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The Timing of the Thule Migration: New Dates from the Western Canadian Arctic

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

T. Max Friesen  and
Charles D. Arnold
T. Max Friesen
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of Toronto, 19 Russell St., Toronto, ON, Canada, M5S 2S2
Charles D. Arnold
Affiliation:
Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre, Box 1320, Yellowknife, NT, Canada, X1A 2L9
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Abstract

The Thule migration from Alaska to the eastern North American Arctic is central to the understanding of Inuit history. However, despite decades of study, its timing remains controversial, with recent reappraisals suggesting that it may have occurred much later than the date of A.D. 1000 most often assumed for it. In this paper, we present newly obtained radiocarbon dates from two early Thule sites, Nelson River (OhRh-1) and Washout (NjVi-2), located on the Beaufort Sea and Amundsen Gulf coasts. This region is crucial to any understanding of the migration, because Thule Inuit would have had to pass through it in order to reach the eastern Arctic. Nelson River in particular has long been considered a good candidate for the earliest Thule site east of Alaska, based on a number of lines of evidence including the presence of both Natchuk and Sicco harpoon heads. In this paper, we present new dates for Nelson River and Washout that demonstrate that neither site was occupied before the thirteenth century A.D. The new dates have profound implications for Arctic archaeology, because they strengthen the case for a thirteenth-century migration, and by doing so demonstrate that it was more rapid and widespread than has generally been believed. The dates also suggest that the "Classic" Thule period is a relatively brief phenomenon, lasting perhaps only 200 years or less, before being rapidly reorganized into the diversity of Inuit societies encountered in later Arctic history.

Résumé

Résumé

La emigración Thule de Alaska hacia el Ártico Norteamericano es básica para la comprensión de la historia Inuit. Sin embargo, a pesar de décadas de estudio, su temporalidad permanece en conroversia, con recientes apreciaciones se sugiere que pudo haber ocurrido mucho después del a.C. 1000, como se ha considerado hasta ahora. En el presente ensayo, presentamos nuevas fechas radiocarbónicas (Carbono 14) de dos sitios Thule del período temprano, Washout y el Río Nelson, localizados en el Mar de Beaufort y las costas del Golfo de Amundsen. Esta región es crucial para la comprensión de la emigración, pues los Inuit Thule debieron pasar a través de ella para llegar al Artico Oriental. El Río Nelson en particular, puede considerarse una importante opción para el establecimiento temprano de los Thule al Este de Alaska, basándonos en varias líneas de evidencia, incluyendo la presencia de puntas de arpón tanto Natchuk como Sicco. En este ensayo presentamos nuevas fechas en los Ríos Nelson y Washout que demuestran que ninguno de los lugares fue ocupado antes del Siglo XIII a.C. Estas nuevas fechas tienen profundas implicaciones en la Arqueología del Ártico, pues no solo refuerzan el caso para una emigración en el S. XIII, sino que indican que dicha emigración fue má rápida de lo que generalmente se ha creído. Eso también indica que el período Clásico Tule es un fenómeno relativamente breve, con una duración de tal vez sólo 200 años o menos, antes de reorganizarse rápidamente hacia la diversidad de sociedades Inuit encontrada en la historia reciente del Ártico.

Type
Reports
Information
American Antiquity , Volume 73 , Issue 3 , July 2008 , pp. 527 - 538
Copyright
Copyright © Society for American Archaeology 2008

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