Nipisat - a Saqqaq culture site in Sisimiut, central West Greenland (Vol. 331)

Author: Gotfredsen Anne Birgitte, Møbjerg Tinn
Publisher: Museum Tusculanum Press

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d on immature individuals caught primarily~during their first summer on the breeding grounds. The inhabitants at Nipisat also~hunted caribou on the mainland. The age structure and sex distribution of the caribou~remains primarily reflect stalking. Selected body parts, especially the fore and hind legs~and the heads, were transported to the island for raw material, meat filleting and further~processing for marrow extraction and fat rendering. The exploitation of fauna through the entire occupation period was remarkably~constant with respect to choice of game animal and the selected age groups. Although~eiders were more abundant in phase 1 (36%) than in phase 3 (17%) while gulls increased~from 43 to 61% in the same time period. The same trend was found valid for geese, which~increased over time while the importance of auks decreased. Harbour porpoise seem to~have decreased while walrus increased in relative importance through time. Caribou~seem to be of greater importance in phase 3 with 55% compared to 45% in phase 1. The~slight shift in preferred resources may be explained by fluctuating abundance and availability~of the game species combined with the development of new hunting tools. ~Based on the new investigations in the Sisimiut District, the gap between Saqqaq~and Dorset Culture in Central West Greenland has been diminished. Although resource~exploitation at the site seems to have been very stable through all three phases, there are~aspects of cultural change bridging the transition from Saqqaq to Dorset Cultures. The~introduction of bevelled tools, sturdy harpoon or lance heads and the abandonment of~the bow and arrow in phase 3, show cultural affiliation with Dorset technology. This is~also true in terms of lithic raw material preference, the introduction of soapstone artefacts~and the absence of dwelling structures with a well-defined box-hearth. At the same~time it looks like, the central occupation area for the Saqqaq Culture shifted southwards~from the Qeqertarsuup Tunua area towards Sisimiut and Nuuk.

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