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69-667: Evidence supports the idea that the Thule (and, to a lesser degree, the Dorset ) were in contact with the Vikings , who had reached the shores of Canada in the 11th century as part of the Norse colonization of North America . In Viking sources, these peoples are called the Skrælingjar . Some Thule migrated southward, in the "Second Expansion" or "Second Phase". By the 13th or 14th century,

138-657: A Saqqaq culture area. The scientists reported that the man, dubbed "Inuk" (the Inuktitut word for "person"), had A+ blood type and genes suggesting he was adapted to cold weather, had brown eyes, brownish skin, and dark hair, and would have likely balded later in life. This marked the first sequencing of an ancient human's genome and the first sequencing of an ancient human's mitochondrial genome. A 2017 study identifies Paleo-Eskimo ancestry in Athabaskan and in other Na-Dene-speaking populations. The authors note that

207-525: A consensus within the Alaskan context is difficult. In particular, Native Alaskans do not use the word Inuit to describe themselves, and as such, terms used in Canada like "Paleo Inuit" and "Ancestral Inuit" would not be optimal; they use the term "Early Arctic Pottery tradition" while noting a lack of consensus in the field. According to Pavel Flegontov: Paleo-Eskimo archeological cultures are grouped under

276-505: A difference in social status between families or households. The presence of small quantities of native copper from the western arctic and meteoric iron from north-west Greenland indicate the existence of trade networks taking place in Thule culture. The different stages of the Thule Tradition are distinguished by their different styles of making tools and art. The later stages, Punuk and Birnirk , have greater representation in

345-486: A distinctive mitten shape. The Dorset were highly skilled at making refined miniature carvings, and striking masks. Both indicate an active shamanistic tradition . The Dorset culture was remarkably homogeneous across the Canadian Arctic , but there were some important variations which have been noted in both Greenland and Newfoundland / Labrador regions. There appears to be no genetic connection between

414-528: A highly developed Inuit culture of northeastern Asiatic origin and pre-Thule in age. A strong maritime adaptation is characteristic of the Thule, and the OBS stage, and then can be seen in the archaeological evidence. Both Kayaks and umiaks (large skinned boats) appear in the archaeological record for the first time. The toolkits of the people of the time are dominated by polished-slate rather than flaked-stone artifacts, including lanceolate knives, projectile heads, and

483-663: A warming trend which occurred between 900 and 1200 in the northern hemisphere, resulted in the lengthened season of open water along the North Alaskan Coast, and an extension of the summer range of bowhead whales into the Beaufort Sea and further east into the Canadian Archipelago. Like other whale species, bowheads tend to avoid ice-choked channels and passages because of the possibility of entrapment and death. General climatic warming may have reduced

552-526: Is divided into periods: the early (500–1  BCE ), middle (1–500  CE ), and late phases (500–1000  CE ), as well as perhaps a terminal phase (from c.  1000 onwards). The terminal phase, if it existed, would likely be closely related to the onset of the Medieval Warm Period , which started to warm the Arctic considerably around the mid-10th century. With the warmer climates,

621-674: Is easy to pick out OBS technology because of the artistic curvilinear dots, circles, and shorter lines that were used to decorate their tools. The chronological relationship between the Okvik and Old Bering Seas cultures has been the subject of debate and remains largely undecided, based mainly on art styles. Some consider it to be a distinct culture pre-dating Old Bering Sea, but the close similarity and overlapping radiocarbon dates suggest Okvik and Old Bering Sea are best considered as roughly contemporaneous, with regional variants. A 2019 genetic analysis concluded that between 2,700 and 4,900 years ago,

690-838: The Arctic Small Tool tradition (ASTt), and include the Denbigh , Choris, Norton , and Ipiutak cultures in Alaska, and the Saqqaq, Independence, Pre-Dorset, and Dorset cultures in the Canadian Arctic and Greenland. The ASTt source has been argued to lie in the Syalakh -Bel’kachi- Ymyakhtakh culture sequence of East Siberia, dated to 6,500 – 2,800 calBP . The relatively rapid spread of Paleo-Eskimos from Alaska as far as Greenland and Labrador may have been helped by their use of

