RESEARCH ARTICLE
Paaliup Qarmangit 1 site geoarchaeology: Taphonomy of a Thule-Inuit semi-subterranean dwelling in a periglacial context in northeastern Hudson Bay
Héloïse Barbel,
Najat Bhiry,
Dominique Todisco,
Pierre Desrosiers,
Dominique Marguerie,
Corresponding Author
Héloïse Barbel
Departement de géographie and Centre d’études Nordiques, Université Laval, Québec, Canada
Correspondence Héloïse Barbel, Departement de géographie, and Centre d’études Nordiques, Pavillon Abitibi Price, Université Laval, Québec G1V 0A6, Canada.
Email: heloise.barbel.1@ulaval.ca
Search for more papers by this authorNajat Bhiry
Departement de géographie and Centre d’études Nordiques, Université Laval, Québec, Canada
Search for more papers by this authorDominique Todisco
UMR 6266 IDEES, Département de géographie, Université de Rouen, Mont Saint Aignan, France
Search for more papers by this authorPierre Desrosiers
Central Archaeology, First Peoples and Early Canada Division, Canadian Museum of History, Gatineau, Canada
Search for more papers by this authorDominique Marguerie
CNRS, UMR 6553 ECOBIO, Université Rennes 1, Beaulieu, Rennes, France
Search for more papers by this authorHéloïse Barbel,
Najat Bhiry,
Dominique Todisco,
Pierre Desrosiers,
Dominique Marguerie,
Corresponding Author
Héloïse Barbel
Departement de géographie and Centre d’études Nordiques, Université Laval, Québec, Canada
Correspondence Héloïse Barbel, Departement de géographie, and Centre d’études Nordiques, Pavillon Abitibi Price, Université Laval, Québec G1V 0A6, Canada.
Email: heloise.barbel.1@ulaval.ca
Search for more papers by this authorNajat Bhiry
Departement de géographie and Centre d’études Nordiques, Université Laval, Québec, Canada
Search for more papers by this authorDominique Todisco
UMR 6266 IDEES, Département de géographie, Université de Rouen, Mont Saint Aignan, France
Search for more papers by this authorPierre Desrosiers
Central Archaeology, First Peoples and Early Canada Division, Canadian Museum of History, Gatineau, Canada
Search for more papers by this authorDominique Marguerie
CNRS, UMR 6553 ECOBIO, Université Rennes 1, Beaulieu, Rennes, France
Search for more papers by this authorScientific editing by Sarah Sherwood
Abstract
A multidisciplinary geoarchaeological investigation was performed at Paaliup Qarmangit 1 site (JjGj-14), located in a valley affected by periglacial processes in Nunavik, Canada. A taphonomic approach was carried out to document site formation processes on the site of a single-family semi-subterranean winter Thule-Inuit house. Off-site geomorphological and stratigraphical analyses enabled us to reconstruct the sedimentary environment in the valley since the last glaciation. Valley shoreline sediments deposited during the marine regression were reworked by eolian, runoff, and periglacial processes. The site was first used by Dorset people after 143-327 cal A.D. and then by the Thule-Inuit between 1317–1413 cal A.D. and 1466–1642 cal A.D. Strategic features of the site, such as the availability of building material, food, and water resources may explain its sucessive use by two different cultures. On-site, stratigraphical, micromorphological, and macrofossil analyses showed the predominance of niveo-eolian and nivation processes in landscape and site formations. The archaeological record reveals the action of niveo-eolian processes throughout the Medieval Climatic Optimum and the Little Ice Age, likely due to local factors, site location, and the bowl-shape of the semi-subterranean house. Macrofossil data and radiocarbon dating indicate postdepositional natural and/or anthropogenic reworking of Dorset artefacts.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
The authors have no conflict of interest to declare.
