Paleoeskimo subsistence and settlement in the High Arctic

• Main Author: McCartney, Peter H.
• Other Authors: Helmer, James W.
• Format: Doctoral or Postdoctoral Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: University of Calgary 1989
• Subjects: GN 885 M162 1989a; Land settlement patterns; Prehistoric - Arctic regions; Excavations (Archaeology) - Arctic regions; Anthropology - Research - Arctic regions; Paleolithic period - Northwest Territory - Jones Sound; Arctic; Devon Island; Jones Sound; bearded seal; ringed seal; Sea ice
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/1880/21872; https://doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/18764

Bibliography: p. 306-330. This dissertation examines the ecological basis for Paleoeskimo subsistence and settlement in the Jones Sound region of the Canadian High Arctic. The early prehistory of the Eastern Arctic is characterized by overall low population densities, which are uneven and patchy with respect to both spatial distribution and continuity within local sequences. An understanding of the relationship between environmental factors and prehistoric demographic patterns is sought within (1) information on the characteristics of the physical environment, (2) archaeological evidence for Paleoeskimo subsistence and settlement and (3) a theoretical framework based on ecological models of descisionmaking for inferring systemic relationships between environmental parameters and human behavior. The High Arctic environment is distinguished by low primary productivity, low ecological diversity and high instability. Short-term and long-term variance in the availability of the most important resources (ringed seal and caribou) is linked to changes in precipitation, spring storm patterns and sea ice conditions. Along the northern coast of Devon Island, a series of lowland zones offer locally longer growing seasons, higher available moisture and larger and more stable populations of terrestrial resources. The archaeological data are derived from a five-year project centered on the Devon Lowlands which yielded site survey data and collections of well preserved fauna! and artifact collections from twelve excavated Paleoeskimo tent ring features. Resource selection is dominated by ringed seal with lesser, but consistent, numbers of caribou, bearded seal and birds. The settlement pattern is characterized by small coastal camps which are located to maximize access to both marine and terrestrial resources. An informal model of Paleoeskimo adaptation is offered which identifies several distinctive features. First, the low diversity and low predictability of the High Arctic resource base results in a subsistence system with ...