EAGER: Investigation of Stratified Archaeological Deposits at Iita, Foulke Fjord, Northwestern Greenland

University Of California-Davis, Davis CA

Investigators

Abstract

This is a small exploratory project to investigate the site of Iita (Etah), which is located in Foulke Fjord, Northwestern Greenland, and is historically renowned for its association with Admiral Robert Peary during his quest for the North Pole. Sitting on a prominent alluvial fan the juts out from the north shore of the fjord, the site is covered with extensive evidence of historic and late prehistoric use in the form of winter house depressions, tent rings, burials, fox traps, and food storage caches. In the summer of 2006, the Inglefield Land Archaeology Project investigated two historic indigenous winter houses as part of a multiyear study of the dynamic cultural changes the Inughuit (Polar Inuit) underwent because of contact with Europeans, Americans, other Inuit groups, and environmental shifts between AD 1700 and 1920. During the excavations of the houses it was discovered that the site contained stratified archaeological deposits, which are exceedingly rare in the High Arctic of North America (most remains sit on the surface of the ground) and invaluable resources for archaeologists trying to reconstruct the prehistoric use of area. It was clear that the buried deposits went back to the Early Thule (AD 1300-1600), the ancestors of the Inuit populations living in the arctic today, as a buried house from the period was discovered. However, in one small section of an excavation unit evidence in the form of stone tools, in contexts with old ground surfaces, suggests that the site might contain remains of earlier camps of peoples that occupied Inglefield Land 2400 years ago or more known as the Paleoeskimo. The goal of the proposed project is to evaluate whether Iita has the potential to expand our knowledge of the Paleoeskimo use of Inglefield Land. The Paleoeskimo moved into the High Arctic around 4500 years ago but disappeared around 700?800 years ago. Because the 2006 investigations essentially only nicked the Paleoeskimo deposits, the proposed project will undertake excavation of a test trench that will open a larger window into the use of the site. If extensive archaeological deposits are present, the site will become an invaluable resource for understanding the Paleoeskimo use of Inglefield Land and the larger High Arctic region. The excavations will be undertaken in collaboration with the Greenland National Museum and Archives and will provide archaeological training for two undergraduates, one from the University of California-Davis and one from the University of Greenland. It is hope that this small grant will lead to a long-term collaborative relationship with students and researchers at the University in Greenland, and lead to a larger research project on the Paleoeskimo period in Inglefield Land.