Supporting Information
| Filename | Description |
|---|---|
| gea21753-sup-0001-Figure_S1_reviewed.jpg774.4 KB | Supporting information |
| gea21753-sup-0002-Figures_S2,S3_and_S4.pdf205.6 KB | Supporting information |
| gea21753-sup-0003-Figure_S5.jpeg1.4 MB | Supporting information |
| gea21753-sup-0004-Figure_S6.jpeg2.1 MB | Supporting information |
Please note: The publisher is not responsible for the content or functionality of any supporting information supplied by the authors. Any queries (other than missing content) should be directed to the corresponding author for the article.
REFERENCES
- Alix, C. (1998). Provenances et circulation des bois en milieu arctique: Quels choix pour les Thuléens. Revue d'Archéométrie, 22(1), 11–22.
10.3406/arsci.1998.957 Google Scholar
- Ball, D. F., & Goodier, R. (1974). Ronas Hill, Shetland: A preliminary account of its ground pattern features resulting from the action of frost and wind. In R. Goodier (Ed.), The Natural Environment of Shetland (pp. 86–106). Edinburgh: The Nature Conservancy Council.
- Ballantyne, C. K. (1981). Periglacial landforms and environments on mountains in the Northern Highlands of Scotland (Unpublished doctoral's thesis). University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh.
- Baragar, W. R. A. (2015). Geology of part of Kovik Bay map area (NTS 35-F). Retrieved from Geological Survey of Canada website: https://doi.org/10.4095/296431. https://geoscan.nrcan.gc.ca/starweb/geoscan/servlet.starweb?path=geoscan/fulle.web&search1=R=296431
- Bertran, P., Bordes, J. -G., Todisco, D., & Vallin, L. (2017). Géoarchéologie et taphonomie des vestiges archéologiques: Impacts des processus naturels sur les assemblages et méthodes d'analyse. In É. d A. Contemporaines (Ed.), Taphonomies (pp. 125–166). Paris: GDR Taphonomie, Environnement et Archéologie, CNRS-INEE.
- Bertran, P., Lenoble, A., Lacrampe, F., Brenet, M., Cretin, C., & Milor, F. (2005). Le site aurignacien de plein-air de Combemenue à Brignac-la-Plaine (Corrèze): Apport de la géochéologie et de l’étude de l'industrie lithique à la compréhension des processus taphonomiques. Paléo, 17, 7–29.
- Bhiry, N., & Filion, L. (2001). Analyse des macrorestes végétaux. In L. Rochefort, & S. Payette (Eds.), Écologie des tourbières du Québec-Labrador (pp. 259–273). Québec, Canada: Les Presses de l'Université Laval.
- Bhiry, N., Marguerie, D., & Lofthouse, S. (2016). Paleoenvironmental reconstruction and timeline of a Dorset-Thule settlement at Quaqtaq (Nunavik, Canada). Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research, 48(2), 293–313.
- Bowers, P. M., Bonnichsen, R., & Hoch, D. M. (1983). Flake dispersal experiments: Noncultural transformation of the archaeological record. American Antiquity, 48(3), 553–572.
- Brady, N. C., & Weil, R. R. (2008). The nature and properties of soils. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson, Prentice Hall.
- Bullock, P. (1985). Handbook for soil thin section description. Albrighton, Bridgnorth: Waine Research.
- Bélanger, S., & Filion, L. (1991). Niveo-aeolian sand deposition in subarctic dunes, eastern coast of Hudson Bay, Québec, Canada. Journal of Quaternary Science, 6(1), 27–37.
- Böcher, T. W., Holman, K., & Jakobson, K. (1968). The Flora of Greenland, Copenhagen, Denmark: P. Haase and Sons.
- Cailleux, A. (1974). Formes precoces et albedos du niveoeolian. Zeitschrift für Geomorphologie, 18, 437–459.
- Christiansen, H. H. (1996). Effects of nivation on periglacial landscape evolution in western Jutland, Denmark. Permafrost and Periglacial Processes, 7(2), 111–138.
