Contributions to the Study of the Dorset Palaeo-Eskimos. Mercury Series Archaeology Paper167 by Patricia D. SutherlandReview by: Lisa M. HodgettsCanadian Journal of Archaeology / Journal Canadien d’Archéologie, Vol. 30, No. 1 (2006), pp.113-116Published by: Canadian Archaeological AssociationStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/41103557 .

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Contributions to the Study of the Dorset Palaeo-Eskimos

edited by Patricia D. Sutherland. Mercury Series Archaeology Paper 167, Canadian Museum of Civilization, Gatineau, Quebec. xi+165 pp. ISBN 0-660-19414-7 (paperback) $29.95. 2005.

EDITED VOLUME GREW OUT OF a conference session on the Dorset

Palaeo-Eskimos that was organized by Patricia Sutherland to mark the 75th anniversary of Diamond Jenness' first published reference to the Dorset cul- ture. The papers were initially presented at the Canadian Archaeological Associa- tion meeting in 2000. The contributions in the volume cover a range of themes and have different geographic and tem- poral foci. Few of the chapters attempt to synthesize the state of our knowledge of the Dorset after 75 years of study. Instead, as the title of the book suggests, most represent contributions to our understanding of particular aspects and regional expressions of Dorset culture. Sutherland's introduction provides a brief history of Dorset archaeology, trac- ing the development of research on the topic. The nine papers that follow are organized thematically.

The first two contributions examine the relationship between Dorset and subsequent Thule populations in the eastern Arctic through a study of skeletal remains. They arrive at very different conclusions about this controversial topic. In Chapter 1, Geoffrey Hayes, Joan Brenner Coltrain, and Dennis O'Rourke use the presence of haplogroups in mito- chondrial DNA from Dorset, Thule, and Sadlermiut skeletons to examine the relatedness of these populations. Their

analysis reveals a marked difference between Dorset, Sadlermiut, and Aleuts on one hand, and Thule and Inuit on the other, suggesting genetic replace- ment rather than assimilation at the time of the Dorset-Thule transition. However, their data cannot resolve the question of whether the Thule encountered Dorset groups in the eastern Arctic, or whether the Dorset had already abandoned the area when the Thule arrived. The small number of skeletons included in this study greatly limits confidence in its results, something that the authors themselves acknowledge.

In the second paper, Nancy Ossen- berg addresses the question of the contribution of Palaeo-Eskimos to Inuit ancestry by looking at non-metric traits in Birnirk, Thule, and recent Inuit samples and then comparing them to other "Paleoarctic" and "Neoarctic" groups. Her results stand in direct contrast to those of the previous paper in several respects. First, her mean measure of divergence analysis shows that the Sadlermiut are closely related to the Inuit of Greenland and Canada, and not to the Dorset. Second, she con- cludes that Birnirk, Thule, and Inuit do not represent descendants of a second "Neoarctic" wave of migrants across the Bering Strait ca. 1,500 years ago. They show much stronger similarities with Paleoarctic groups, such as the Aleut

Canadian Journal of Archaeology/Journal Canadien d'Archéologie 30: 1 13-1 16(2006)

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114 • HODGETTS

and Na-Dene. Because her data suggest that Dorset and Thule are from the same Paleoarctic ancestral stock, she cannot directly test the hypothesis that Dorset populations were assimilated by the Thule. This contrasts with the preced- ing analysis of haplogroup frequencies, which suggested that Dorset and Thule come from different genetic stock. The disagreement between these papers raises questions about the reliability of their conclusions. Before the issue can be resolved, Hayes et al, must increase their sample size, and Ossenberg must find a way to account for archaeological and linguistic data that suggest Neoarc- tic origins for the Inuit.

Subsequent chapters in the volume approach the Dorset Palaeo-Eskimos by focusing on local cultural sequences and specific phenomena. Priscilla Renouf examines a unique stone tool assemblage from a Groswater Palaeo- Eskimo site in Newfoundland. She uses measurements taken on formal tools and the frequency of certain traits to demonstrate that the lithic assemblage from the site of Phillip's Garden West, although exhibiting many typical Gro- swater characteristics, is distinctive. While isolated finds of this variant are found at sites across the island of Newfoundland, Phillip's Garden West represents the only known complete assemblage. She suggests that the site may have played an important role in seal-hunting ritual, and that the unique character of the stone tool assemblage relates to this ritual function. This leads one to question why the non-hunting elements of the lithic assemblage, such as sidescrapers, burin-like-tools and scrapers, are also distinct at Phillip's Garden West. Other questions also remain, suggesting that we need to know more about both this site and

Canadian Journal of Archaeology 30 (2006)

the Groswater generally in order to test Renouf s hypothesis.

The next paper, by Daniel Odess, is one of the most stimulating in the volume because of its far-reaching impli- cations. He argues against the traditional assumption of a common set of "Middle Dorset" tool types dating to the same time period across the entire eastern Arctic. Archaeologists' skepticism about Arctic radiocarbon dates has led them to rely instead on typological attributes to produce relative chronologies. Odess notes that typological dating assumes a constant rate of change across the entire eastern Arctic, conflating types and time, and obscuring variability over time and across space. His careful reexamination of material and radiocarbon dates from sites in Labrador and southern Baffin Island reveals considerable typological variability both within southern Baffin Island and between southern Baffin Island and Labrador on sites dating to the Middle Dorset. This degree of variation defies any attempt to define the period typologically. He suggests that the existing typological and chronologi- cal divisions between Early, Middle, and Late Dorset are meaningless and should be replaced by rigorously constructed local sequences based on carefully inter- preted radiocarbon dates. While his arguments focus on the Middle Dorset period, they can logically be extended to the division between Pre-Dorset, Transi- tional and Dorset periods.