759-579: The Cape York meteorite . The Classic Thule tradition relied heavily on the bowhead whale for survival because bowhead whales swim slowly and sleep near the water's surface. Bowhead whales served many purposes for the Thule people. The people could get a lot of meat for food, blubber for oil that could be used for fires for light and cooking purposes, and the bones could be used for building structures and making tools. The Thule people survived predominantly on fish, large sea mammals and caribou outside of

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828-600: The Greenlandic Norse people . Paleo-Eskimo The Paleo-Eskimo meaning "old Eskimos" , also known as, pre-Thule or pre-Inuit , were the peoples who inhabited the Arctic region from Chukotka (e.g., Chertov Ovrag ) in present-day Russia across North America to Greenland before the arrival of the modern Inuit ( Eskimo ) and related cultures. The first known Paleo-Eskimo cultures developed by 3900 to 3600 BCE, but were gradually displaced in most of

897-598: The archaeological record and are said to have spread further and lasted longer than their predecessor, the Old Bering Sea Stage. The Thule people are well known for their technological advances in transportation and hunting techniques and tools. The harpoon played a very significant role in whaling and the Thule people made several types of harpoon points out of whale bone . They also made inflated harpoon line floats to help them hunt larger prey. Where available, they used and traded iron from meteorites such as

966-599: The sea ice became less predictable and was isolated from the High Arctic. The Dorset were highly adapted to living in a very cold climate, and much of their food is thought to have been from hunting sea mammals that breathe through holes in the ice. The massive decline in sea-ice which the Medieval Warm Period produced would have strongly affected the Dorset. They could have followed the ice north. Most of

1035-698: The "P" in Paleo, to adhere to archaeological conventions in naming major traditions. In 2016, Lisa Hodgetts and Arctic editor Patricia Wells wrote: "In the Canadian context, continued use of any term that incorporates 'Eskimo' is potentially harmful to the relationships between archaeologists and the Inuit and Inuvialuit communities who are our hosts and increasingly our research partners"; they suggested using more specific terms when possible (e.g., Dorset and Groswater ); they also noted replacement for "Palaeoeskimo"

1104-809: The Beaufort Sea coast and Amundsen Gulf, entering the High Arctic via Parry Channel and Smith Sound. A second route led the Thule south, along the western coast of Hudson Bay. The culture of the Thule people varied greatly from the Dorset . Their success in hunting bowhead whales was facilitated through their use of large boats, and their vast foraging range through the use of dog sleds . In prime whaling areas, known Thule sites regularly contain fifteen to twenty houses, and in one case sixty. Clusters of houses suggest extended family units, and communal structures dedicated to ceremony have also been identified. Some form of hierarchical social structure may be identifiable though variations in dwelling size, form, and content (whaling equipment, non-local goods, etc.) which could point to

1173-944: The Bering Strait, the Thule people being the prehistoric ancestors of the Inuit. Thule culture was mapped out by Therkel Mathiassen , following his participation as an archaeologist and cartographer of the Fifth Danish Expedition to Arctic America in 1921–1924. He excavated sites on Baffin Island and the northwestern Hudson Bay region, which he considered to be the remains of a highly developed Eskimo whaling culture that had originated in Alaska and moved to Arctic Canada approximately 1000 years ago. There are three stages of development leading up to Thule culture; they are Okvik/Old Bering Sea, Punuk, Birnirk, and then Thule culture. These groups of peoples have been referred to as "Neo-Eskimo" cultures, which are differentiated from

1242-637: The Dorset also extensively used a breathing-hole sealing technique and perhaps they would have taught this to the Inuit. But this has been questioned on the grounds that there is no evidence that the Dorset had dogs. Some elders describe peace with an ancient group of people, while others describe conflict. Scholars had thought that the Sadlermiut, a people living in near isolation mainly on and around Coats Island , Walrus Island , and Southampton Island in Hudson Bay up until 1902–03, might have been