- Christiansen, H. H. (1998). Nivation forms and processes in unconsolidated sediments, NE Greenland. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 23(8), 751–760.
- Coccato, A., Jehlicka, J., Moens, L., & Vandenabeele, P. (2015). Raman spectroscopy for the investigation of carbon-based black pigments. Journal of Raman Spectroscopy, 46(10), 1003–1015.
- Couture, A., Bhiry, N., & Woollett, J. (2016). Micromorphological analyses of Inuit communal sod houses in northern Labrador, Canada. Geoarchaeology, 32(2), 267–282.
- Daigneault, R.-A. (2008). Géologie de Quaternaire du nord de la péninsule d'Ungava. Commission Géologique du Canada, 533, 115 p.
- Desrosiers, P. M. (2009). A l'origine du dorsétien: Apport de la technologie lithique des sites GhGk-63 et Tayara (KbFk-7) au nunavik (Unpublished doctoral's thesis). Université Paris I-Panthéon Sorbonne, Paris.
- Desrosiers, P. M., & Gendron, D. (2015). Arctic Chronology. Avataq Cultural Institute. Retrieved from http://www.avataq.qc.ca/en/Institute/Departments/Archaeology/Discovering-Archaeology/Arctic-Chronology.
- Dijkmans, J. W. A. (1990). Niveo-aeolian sedimentation and resulting sedimentary structures; søndre strømfjord area, Western Greenland. Permafrost and Periglacial Processes, 1(2), 83–96.
10.1002/ppp.3430010202 Google Scholar
- Dijkmans, J. W. A., & Mücher, H. J. (1989). Niveo-aeolian sedimentation of loess and sand: An experimental and micromorphological approach. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 14(4), 303–315.
- Edwards, K. J., Schofield, J. E., & Mauquoy, D. (2008). High resolution paleoenvironmental and chronological investigations of Norse landnám at Tasiusaq, eastern settlement, Greenland. Quaternary Research, 69(1), 1–15.
- Filion, L. (1984). A relationship between dunes, fire and climate recorded in the Holocene deposits of Quebec. Nature, 309(5968), 543–546.
- Fitzpatrick, E. A. (1993). Soil microscopy and micromorphology. Chichester; New York: J. Wiley.
- Foury, Y. (2017). L'occupation du site hivernal inuit Oakes Bay 1 (HeCg-08), Labrador, Canada: micromorphologie et zooarchéologie des dépotoirs (Unpublished master's thesis). Université Laval, Québec.
- Fredskild, B. (1988). Agriculture in a marginal area – South Greenland from the Norse landnám (985 AD) to present (1985 AD). In H. H. Birks, H. J. B. Birks, P. E. Kaland, & D. Moe (Eds.), The Cultural landscape: past, present, and future (pp. 381–393). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Friesen, T. M., & Arnold, C. D. (2008). The timing of the Thule migration: New dates from the Western Canadian Arctic. American Antiquity, 73(3), 527–538.
- Furey, P. (2010). Eunotia. Diatoms of the United States. Retrieved from http://westerndiatoms.colorado.edu/taxa/genus/eunotia
- Gagnon, G. (2011). Habitabilité du territoire de la Péninsule d'Ungava (Québec nordique): géoarchéologie et paléogéographie. Québec: Université Laval. Unpublished essay.
- Gennaretti, F., Arseneault, D., Nicault, A., Perreault, L., & Bégin, Y. (2014). Volcano-induced regime shifts in millennial tree-ring chronologies from northeastern North America. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 111(28), 10077–10082.
- Goldberg, P., Miller, C. E., Schiegl, S., Ligouis, B., Berna, F., Conard, N. J., & Wadley, L. (2009). Bedding, hearths, and site maintenance in the middle stone age of Sibudu Cave, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences, 1(2), 95–122.
