The Palaeoeskimo occupations at Port Refuge, High Arctic Canada

McGhee, Robert

Book

The Palaeoeskimo occupations at Port Refuge, High Arctic Canada

National Museums of Canada • (92) • Published In 1979 • Pages: vii, 176

By: McGhee, Robert.

Abstract
This is a study of several archaeological sites at Port Refuge, a small bay on the south coast of Grinnell Peninsula, Devon Island in Nunavut, Canada. The author's archaeological fieldwork, which took place between 1972-1977, uncovered several prehistoric occupational sites in the area which have been ascribed to the Independence I, Pre-Dorset, Independence II/early Dorset, late Dorset, and Thule cultures. The present report describes the archaeological material relating to the early Arctic Small Tool tradition occupations -- the Independence I and Pre-Dorset cultural phases. 'Five components are ascribed to an Independece I variant, and one to a Pre-Dorset variant of the ASTt [Arctic Small Tool tradition]. The Independence I components comprise between 13 and 31 discrete features, most of which appear to have been single family tent dwellings of the midpassage form; faunal analysis suggest that these dwellings were occupied for periods of time ranging from a few days to a few weeks, by people who were engaged primarily in hunting ringed seals, waterfowl and fox. The single Pre-Dorset component appears to represent a more lengthy occupaiton, but the faunal remains suggest an economic orientation similar to that of the Independence I people. A brief attempt is made to understand the relationships between the Port Refuge people and Arctic Small Tool tradition people in other Arctic areas, and to explain the nature of the earliest occupation of the Port Refuge area' (p. iii).

Identification

Historical reconstruction

Bone, horn, and shell technology

Archaeological inventories

Eastern Arctic Small Tool

HRAF PubDate

2000