1311-498: The Dorset and the Thule who replaced them. Archaeological and legendary evidence is often thought to support some cultural contact, but this has been questioned. The Dorset people, for instance, engaged in seal-hole hunting, a method which requires several steps and includes the use of dogs. The Thule apparently did not use this technique in the time they had previously spent in Alaska. Settlement pattern data has been used to claim that

1380-474: The Dorset and the Thule peoples." However, the question of why the Dorset disappeared so completely has led some to suggest that Thule invaders wiped out the Dorset people in "an example of prehistoric genocide." Inuit legends recount them encountering people they called the Tuniit (in syllabics : ᑐᓃᑦ, singular ᑐᓂᖅ Tuniq ). According to legend, the first inhabitants were giants, taller and stronger than

1449-441: The Dorset. The end-blades were hafted onto harpoon heads. They primarily used the harpoons to hunt seal, but also hunted larger sea mammals such as walrus and narwhals . They made lamps, called qulliq , from soapstone and filled them with seal oil. Burins were a type of stone flake with a chisel-like edge. They were probably either used for engraving or for carving wood or bone. Burins were also used by Pre-Dorset groups and had

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1518-578: The Dorsets lacked. Possibly, due to a shift from terrestrial to aquatic hunting, the bow and arrow became lost to the Dorset. Another piece of technology that is missing from the Dorset are drills : there are no drill holes in Dorset artifacts. Instead, the Dorset gouged lenticular holes. For example, bone needles have long, narrow holes that were painstakingly carved or gouged. Both the Pre-Dorset and Thule (Inuit) had drills. Dorset culture and history

1587-479: The Inuit but afraid to interact and "easily put to flight". In 1925 anthropologist Diamond Jenness received artifacts from Cape Dorset , now Kinngait. As they were quite different from those of the Inuit, he speculated that they were indicative of an ancient, preceding culture. Jenness named the culture "Dorset" after the location of the find. These artifacts showed a consistent and distinct cultural pattern that included sophisticated art distinct from that of

1656-535: The Inuit. For example, the carvings featured uniquely large hairstyles for women, and figures of both sexes wearing hoodless parkas with large, tall collars. Much research since then has revealed many details of the Dorset people and their culture. The origins of the Dorset people are not well understood. They may have developed from the previous cultures of Pre-Dorset , Saqqaq or (less likely) Independence I . There are, however, problems with this theory: these earlier cultures had bow and arrow technology which

1725-537: The Norton tradition in Southern Alaska. There were differences between the areas to which the tradition migrated. Houses in the more eastern region were more above ground and round with stone platforms to sleep on. The shape and support for the buildings came from whale bones. Eastern populations preferred soapstone domestic items instead of pottery and developed the use of dogs to pull sleds. Sometime around

1794-671: The Old Bering Sea archaeological culture became the ancestor of the Yupik and Inuit , the speakers of Eskimo–Aleut languages. A genetic study published in Science in August 2014 examined the remains of a large number of Paleo-Eskimos and Thule people . Paleo-Eskimos were determined to have largely belonged to the maternal haplogroup D , while Thule people largely belonged to the maternal haplogroups A . The evidence suggested that

1863-638: The Paleo-Eskimo peoples lived alongside Na-Dene ancestors for millennia. The authors believe that this represents new evidence of a genetic connection between Siberian and Na-Dene populations mediated by Paleo-Eskimos. According to these scholars, in general, the Paleo-Eskimos had large proportions of Beringian (which includes Chukotko-Kamchatkan and Eskimo-Aleut ), Siberian, and Southeast Asian ancestry. Furthermore, some geneticists and archaeologists, such as David Reich , have hypothesized that

1932-641: The Paleo-Eskimos spread the Na-Dene languages into the American continent, which would make the Paleo-Eskimos cultural and linguistic relatives (if not ancestors) of Na-Dene peoples. In 2019, scholars concluded that the Palaeo-Eskimo people were the ancestors not only of modern Na-Dene-speaking peoples but also of the Eskimo-Aleut speakers. But this contribution did not come directly; rather, there