- Graham, N., Ammann, C., Fleitmann, D., Cobb, K., & Luterbacher, J. (2011). Support for global climate reorganization during the “Medieval Climate Anomaly”. Climate Dynamics, 37(5), 1217–1245.
- Gray, J., Lauriol, B., Bruneau, D., & Ricard, J. (1993). Postglacial emergence of Ungava Peninsula, and its relationship to glacial history. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, 30(8), 1676–1696.
- Gray, J. T., & Lauriol, B. (1985). Dynamics of the late Wisconsin ice sheet in the Ungava Peninsula interpreted from geomorphological evidence. Arctic and Alpine Research, 17(3), 289–310.
- Henshaw, A. (2003). Polynyas and ice edge habitats in cultural context: archaeological perspectives from Southeast Baffin island. Arctic, 56(1), 1–13.
- Houde, A. (1978). Atlas climatologique du Quebec: temperature, precipitation: Ministère des Richesses naturelles du Québec, Service de la météorologie.
- Invasive Species Specialist Group (2010). Montia fontana (aquatic plant). Global Invasive Species. Retrieved from http://issg.org/database/species/ecology.asp?si=1794&fr=1&sts=&lang=EN
- Julve, P. (2017). Baseflor. Index botanique, écologique et chronologique de la Flore de France. Programme Catminat. Retrieved from http://www.tela-botanica.org/papyrus.php?site=2&menu=88&id_projet=18&act=documents&id_repertoire=98
- Kale, A., & Karthick, B. (2015). The diatoms: Big significance of tiny glass houses. Resonance, 20(10), 919–930.
- Kaplan, S. A., & Woollett, J. M. (2000). Challenges and choices: exploring the interplay of climate, history, and culture on Canada's Labrador coast. Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research, 32(3), 351–359.
- Labrèche, Y. (2003). Habitations, camps et territoires des Inuit de la région de Kangiqsujuaq-Salluit, Nunavik. Études/Inuit/Studies, 27(1-2), 155–190.
10.7202/010800ar Google Scholar
- Lansdown, R. V. (2014). Montia fontana. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2014. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2014-2.RLTS.T164123A63307717.en
- Lavoie, C., Allard, M., & Duhamel, D. (2012). Deglaciation landforms and C-14 chronology of the Lac Guillaume-Delisle area, eastern Hudson Bay: A report on field evidence. Geomorphology, 159-160, 142–155.
- Ledger, P. M., Edwards, K. J., & Schofield, J. E. (2014). A multiple profile approach to the palynological reconstruction of Norse landscapes in Greenland's Eastern settlement. Quaternary Research, 82(1), 22–37.
- Lemieux, A., Bhiry, N., & Desrosiers, P. (2011). The geoarchaeology and traditional knowledge of winter sod houses in Eastern Hudson Bay, Canadian Low Arctic. Geoarchaeology, 26(4), 479–500.
- Lewkowicz, A. G., & Young, K. L. (1991). Observations of aeolian transport and niveo-aeolian deposition at three lowland sites, Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Permafrost and Periglacial Processes, 2(3), 197–210.
10.1002/ppp.3430020304 Google Scholar
- Macphail, R. I., & Goldberg, P. (2017). Applied Soils and Micromorphology in Archaeology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
10.1017/9780511895562 Google Scholar
- McGhee, R. (1996). Ancient people of the Arctic. Vancouver: UBC Press.
- McGhee, R. (2000). Radio carbon dating and the timing of the Thule migration. In M. Appelt, J. Berglund, & H. C. Gulløv (Eds.), Identities and cultural contacts in the Arctic: proceedings from a conference at the Danish National Museum (pp. 181–191). Copenhagen: Danish National Museum: Danish Polar Center.
- McGhee, R. (2009). When and why did the Inuit move to the Eastern Arctic? In H. D. G. Maschner, O. K. Mason, & R. McGhee (Eds.), The Northern world, AD 900-1400 (pp. 155–163). Salt Lake City, UT: University of Utah Press.
