Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-t5tsf Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-03T09:31:17.323Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Archaeology in the Arctic, 1935-60*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Helge Larsen
Helge Larsen*
Affiliation:
Nationalmuseet, Copenhagen, Denmark
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Archaeological activities in the North American Arctic are reviewed in terms of the sequences and cultures which have been identified in three major culture areas: the coastal zone from St. Lawrence Island to eastern Greenland, the central area around Hudson Bay with extensions to northern Greenland and Newfoundland, and southwestern Alaska including the Aleutian Islands. Three broad culture horizons are suggested for organizing the data for the first two of these areas. The earliest horizon which cannot be surely identified as either Pre-Eskimo or Proto-Eskimo is tentatively called the Denbigh Flint horizon. It is characterized by fine chipping, micro-cores, micro-blades, burins, and the absence of pottery. These traits occur in the Denbigh Flint and New Mountain complexes and in other assemblages perhaps as far east as the Sarqaq of Greenland. The second or Paleo-Eskimo horizon which also emphasized fine chipping is found in two forms, one with pottery, such as the Choris, Norton, Near Ipiutak, and related cultures in northwestern Canada, and the other without pottery represented by Ipiutak and Dorset. The latest or Neo-Eskimo horizon is the northern maritime tradition of the Okvik to Inugsuk range of cultures. Other approaches to the interpretation of northern archaeology are summarized.

Type
Research Article
Information
American Antiquity , Volume 27 , Issue 1 , July 1961 , pp. 7 - 15
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for American Archaeology 1961

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

*

Presented in a symposium, Twenty-five Years of American Archaeology, at the 25th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, May 6, 1960, New Haven, Connecticut.