2001-454: The Sadlermiut and the Dorset. A genetic study published in Science in August 2014 examined the remains of nineteen Dorset people buried in Canada and Greenland between ca. 170  BCE and 1320  CE . The sixteen samples of mtDNA extracted were determined to belong to haplogroup D2a1 (twelve samples), D2a (three samples) and D. These haplogroups also predominate in the preceding Saqqaq culture, suggesting genetic continuity between

2070-486: The Thule culture at sites including Torngat Archaeological Project, Somerset Island , The Clachan site, Coronation Gulf , Nelson River, Baffin Island , Victoria Island, the Bell site, Devon Island – QkHn-12, and Cape York. A genetic study published in Science in August 2014 examined the remains of a large number of Thule people buried between ca. 1050 AD and 1600 AD. The examined individuals belonged overwhelmingly to

2139-582: The Thule had occupied an area inhabited until then by the Central Inuit , and by the 15th century, the Thule had replaced the Dorset. Intensified contacts with Europeans began in the 18th century. Compounded by the already disruptive effects of the " Little Ice Age " (1650–1850), the Thule communities broke apart, and the people were henceforward known as the Eskimo , and later, Inuit. The Thule Tradition lasted from about 200 BC to 1600 AD around

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2208-461: The Thule migration and interaction with Greenland. There are many different theories as to why the Thule moved out of the Bering Strait. One is the cultural-ecological model developed by R. McGhee. The idea is that the first Thule families to move followed groups of bowhead whales , which were an important source of food, fuel and raw materials. The onset of the Neo-Atlantic climatic episode ,

2277-585: The Thule people and Greenlandic Norse people . Dorset culture The Dorset was a Paleo-Eskimo culture, lasting from 500  BCE to between 1000  CE and 1500  CE , that followed the Pre-Dorset and preceded the Thule people (proto-Inuit) in the North American Arctic . The culture and people are named after Cape Dorset (now Kinngait) in Nunavut , Canada, where

2346-467: The Thule people reflects the population pressures of the Classic Thule, but the climate played a more important role. The onset of the " Little Ice Age " that occurred between 1400 and 1600 limited the use of boats and number of whales present in the area. This shortened the season for open-water whale hunting. By the 16th century, umiak and kayak whale hunting had ceased in the High Arctic. By 1600,

2415-425: The Thule people to thrive. They whaled together where one person would shoot the whale with the harpoon and the others would throw the floats on it and they all transferred the whale to land to butcher it together to share with the entire community. Their unity played a significant role in the length of time they thrived in the Arctic. There are several major archaeological research projects that have been conducted on

2484-692: The ancestors of the Thule emerged in Alaska through admixture between the Paleo-Eskimo and the Ocean Bay Tradition and that these ancestors subsequently migrated back to Siberia where they became the Old Bering Sea , only to eventually return to Alaska. The Punuk stage is a development of Old Bering Sea stage, with distribution along the major Strait islands and along to shores of the Chukchi Peninsula. The Punuk culture

2553-471: The back of the dwelling and were either built up or at floor level. No interior hearths were found in the house ruins, although heavily encrusted and fire-blackened pottery vessel fragments suggest extensive use of open fires. During this time, eastern Thule spread out throughout the High Arctic and into the south. Thule people were living along the Hudson Strait coasts, in the Hudson Bay region, on

2622-490: The beginning of the 2nd millennium, Thule people began migrating east. As western Thule peoples settled the northern and western coasts of Alaska, other Thule groups migrated eastward across the Canadian Arctic as far as Greenland . Prior to 1000, the central and eastern Canadian Arctic were occupied by people of the Dorset Culture . Within a few centuries, Dorset culture was completely displaced by Thule immigrants from

2691-572: The bow and arrows. They are credited with introducing this technology to populations in Eastern Canada by 2000 BCE. First Face is a paleo-Eskimo carving in the shape of an abstract human face made from walrus ivory that is between 3,900 and 3,600 years old. The artifact was located on Devon Island and is the oldest known depiction of a human face created in North America. In February 2010, scientists reported they had performed

