ABOUT BOOK

The Saqqaq Culture site Qeqertasussuk (2400-1400 BC) is situated in the south eastern~corner of Disko Bay, West Greenland. The site was excavated between 1983 and 1987 by~Qasigiannguit Museum. The stratified cultural deposits are exceptionally well preserved~by permafrost and yielded hundreds of thousands of animal bones, feathers, plant~remains, insect remains, wooden implements, and a wealth of other organic refuse as~well as stone tools, house ruins, stone set fireplaces and other traces of habitation. In order to understand the life conditions of the inhabitants at Qeqertasussuk, a~comparative survey of the historic distribution, density and availability of the living~resources in the area is undertaken. This resource model is then evaluated against the~paleo-environmental data. Also, comparative ethnohistorical and ethnographic data on~the exploitation of the living resources in the area is presented. ~Subsistence and subsistence change at Qeqertasussuk is studied through a comprehensive~analysis of the faunal material that consists of more than 200,000 animal bones.~Quantitative methods are supplemented by detailed studies of seasonality and age composition~of the hunting bag. Forty three species of animals are represented. Harp seal~and ringed seal represent the most important game, but sea birds such as fulmar,~Brünnich’s guillemot, and little auk also play a significant role in the subsistence economy.~Fish, especially Atlantic Cod, have been caught and remains of large whales indicate~that these animals were utilized, but it can not be decided whether they were actively~hunted. Most of the game was taken close by the site, however finds of caribou indicate~that inland caribou hunting was undertaken and that Qeqertasussuk was part of a larger~subsistence-settlement-system. Several species of plants were also utilized. ~Temporal changes in the composition of the faunal material indicate that significant~changes occur in the subsistence at Qeqertasusuk. Four phases are identified: (1) Basecamp~period I (2400-2100 BC). A pioneer phase where the site is used as a year-round~base camp with more than 90% of the biomass being harvested within an area of~approximately 80 km2, (2) Base-camp period II (2100-1900 BC), which seems to be the~period of most intensive use and where new methods (probably netting) of harp seal~hunting are introduced, (3) Hunting camp period (1900-1700 BC), where the site~becomes more specialized and more seasonal with a focus on spring-summer hunting~for harp seals, (4) high activity period (1700-1400 BC) indications of continued heavy~sea mammal hunting. ~The site was abandoned around 1400 BC. The causes of the abandonment of Qeqertasussuk~is discussed and the impact of the general cooling around 1500 BC on key~resources such as harp seal and capelin is highlighted.