References

Birket-Smith, Kaj 1929 The Caribou Eskimos. Report of the Fifth Thule Expedition, 1921–24, Vol. 5. Copenhagen.Google Scholar
Birket-Smith, Kaj 1959 Nationalmuseets Etnografiske Samling 1957. Folk, Dansk Etnografisk Tidsskrift, Vol. 1. Copenhagen.Google Scholar
Campbell, J. M. 1959 The Kayuk Complex of Arctic Alaska. American Antiquity, Vol. 25, No. 1, pp. 94–105. Salt Lake City.Google Scholar
Collins, H. B. Jr. 1937 Archeology of St. Lawrence Island, Alaska. Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections, Vol. 96, No. 1. Washington.Google Scholar
Collins, H. B. Jr. 1956 The T 1 Site at Native Point, Southampton Island, N. W. T. Anthropological Papers of the University of Alaska, Vol. 4, No. 2, pp. 63–89. College.Google Scholar
Collins, H. B. Jr. 1960 Comments [on “The Archeology of Bering Strait,” by J. L. Giddings]. Current Anthropology) Vol. 1, No. 2, pp. 131–6. Chicago.Google Scholar
Ford, J. A. 1959 Eskimo Prehistory in the Vicinity of Point Barrow, Alaska. Anthropological Papers of the American Museum of Natural History, Vol. 47, Part 1. New York.Google Scholar
Geist, O. W. and Rainey, F. G. 1936 Archaeological Excavations at Kukulik, St. Lawrence Island, Alaska. Miscellaneous Publications of the University of Alaska, Vol. 2. Washington.Google Scholar
Giddings, J. L. Jr. 1949 Early Flint Horizons on the North Bering Sea Coast. Journal of the Washington Academy of Science, Vol. 39, No. 3, pp. 85–90. Washington.Google Scholar
Giddings, J. L. Jr. 1951 The Denbigh Flint Complex. American Antiquity, Vol. 16, No. 3, pp. 193–203. Salt Lake City.Google Scholar
Giddings, J. L. Jr. 1952 Ancient Bering Strait and Population Spread. In “Selected Papers of the Alaskan Science Conference, 1950,” edited by Collins, H. B., pp. 85–102. Science in Alaska, Special Publication, No. 1. Arctic Institute of North America, Washington.Google Scholar
Giddings, J. L. Jr. 1956a The Burin Spall Artifact. Arctic, Vol. 9, No. 4, pp. 229–37. Ottawa.Google Scholar
Giddings, J. L. Jr. 1956b A Flint Site in Northernmost Manitoba. American Antiquity, Vol. 21, No. 3, pp. 255–68. Salt Lake City.Google Scholar
Giddings, J. L. Jr. 1957 Round Houses in the Western Arctic. American Antiquity, Vol. 23, No. 2, pp. 121–35. Salt Lake City.Google Scholar
Giddings, J. L. Jr. 1960a The Archeology of Bering Strait. Current Anthropology, Vol. 1, No. 2, pp. 121–30. Chicago.Google Scholar
Giddings, J. L. Jr. 1960b A View of Archeology about Bering Strait. Acta Arctica, Fasc. 12, pp. 27–33. Copenhagen.Google Scholar
Harp, Elmer Jr. 1959a Prehistory in the Dismal Lake Area, N. W. T., Canada. Arctic, Vol. 11, No. 4, pp. 219–49. Montreal.Google Scholar
Harp, Elmer Jr. 1959b The Moffat Archaeological Collection from Dubawnt County, Canada. American Antiquity, Vol. 24, No. 4, pp. 412–22. Salt Lake City.Google Scholar
Harp, Elmer Jr. 1959c Ecological Continuity on the Barren Grounds. Polar Notes, No. 1, pp. 48–56. Hanover.Google Scholar
Heizer, R. F. 1956 Archaeology of the Uyak Site Kodiak Island, Alaska. University of California, Anthropological Records, Vol. 17, No. 1. Berkeley and Los Angeles.Google Scholar
Hrdlička, Aleš 1944 The Anthropology of Kodiak Island. Wistar Institute of Anatomy and Biology. Philadelphia.Google Scholar
Hrdlička, Aleš 1945 The Aleutian and Commander Islands and Their Inhabitants. Wistar Institute of Anatomy and Biology. Philadelphia.Google Scholar
Irving, William 1951 Archaeology in the Brooks Range of Alaska. American Antiquity, Vol. 17, No. 1, p. 52. Salt Lake City.Google Scholar
Irving, William 1953 Evidence of Early Tundra Cultures in Northern Alaska. Anthropological Papers of the University of Alaska, Vol. 1, No. 2, pp. 55–85. College.Google Scholar
Irving, William 1955 Burins from Central Alaska. American Antiquity, Vol. 20, No. 4, pp. 380–3. Salt Lake City.Google Scholar
Irving, William 1957 An Archaeological Survey of the Susitna Valley. Anthropological Papers of the University of Alaska, Vol. 6, No. 1, pp. 37–52. College.Google Scholar
Jenness, Diamond 1925 A New Eskimo Culture in Hudson Bay. Geographic Review, Vol. 15, pp. 428–37. New York.Google Scholar
Jenness, Diamond 1952 Discussion [of “The Ipiutak Culture: Its Origin and Relationships,” by Helge Larsen.] In “Indian Tribes of Aboriginal America,” edited by Tax, Sol, pp. 30–4. Selected Papers of the 29th International Congress of Americanists [New York, 1949], Vol. 3. University of Chicago Press, Chicago.Google Scholar
Jochelson, Waldemar 1925 Archaeological Investigations in the Aleutian Islands. Carnegie Institution of Washington, Publication 367. Washington.Google Scholar
Knuth, Eigil 1952 An Outline of the Archaeology of Peary Land. Arctic, Vol. 5, No. 1, pp. 17–33. Ottawa.Google Scholar
Knuth, Eigil 1954 The Paleo-Eskimo Culture of Northeast Greenland Elucidated by Three New Sites. American Antiquity, Vol. 19, No. 4, pp. 367–81. Salt Lake City.Google Scholar
Knuth, Eigil 1958 Archaeology of the Farthest North. Proceedings of the Thirty-second International Congress of Americanists [Copenhagen, 1956], pp. 561–73. Munksgaard, Copenhagen.Google Scholar