2760-409: The cooperation of several boats. The whaleboat captain, the umialik, is still a prominent position in Arctic communities today. Chipped stone tools were replaced by ground slate, ivory winged tolls were largely replaced by tridents, and iron-tipped tools were used for engraving. Harpoon styles became simpler and more standardised, as did Punuk art. The Punuk developed their methods of hunting that led to

2829-941: The creation of armor made from bone as well as the technology of the bow and arrow . As well, bone plated wrist guards, the reinforced bow, bird bola, heavy ivory net sinkers, and blunt tipped bird arrows appeared in the Punuk stage. Birnirk culture is best known along coastal northern and western Alaska. There are three phases of Birnirk culture: Early Birnirk, Middle Birnirk, and Late Birnirk. These phases were primarily distinguishable by gradual changes in harpoon head and arrow styles. Harpoon heads were more often made of antler, rather than ivory, and were characterized by medially-placed, trifurcated spurs during Early Birnirk, bifurcated in Middle Birnirk, and single-laterally-placed spurs in Late Birnirk. The Birnirk people used many of

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2898-649: The earlier Norton Tradition . There are several stages of the Thule tradition: Old Bering Sea Stage, Punuk Stage, and Birnirk Stage. These stages represent variations of the Thule Tradition as it expanded over time. The Thule Tradition replaced the Dorset Tradition in the Eastern Arctic and introduced both kayaks and umiaks , or skin covered boats, into the archaeological record as well as developed new uses for iron and copper and demonstrated advanced harpoon technology and use of bowhead whales ,

2967-541: The evidence suggests that they disappeared some time between 1000 and 1500. Radiocarbon dating has shown the Dorset were living in the Cambridge Bay area as late as 1350 CE, while the Thule Inuit moved into the area around 1200 CE. Scientists have suggested that they disappeared because they were unable to adapt to climate change or that they were vulnerable to newly introduced disease. The Dorset adaptation

3036-406: The extent and severity of pack ice, allowing bowheads and their Thule predators to expand eastward. Another theory is that warfare in Alaska or a desire to seek out new resources of iron for making tools such as knives may have encouraged people to move eastward. Archaeologists have used the distribution of early Alaskan-style harpoon heads to track the routes taken by Thule people. One route follows

3105-405: The fifth Thule expedition. Therkel Mathiassen added upon their research and claimed that the tradition had started out in Alaska, and that Thule hunting was based on the dog sled, the large skin boat and the kayak which enabled them to range over a much greater hunting territory, participate in widespread trade, and transport heavier loads. Mathiassen was right about his hypotheses and even mapped out

3174-603: The first genome sequencing of an ancient human. Using fragments of hair 4,000 years old, the National Museum of Denmark , the Beijing Genomics Institute , and additional collaborating scientific institutions sequenced nearly 80% of a Paleo-Eskimo man's genome. The man was found in Greenland and believed to be from the prehistoric Saqqaq culture . Based on the genome, scientists believe there

3243-416: The first evidence of its existence was found. The culture has been defined as having four phases due to the distinct differences in the technologies relating to hunting and tool making. Artifacts include distinctive triangular end-blades, oil lamps ( qulliq ) made of soapstone , and burins . The Dorset were first identified as a separate culture in 1925. The Dorset appear to have been extinct by 1500 at

3312-403: The human ties with the supernatural world. Post-Classic Thule tradition existed from 1400 up until European contact in areas where whales were not as prevalent so there is an increase in evidence of other means of subsistence, such as caribou, seal and fish. These settlements show a more gradual settlement of fewer whales and using more subsistence strategies from the west. The redistribution of

3381-523: The largest animal in the Arctic. and spread across the coasts of Labrador and Greenland. It is the most recent "neo-Eskimo" culture. The Old Bering Sea (OBS) stage was first characterized by Diamond Jenness , on the basis of a collection of deeply patinated decorated ivory harpoon heads and other objects dug up by natives on the St. Lawrence and Diomede Islands. Jenness identified the Bering Sea culture as

3450-485: The last remnants of the Dorset culture, as they had a culture and dialect distinct from the mainland Inuit . Encounters with Europeans and exposure to infectious disease caused the deaths of the last members of the Sadlermiut. A 2002 paper suggested that the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) of Sadlermiut people was related to that of both the Dorset and Thule peoples, perhaps suggesting local admixture. A subsequent 2012 genetic analysis, however, showed no genetic link between

