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Sea bird exploitation on coastal Inuit sites, west and southeast Greenland

1997; Wiley; Volume: 7; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1002/(sici)1099-1212(199707/08)7

1099-1212

Anne Birgitte Gotfredsen,

Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology

International Journal of OsteoarchaeologyVolume 7, Issue 4 p. 271-286 Research Article Sea bird exploitation on coastal Inuit sites, west and southeast Greenland Anne Birgitte Gotfredsen, Corresponding Author Anne Birgitte Gotfredsen Zoological Museum, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 15, DK-2100 Copenhagen ØZoological Museum, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 15, DK-2100 Copenhagen ØSearch for more papers by this author Anne Birgitte Gotfredsen, Corresponding Author Anne Birgitte Gotfredsen Zoological Museum, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 15, DK-2100 Copenhagen ØZoological Museum, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 15, DK-2100 Copenhagen ØSearch for more papers by this author First published: 04 December 1998 https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1099-1212(199707/08)7:4 3.0.CO;2-3Citations: 24AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onEmailFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat Abstract The exploitation of birds, especially sea birds, in Low Arctic Greenland was studied, based on over 80 000 bird bones from 16 coastal Inuit settlements comprising both Palaeoeskimo and Neoeskimo sites. Twenty-seven bird species were identified, with Brünnich's Guillemot (Uria lomvia) as the most frequent game bird on most sites, although gulls, eiders, fulmar, and other alcids were hunted too. The relative frequencies of bone elements of the economically important game birds indicated that almost all parts of the birds were used by the Inuit. For the Saqqaq settlement, Nipisat I, first evidence of a summer exploitation of birds (based on an unusually high proportion of juvenile bird bones) for the Saqqaq Culture and first evidence of goose hunting at a coastal site in Greenland was documented. Regional differences in the species composition of the 16 sites were found and demonstrated to be due to season of occupation and/or to geographical and topographical variation. The distribution of settlements with birds as an important part of the exploited resources coincides very well with the Open Water Region of West Greenland. The analysis demonstrated that Inuit cultures were highly adaptive to the annual cycles and distribution of the game birds. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. References 1 Gynther, B. and Meldgaard, J. 5 Kapitler af Grønlands forhistorie. Pilersuiffik, Nuuk, 1983; 1–113. 2 Gulløv, H. C. From Middle Ages to Colonial Times—Archaeological and Ethnohistorical Studies of the Thule Culture in South West Greenland, AD 1300–1800. Meddelelser om Grønland, Man and Society, forthcoming. 3 Møhl, J. Dog Remains from a Paleoeskimo Settlement in West Greenland. Artic Anthropology, 1986; 23 (1 and 2): 81–89. 4 Grønnow, B. and Meldgaard, M. 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