De Laguna, Frederica 1934 The Archaeology of Cook Inlet, Alaska. University Museum, Philadelphia.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
De Laguna, Frederica 1947 The Prehistory of Northern North America as seen from the Yukon. Memoirs of the Society for American Archaeology, No. 3. Menasha.Google Scholar
De Laguna, Frederica 1956 Chugach Prehistory, The Archaeology of Prince Williams Sound, Alaska. University of Washington Publications in Anthropology, Vol. 13. Seattle.Google Scholar
Larsen, Helge 1950 Archaeological Investigation in Southwestern Alaska. American Antiquity, Vol. 15, No. 3, pp. 177–86. Menasha.Google Scholar
Larsen, Helge 1951 De dansk amerikanske Alaska ekspeditioner 1949–50. Geografisk Tidsskrift, Vol. 51, pp. 63–93. Copenhagen.Google Scholar
Larsen, Helge 1960a Paleo-Eskimo (Cultures) in Disko Bay, West Greenland. Selected Papers of the Fifth International Congress of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences [Philadelphia, 1956], edited by Wallace, A. F. C., pp. 574–9. University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Larsen, Helge 1960b Eskimo - Archaeological Problems in Greenland. Acta Arctica, Fasc. 12, pp. 11–16. Copenhagen.Google Scholar
Larsen, Helge and Rainey, F. G. 1948 Ipiutak and the Arctic Whale Hunting Culture. Anthropological Papers of the American Museum of Natural History, Vol. 42. New York.Google Scholar
Larsen, Helge and Meldgaard, Jørgen 1958 Paleo-Eskimo Cultures in Disko Bugt, West Greenland. Meddelelser om Gronland, Vol. 161, No. 2. Copenhagen.Google Scholar
MacNeish, R. S. 1956 The Engigstciak Site on the Yukon Arctic Coast. Anthropological Papers of the University of Alaksa, Vol. 4, No. 2, pp. 91–111. College.Google Scholar
MacNeish, R. S. 1959a Men out of Asia as Seen from the Northwest Yukon. Anthropological Papers of the University of Alaska, Vol. 7, No. 2, pp. 41–70. College.Google Scholar
MacNeish, R. S. 1959b A Speculative Framework of Northern North American Prehistory as of April 1959. Anthropologica, n.s. Vol. 1, pp. 7–23. Ottawa.Google Scholar
MacNeish, R. S. 1960 Problems of Circumpolar Archaeology as Seen from Northwest Canada. Acta Arctica, Fasc. 12, pp. 17–26. Copenhagen.Google Scholar
Mason, J. A. 1930 Excavations of Eskimo Thule Culture Sites at Point Barrow, Alaska. Proceedings of the 23rd International Congress of Americanists, [New York, 1928], pp. 382–94. New York.Google Scholar
Mathiassen, Therkel 1927 Archaeology of the Central Eskimos, two volumes. Report of the Fifth Thule Expedition, 1921–24, Vol. 4. Copenhagen.Google Scholar
Mathiassen, Therkel 1930 Inugsuk: A Mediaeval Eskimo Settlement in Upernivik District, West Greenland. Meddelelser om Grønland, Vol. 77. Copenhagen.Google Scholar
Mathiassen, Therkel 1958 The Sermermiut Excavations 1955. Meddelelser om Grønland, Vol. 161, No. 3. Copenhagen.Google Scholar
Meldgaard, Jørgen 1952 A Paleo-Eskimo Culture in West Greenland. American Antiquity, Vol. 17, No. 3, pp. 222–30. Salt Lake City.Google Scholar
Meldgaard, Jørgen 1955 Dorset Kulturen. Kuml, Aarbog for jysk Arkaeologisk Selskab. Aarhus.Google Scholar
Meldgaard, Jørgen 1958 Grønlaendere i tre tusinde aar. Grønland, No. 5. Copenhagen.Google Scholar
Meldgaard, Jørgen 1960 Prehistoric Culture Sequences in the Eastern Arctic as Elucidated by Stratified Sites at Igloolik. Selected Papers of the Fifth International Congress of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences [Philadelphia, 1956], edited by Wallace, A. F. C., pp. 588–95. University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia.Google Scholar
Nelson, N. C. 1937 Notes on Cultural Relations between Asia and America. American Antiquity, Vol. 2, No. 4, pp. 267–72. Menasha.Google Scholar
Rainey, F. G. 1941 Eskimo Prehistory: The Okvik Site on the Punuk Islands. Anthropological Papers of the American Museum of Natural History, Vol. 37, Part 4, pp. 453–569. New York.Google Scholar
Rainey, F. G. and Ralph, Elizabeth 1959 Radiocarbon Dating in the Arctic. American Antiquity, Vol. 24, No. 4, pp. 365–74. Salt Lake City.Google Scholar
Solecki, R. S. 1950 A Preliminary Report of an Archaeological Reconnaissance of the Kukpowruk and Kokohk Rivers in Northwest Alaska. American Antiquity, Vol. 16, No. 1, pp. 66–9. Salt Lake City.Google Scholar
Solecki, R. S. 1951 Notes on Two Archaeological Discoveries in Northern Alaska, 1950. American Antiquity, Vol. 17, No. 1, pp. 55'7. Salt Lake City.Google Scholar
Steensby, H. P. 1916 An Anthropogeographical Study of the Origin of the Eskimo Culture. Meddelelser om Grønland, Vol. 53. Copenhagen.Google Scholar
Taylor, W. E. 1959 Review and Assessment of the Dorset Problem. Anthropologica, n.s., Vol. 1, pp. 24–46. Ottawa.Google Scholar
Weyer, E. M. Jr. 1930 Archaeological Material from the Village Site at Hot Springs, Port Möller, Alaska. Anthropological Papers of the American Museum of Natural History, Vol. 31, Part 4, pp. 239–79. New York.Google Scholar