3519-477: The latest and perhaps as early as 1000. The Thule people, who began migrating east from Alaska in the 11th century, ended up spreading through the lands previously inhabited by the Dorset. It is not fully known whether the Inuit and Dorset ever met. Some modern genetic studies show the Dorset population were distinct from later groups and that "There was virtually no evidence of genetic or cultural interaction between

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3588-478: The maternal haplogroup A2a , while samples of A , A2b and D3a2a were also detected. It was found that the Thule people probably descended from the Birnirk culture of Siberia, and that they were genetically very different from the indigenous Dorset people of northern Canada and Greenland, whom they culturally and genetically completely replaced around 1300 AD. The study found no evidence of genetic mixing between

3657-533: The people had moved on and abandoned the High Arctic due to the severe climate changes . The Thule Eskimos who lived near open water were not as affected by the decrease in temperature. It was during this time that local groups such as the Copper Inuit , Netsilik , and Inglulingmuit ( Inuit from the Igloolik area) emerged. Between 900 and 1100, the Thule Tradition spread westward. The efficiency of housing

3726-632: The region, with the last one, the Dorset culture , disappearing around 1500 CE. Paleo-Eskimo groups included the Pre-Dorset ; the Saqqaq culture of Greenland (2500–800 BCE); the Independence I and Independence II cultures of northeastern Canada and Greenland (c. 2400–1800 BCE and c. 800–1 BCE); the Groswater of Labrador , Nunavik , and Newfoundland and the Dorset culture (500 BCE – 1400 CE), which spread across Arctic North America. The Dorset

3795-636: The same hunting methods and technology as Punuk and Old Bering Sea, but there was no art. There is very little evidence of tool or weapon decoration. The little art that was present in the Birnirk stage was limited to spiral and concentric motifs on clay pots with bone paddles. They did use sledges, of the same basic design as were later used with dog teams. Birnirk people were sea-mammal hunters who engaged in fishing and whaling. Birnirk houses were square shaped, with walls constructed of horizontal logs and single or double posts in each corner. Sleeping areas were at

3864-677: The shores of the Foxe Basin , and along the present-day Canadian mainland from the Mackenzie Delta to the Melville Peninsula . The archaeologist Alan McCartney originally coined the term "Classic Thule" with reference to the population that existed between 1100 and 1400 AD. The Thule people still lived in semi-subterranean winter houses, but in the summer moved into skin tents, the edges held down by circles of stone. The Thule were using iron long before European contact. In

3933-493: The two. The authors of the study suggested that the ancestors of the Saqqaq and Dorset entered North America from Siberia in a single distinct migration about 4000  BCE , after which they remained genetically largely isolated for thousands of years. The Dorset were genetically distinct from the Thule people who, after expanding out of Siberia, completely replaced the Dorset people around 1300  CE . The study also found no evidence of genetic mixing between Dorset people and

4002-638: The ulu transverse-bladed knife. The people also made a crude form of pottery and there was much use of bone and antlers for heads on harpoons, as well as to make darts, spears, snow goggles, blubber scrapers, needles, awls and mattocks, also walrus shoulder-blade snow shovels. There are many important innovations that emerged that allowed hunting to be more efficient. Harpoon mounted ice picks were used for seal hunting, as well as ivory plugs and mouthpieces for inflating harpoon line floats, which enabled them to recover larger sea mammals when dispatched. These people relied heavily on seal and walrus for subsistence. It

4071-740: The west it was used in small quantities for carving knives and for engraving other tools. The iron came both from meteoric resources and from trade from the Norse expansion; the Thule worked raw iron into tools for their own use. Iron enabled the Thule people to work with more materials to make more wood and bone tools. The only problem they faced was a lack of a steady supply of metal. The Thule were clever with technology. Reports on classic Thule sites lists myriad artifacts used for hunting. Classic Thule did not place much emphasis on art. There were slight artistic details on household things such as combs but it involved very simple, linear designs featuring people without appendages, animals, or symbols that represented