The theme of reexamining local cultural sequences in light of recent archaeological excavation and new radiocarbon dates continues in Jens Fog Jensen's chapter on West Greenland. Previous interpretations saw four distinct migrations into this part of Greenland - an initial Saqqaq migration into the region, followed by Early Dorset, Late

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CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE STUDY OF THE DORSET PALAEO-ESKIMOS • 115

Dorset and Thule occupations, - each separated by a period of abandonment. Jensen argues for cultural continuity from Saqqaq to Early Dorset on the basis of a small number of middens with strati- graphic continuity between the two, and a growing number of radiocarbon dates that show a brief overlap between them. He further argues that while Late Dorset people clearly occupied the Thule Dis- trict in the north of Greenland, there is no convincing evidence for a Late Dorset occupation in West Greenland. He therefore proposes only two prehistoric migrations into West Greenland: Saqqaq and Thule.

The next two chapters attempt to understand the role and regional signifi- cance of two unusual Dorset sites. The first, by Daniel Arsenault, Lois Gagnon, Daniel Gendron, and Claude Pinard, documents recent work at and around the Dorset petroglyph and soapstone quarry site of Qajartalik in Nunavik. Because of the similarities between Dorset portable art and the human faces represented in the petroglyphs at the site, it was initially interpreted as a Late Dorset shamanic centre. However, this study has revealed that the site was used over many years and served mul- tiple functions. The shape of lamp and pot scars on the rock face indicates that both Dorset and Thule people quarried soapstone here. Survey in the surround- ing area has revealed Dorset sites with semi-subterranean dwellings and tent rings, as well as evidence of Thule occu- pation. The authors feel that they need to gather more evidence before they can connect the Dorset sites with the creation of the petroglyphs and the use of the soapstone quarry. In the follow- ing chapter, John Erwin deals with the Dorset soapstone quarry at Fleur-de-Lys, Newfoundland. Based on his excava-

tions, he describes a four-stage manufac- turing process for the soapstone vessels produced at the site. He argues that the regional importance of the site was more restricted than previously thought. The lack of Fleur de Lys soapstone on sites outside of northeastern Newfoundland, and the limited variability in endblade morphology at both the quarry and a nearby habitation site suggest that the quarry was predominantly used by local groups.

The final papers in the volume deal with artifacts and architectural features from the Late Dorset period. Gen- eviève LeMoine's paper advocates more detailed study of worked bone, antler, and ivory artifacts from Late Dorset contexts in order to better understand Dorset culture. She identifies similar strategies across broad regions in the selection of skeletal raw materials for specific artifact types, and in the reduc- tion sequences for both antler and ivory. At the same time, she identifies regional differences, with extensive use of caribou antler in both the high Arctic, where caribou hunting appears to have been rare, and in the low Arctic, where there is substantial evidence for caribou hunting. Like several of the preceding papers, she emphasizes that while there are broad similarities in Late Dorset assemblages, we need to turn our attention to the differences between regions to better understand the Dorset phenomenon. Her assertion that hunting strategies and skeletal tool manufacture cannot be understood independent of one another holds true notjust for the Dorset, but for all hunting groups who made tools from animal remains.

In the final chapter, Eric Damkjar attempts to better understand the func- tion of Late Dorset longhouses by com- paring artifact and faunal assemblages

Journal Canadien d'Archéologie 30 (2006)

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116 • HODGETTS

from these features with those from other Late Dorset structures. His results show a wide variety of artifact types at longhouse sites, indicating that a full range of domestic activities took place. He notes higher frequencies of bone, antler, and ivory tools relative to stone in the longhouses, as well as a higher incidence of endblades and harpoon heads. His results show considerable variability between the longhouse faunal assemblages, but the relatively high proportions of bird remains indicate summer occupation. Damkjar suggests an economic motivation for the develop- ment of longhouses, arguing that they reflect seasonal convergence of popula- tions at concentrations of resources such as birds and fish. He maintains that the Dorset lacked the technology for open- water sealing, and that these alternative resources were important during the longer open water season of the Medi- eval Warm Period. While his argument is very plausible, Damkjar's sample of long- house and non-longhouse structures is small, and this forces him to aggregate his samples. Comparing summer long- houses with other dwellings occupied during a range of seasons means that any observed differences could be the product of multiple factors. Longhouses clearly had a central place in Late Dorset social and economic life, but further work is required to understand precisely how they functioned.

Canadian Journal of Archaeology 30 (2006)

How far has Dorset archaeology come in the last 75 years? This attrac- tive, nicely illustrated volume demon- strates a concern with the particular, suggesting that many Dorset scholars are no longer comfortable with a broad definition of Dorset that assumes similar typological, chronological, and social developments across the whole eastern Arctic. This concern with local change and variability between regions is also reflected in much recent scholarship on human-environment interactions during the Palaeo-Eskimo period. However, the complex relationship between social change and climate change is one active area of Dorset research that is not repre- sented in this collection. Overall, there seems to be a call for renewed rigor in our use and construction of chronolo- gies, and a consensus that we need to better understand local developments and differences before we can talk about interactions on a broader geographic scale. That many questions still remain reflects, in part, the logistical challenges and expense of conducting research in the Arctic and the sheer size of the region. This serves as a reminder of the remarkable achievements of the Dorset, who maintained social ties and trading networks over these vast distances.

lisa M. Hodgetts Department of Anthropology The University of Western Ontario

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