- Moody, J. F., & Hodgetts, L. M. (2013). Subsistence practices of pioneering Thule–Inuit: A faunal analysis of Tiktalik. Arctic Anthropology, 50(2), 4–24.
- Morrison, D. A. (2009). The 'arctic maritime' expansion: A view from the western Canadian arctic. In H. D. G. Maschner, O. K. Mason, & R. McGhee (Eds.), The Northern world, AD 900-1400 (pp. 164–178). Salt Lake City, UT: University of Utah Press.
- Oberndorfer, E. (2016). The shared stories of people and plants: Cultural and ecological relationships between people and plants in Makkovik, Nunatsiavut (Labrador, Canada) (Unpublished doctoral's thesis). Carleton University, Ottawa.
- Payette, S., Garneau, M., Gauthier, R., & Houle, G. (2013). Flore nordique du Québec et du Labrador. Québec: Presses de l'Université Laval.
- Payette, S., Garneau, M., Gauthier, R., & Houle, G. (2015). Flore nordique du Québec et du Labrador. Presses de l'Université Laval.
- Payette, S., & Lavoie, C. (1994). The arctic tree line as a record of past and recent climatic changes. Environmental Reviews, 2(1), 78–90.
10.1139/a94-004 Google Scholar
- Pigford, A. -A., & Zutter, C. (2014). Reconstructing historic labrador inuit plant use: An exploratory phytolith analysis of soapstone-vessel residues. Arctic Anthropology, 51, 81–96.
- Plumet, P. (1982). Les maisons longues dorsétiennes de l’Ungava. Géographie physique et Quaternaire, 36(3), 253–289.
10.7202/032481ar Google Scholar
- Plumet, P. (1989). Thuléens et Dorsétiens à l’Île d’Amittualujjuaq, baie du Diana, Arctique québécois. Géographie physique et Quaternaire, 43(2), 207–221.
10.7202/032770ar Google Scholar
- Pye, K., & Paine, A. D. M. (1984). Nature and source of aeolian deposits near the summit of Ben Arkle, northwest Scotland. Geologie en Mijnbouw, 63, 13–18.
- Rasic, J. T. (2004). Debitage taphonomy. In C. T. Hall, & M. L. Larson (Eds.), Aggregate analysis in chipped stone (pp. 112–135). Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press.
- Rick, J. W. (1976). Downslope movement and archaeological intrasite spatial analysis. American Antiquity, 41(2), 133–144.
- Ross, M., Utting, D. J., Lajeunesse, P., & Kosar, K. G. A. (2012). Early Holocene deglaciation of northern Hudson Bay and Foxe Channel constrained by new radiocarbon ages and marine reservoir correction. Quaternary Research, 78(1), 82–94.
- Roy, N., Woollett, J., & Bhiry, N. (2015). Paleoecological perspectives on landscape history and anthropogenic impacts at Uivak Point, Labrador since 1400 AD. The Holocene, 11, 1742–1755.
- Ruz, M. H., & Allard, M. (1995). Sedimentary structures of cold-climate coastal dunes, Eastern Hudson Bay, Canada. Sedimentology, 42(5), 725–734.
- Ryan, K. (2003a). An overview of Palaeoeskimo architectural remains in the Central Canadian Low Arctic. Études/Inuit/Studies, 27(1-2), 29–65.
10.7202/010795ar Google Scholar
- Ryan, K. (2003b). A late dorset semi-subterranean structure from the Bell Site (NiNg-2), Ekalluk River, Victoria Island. Études/Inuit/Studies, 27(1-2), 91–110.
10.7202/010797ar Google Scholar
- Savelle, J. M. (1984). Cultural and natural formation processes of a historic inuit snow dwelling site, Somerset Island, Arctic Canada. American Antiquity, 49(3), 508–524.
