essay

The Independence I and the Old Nuulliit cultures in relation to the Saqqaq culture

paleo-eskimo cultures of greenland : a new perspective in greenlandic archaeology : papers from a symposium at the institute of archaeology and ethnology, university of copenhagen, may 21-24, 1992 • (1) • Published In 1996 • Pages: 191-198

By: Elling, Henrik.

Abstract

Based on previously published works, this document discusses the archaeological similarites between the early Paleo-Eskimo cultures in Greenland defined in this study as Independence I, Saqqaq, and Old Nuulliit. The published arguments for differentiating these cultures from one another is based on six major criteria: (1) carbon 14 dating; (2) the analysis of the raw material used in making the stone implements; (3) the physical size and attributes of the tools themselves; (4) the percentage of certain types of implements in the collection (e.g., microblades, burins, burin spalls); (5) the presence of harpoon heads and lamps; and (6) the presence of the mid-passage structure as part of the dwellings of the cultures involved. ' A conclusion of the paper is that we do not have scientific proof for maintaining this cultural classification. Furthermore, it will be argued that the variations within the archaeological material from the three early Paleo-Eskimo groups could be interpreted as the adaptation of one people/one culture to different environmental conditions in different parts of the country' (p. 191).

HRAF PubDate

2000

Region

North America

Sub Region

Arctic and Subarctic

Document Type

essay

Evaluation

Creator Type

Archaeologist

Document Rating

4: Excellent Secondary Data

Analyst

John Beierle; 1998

Field Date

no date

Coverage Date

ca. 5900 BP-2900 BP

Coverage Place

Greenland

Notes

Includes bibliographical references (see document 7:Anonymous)

LCSH

Arctic regions--Antiquities