit/1015959ar; https://doi.org/10.7202/1015959ar

In this article, the Palaeo-Eskimo ruin features of the Walrus Island site are presented and analysed. The Walrus Island site was investigated in 2008 and more than 2,000 stone features were recorded, of which 445 were the remains of dwellings attributed to Palaeo-Eskimo occupations. These ruins are described as “mid-passages,” “tent rings,” “clearings,” and “pavements.” They are associated with lithic artefacts that attest to the presence of all the previously identified Palaeo-Eskimo cultures of Northeast Greenland, i.e., Independence I, Saqqaq, and Greenlandic Dorset. Based on the ruins’ location near sloping terrain and lack of peripheral stones, it is argued that the Greenlandic Dorset people built snow houses on the site. Walrus Island has the second largest known Palaeo-Eskimo site in Northeast Greenland, the largest one being the Kap Skt. Jacques site on the island Île-de-France, which has 548 features. Both sites, and four other large or potentially very large sites, have in common a shore location on the Northeast Greenland coast near polynyas. These large sites were of pivotal importance for the Palaeo-Eskimos of Northeast Greenland and may help us understand their way of life in the extreme High Arctic. Dans cet article, nous présentons et analysons les vestiges paléoesquimaux du site Walrus Island. En 2008, l’étude du site a révélé plus de 2 000 structures en pierre, dont 445 habitations attribuées à des occupations paléoesquimaudes. Les vestiges sont décrits comme étant des «aménagements axiaux», des «cercles de tentes», des «aires dégagées» ou encore des «pavages». Les vestiges lithiques témoignent de la présence sur ce site de toutes les cultures paléoesquimaudes identifiées au nord-est du Groenland: Indépendance I, Saqqaq et Dorsétien groenlandais. En nous basant sur la localisation des structures en bordure de pentes et sur l’absence de pierres dans leur périphérie, nous formulons l’hypothèse que les Dorsétiens groenlandais utilisaient des iglous sur le site. Walrus Island est le deuxième ...