4140-461: The west. Evidence of contact between Dorset and Thule peoples is scarce and the nature of the Dorset/Thule succession remains poorly understood. Thule culture was first identified in the Eastern Arctic by interdisciplinary researches of Danish scholars between 1921 and 1924. A team of anthropologists, archaeologists and natural scientists compiled a massive description of the Canadian Arctic on

4209-509: The whaling communities. Because they had advanced transportation technology, they had access to a wider range of food sources. There is superb faunal preservation in Thule sites due to a late prehistoric date as well as an arctic environment. Most of the bowhead artifacts were harvested from live bowhead whales. The Thule developed an expertise in hunting and utilizing as many parts of an animal as possible. This knowledge combined with their growing wealth of tools and modes of transportation allowed

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4278-568: Was a 'Neo-Eskimo' intermediary. According to Flegontov et al., the later Old Bering Sea archaeological culture came as a result of back-and-forth migrations across the Bering Strait by the tribes associated with the Arctic Small Tool tradition, or their descendants (Old Whaling, Choris, Norton culture, from 3,100 to 2,500 cal. yr BP). These people were mixing with the Chukotko-Kamchatkan speakers of Siberia. Eventually,

4347-479: Was a distinct, separate migration of peoples from Siberia to North America some 5,500 years ago. They noted that this was independent of earlier migrations, whose descendants comprised the historic cultures of the indigenous peoples of the Americas , as well as of the later migration by the Inuit. By 4,500 years ago, descendants of this migration had reached Greenland. The remains used for analysis were found in

4416-416: Was different from that of the whaling -based Thule Inuit. Unlike the Inuit, they rarely hunted land animals, such as polar bears and caribou . They did not use bows or arrows. Instead, they seem to have relied on seals and other sea mammals that they apparently hunted from holes in the ice. Their clothing must have been adapted to the extreme conditions. Triangular end-blades and burins are diagnostic of

4485-400: Was held up by whale jaw-bones, and covered in skins, sod and then snow. These houses were nicely insulated, and would have been only visible to the occupants. Whaling has a greater emphasis in the Punuk stage. Hunters would use umiaks and kill whales in narrow ice leads as well as in the open sea in the fall. Open sea whaling required skilled leadership, teams of expert boatmen and hunters, and

4554-482: Was improved as they spread to the west and hunting methods were improved due to the use of dog sleds , umiaks , and kayaks . This enabled the hunters to travel further to hunt and follow the migration of the large game and sea mammals . After 1000, the practice of using polished slate for tool making continued to spread to the Aleutian Islands . The methods of pottery making also spread and replaced

4623-682: Was initially defined by Henry Collins in 1928 from a 16 ft (4.9 m) deep midden on one of the Punuk Islands. Later excavation on St Lawrence Island confirmed Jenness's ideas on the Bering Sea culture, and demonstrated a continual cultural sequence on the island from Old Bering Sea, to Punuk, to modern Eskimo culture. Punuk is differentiated with Old Bering Sea through its artifact styles and house forms, as well as harpoon styles and whale hunting. Punuk settlements were larger and more common than earlier villages. They were subterranean, square or rectangular dwellings with wooden floors. The house

4692-420: Was still an open question and discussed "Paleo-Inuit", " Arctic Small Tool Tradition ", and "pre-Inuit", as well as Inuktitut loanwords like " Tuniit " and " Sivullirmiut " as possibilities. One 2020 paper in Journal of Anthropological Archaeology , written by Katelyn Braymer-Hayes and colleagues, notes that there is a "clear need" to replace the term "Paleo-Eskimo", citing the ICC resolution, but note finding

4761-400: Was the last major "Paleo-Eskimo" culture in the Arctic before the migration east from present-day Alaska of the Thule , the ancestors of the modern Inuit. The Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC) has proposed that scientists use Inuit and Paleo-Inuit instead of Eskimo or Paleo-Eskimo . The archaeologist Max Friesen has argued for the ICC's terminology to be adopted, and to capitalize

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