- Schledermann, P. (1980). Polynyas and prehistoric settlement patterns. Arctic, 33(2), 292–302.
- Schwan, J. (1986). The origin of horizontal alternating bedding in weichselian aeolian sands in Northwestern Europe. Sedimentary Geology, 49(1), 73–108.
- Smith, M., & Rigby, B. (1981). Distribution of the polynyas in the Canadian Arctic. In I. G. Stirling, H. Cleator, & H. Boyd (Eds.), Polynyas in the Canadian Arctic (pp. 7–28). Ottawa, Canada: Environment Canada, Canadian Wildlife Service.
- Spaulding, S., & Edlund, M. (2008). Neidium. Diatoms of the United States. Retrieved from http://westerndiatoms.colorado.edu/taxa/genus/Neidium
- Spaulding, S., & Edlund, M. (2009). Pinnularia. Diatoms of the United States. Retrieved from http://westerndiatoms.colorado.edu/taxa/genus/Pinnularia
- Steelandt, S., Marguerie, D., Bhiry, N., & Delwaide, A. (2015). A study of the composition, characteristics, and origin of modern driftwood on the western coast of Nunavik (Quebec, Canada). Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences, 120(3), 480–501.
10.1002/2014JG002731 Google Scholar
- Stirling, I. (1980). The biological importance of polynyas in the Canadian Arctic. Arctic, 33(2), 303–315.
- Stirling, I. (1997). The importance of polynyas, ice edges, and leads to marine mammals and birds. Journal of Marine Systems, 10(1), 9–21.
- Stoops, G., de Melo Marcelino, V., & Mees, F. (2010). Interpretation of Micromorphological Features of Soils and Regoliths. Elsevier Science.
- Stuiver, M., Reimer, P. J., & Reimer, R. W. (2017). CALIB 7.1 [WWW program]. Retrieved from http://calib.org
- Tardío, J., Molina, M., Aceituno-Mata, L., Pardo-de-Santayana, M., Morales, R., Fernández-Ruiz, V., … Sánchez-Mata, M. (2011). Montia fontana L. (Portulacaceae), an interesting wild vegetable traditionally consumed in the Iberian Peninsula. Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution, 58(7), 1105–1118.
- Todisco, D., Bhiry, N., & Desrosiers, P. M. (2009). Paleoeskimo site taphonomy: An assessment of the integrity of the Tayara site, Qikirtaq Island, Nunavik, Canada. Geoarchaeology, 24(6), 743–791.
- Vallin, L., Masson, B., & Caspar, J. -P. (2001). Taphonomy at Hermies, France: A mousterian knapping site in a loessic context. Journal of Field Archaeology, 28(3-4), 419–436.
- de Vet, S. J., & Cammeraat, E. L. H. (2012). Aeolian contributions to the development of hillslopes and scree sediments in Grænagil, Torfajökull, Iceland. Geomorphology, 175-176, 74–85.
- Villagran, X. S., Schaefer, C. E. G. R., & Ligouis, B. (2013). Living in the cold: Geoarchaeology of sealing sites from Byers Peninsula (Livingston Island, Antarctica). Quaternary International, 315, 184–199. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2013.07.001
- Woo, M. -K. (1993). Northern hydrology. In H. M. French, & O. Slaymaker (Eds.), Canada's cold environments (pp. 117–142). Montréa, Canada: McGill-Queen's University Press.
- Woollett, J. (2007). Labrador Inuit subsistence in the context of environmental change: An Initial landscape history perspective. American Anthropologist, 109(1), 69–84.
- Woollett, J. M. (1999). Living in the narrows: Subsistence economy and culture change in Labrador Inuit society during the contact period. World Archaeology, 30(3), 370–387.
- Zutter, C. (2009). Paleoethnobotanical contributions to 18 th -century inuit economy: An example from Uivak, Labrador. Journal of the North Atlantic, 2(sp1), 23–32.
