Hervé Monchot

The modus operandi of walrus exploitation during the Palaeoeskimo period at the Tayara site, Arctic Canada

ABSTRACT Thanks to its high nutritional potential and huge ivory canines, walrus (Odobenus rosmarus) appears to have been a key resource in the subsistence economy of Dorset groups. However present archaeological data are sparse and a more global analysis of its exploitation by the Palaeoeskimos is required. The Tayara site (KbFk-7) in Nunavik (Quebec, Canada) yielded a significant assemblage of walrus bones and many manufactured ivory objects. In addition, Tayara serves as a reference site in Eastern Arctic cultural chronology. A thorough zooarchaeological study has been conducted which includes skeletal profile, the sexing and ageing of walrus bones, and a technological study of the manufactured objects, including a use-wear analysis on lithic tools. This allows the discussion of several aspects of the modus operandi for the exploitation of walrus, from the death of the animal to the processing of the raw material into artefacts. Even if the walrus seems to have been treated with the same processes as other species, some specificities have been noted, particularly in the selection of the different skeletal elements for tool productions and the emblematic value that this animal may have played in consumption and production activities.

The Qijurittuq site (IbGk-3), Eastern Hudson Bay: An IPY Interdisciplinary Study

Abstract Geografisk Tidsskrift—Danish Journal of Geography 110(2):227–243, 2010 An interdisciplinary study was conducted at Qijurittuq (IbGk-3), an archaeological site located on Drayton Island along the eastern shore of Hudson Bay, Nunavik. Local Inuit made important contributions to the research. High school students participated in the field school, and elders shared their traditional knowledge. The elders expressed an interest in the source of the wood used to construct Qijurittuqs semi-subterranean dwellings, and this inspired us to expand our research in that direction. This interdisciplinary study included a reconstruction of the geomorphological and environmental history of Drayton Island, wood provenance and dendrochronology studies, research on house architecture and settlement patterns, and a zooarchaeological analysis. This paper synthesizes the preliminary results of this interdisciplinary investigation within the context of climate change. We discuss the persistence of semi-subterranean dwellings in eastern Hudson Bay long after they had been abandoned elsewhere. At Qijurittuq, their abandonment corresponds with the end of Little Ice Age. However, at the same time, the development of more permanent contact with Euro-Canadians was having a strong impact upon Inuit culture.

Fox Exploitation by the Paleoeskimo at The Tayara Site, Nunavik

While prehistoric hunting of marine mammals and caribou by eastern Arctic prehistoric groups is well documented, the relationship between Paleoeskimo groups and the fox has received little attention. The open-air Dorset site of Tayara (KbFk-7), in southern Hudson Strait, Nunavik, is exceptional in that it contains numerous fox remains, of which 70% have been identified as Arctic fox (Alopex lagopus) and 30% as red fox (Vulpes vulpes). By analyzing the profiles of anatomical parts and examining cut marks on the bones, the authors have been able to identify the various stages in Dorset use of the carcass—skinning, butchering (disarticulating and filleting)—and also to examine the general ways in which fox was exploited. We found that these early Dorset people actively hunted foxes, which are still abundant on Qikirtaq Island where KbFk-7 is located. The whole carcass was carried to the camp, where the animal was skinned and the meat was removed from the bones for consumption. At the Tayara site, Paleoeskimo people exploited foxes not only for their pelts, but also as a valuable source of protein.