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Type(s) de contenu et mode(s) de consultation : Texte noté : sans médiation
Titre(s) : Nipisat [Texte imprimé] : a Saqqaq culture site in Sisimiut, Central West Greenland
Publication : [s.l.] : Meddelelser om Gronland, 2004
Description matérielle : 1 vol. (243 p.) : ill. ; 27 cm
Note(s) : From 1989 to 1994, more than 200 m2 were excavated at the Saqqaq site of Nipisat,
situatedon a small island 15 km south of Sisimiut. The excellent preservation conditions
fororganic material, and the fact that some of the stone artefacts were not previouslyknown
from the Saqqaq Culture, were the main reasons for the excavation. More than70,000
bone fragments, 20,000 flakes and 1,000 artefacts were recovered.A total of 33 dates,
making this site one of the best dated in the entire Arctic, revealthat Nipisat was
occupied continuously for nearly 1,500 years. Although protrudingbedrock disturbed
the stratigraphy and several lenses of crushed shells interrupted thelayers, three
different chronological phases could be identified. Phase 1 is dated by eight14C dates
ranging from 2020 to 1740 BC (cal). Phase 2 partly overlaps, but is mainlyyounger
than phase 1 and dated by five 14C dates to 1860-1325 BC (cal). Phase 3 is datedby
16 14C dates to 1310-810 BC (cal). One date was very young (520 BC (cal)) and problematicbecause
of extreme oscillations of the 14C curve. From phase 1 there is a mid-passagestructure
with a box-hearth. A ring of flagstones surrounds the structure. Fromphase 2 there
is a well-defined box-hearth. There was no clear outline of a tent ring surroundingthe
hearth, which could be due to later disturbances in phase 3. No dwellingstructures
were recognised from phase 3. Instead several sherds of soapstone wererecorded, indicating
the use of blubber for light or cooking. From phase 1 and 2 the tooltypes are well
known from other Saqqaq sites in Greenland and Arctic Canada e.g. smallharpoon endblades,
projectile points, knife blades, scrapers, burins etc. and needles,flint flakers,
harpoon heads, wedges etc. But from phase 3 previously unknown typeswere recorded.
A new tool kit for sea mammal hunting is seen in the very sturdy harpoonor lance head
made of antler. In addition there are many different kinds of barbed leistersor spears.
New types of bevelled harpoon heads, bevelled knife blades and bevelledprojectile
points, all made of killiaq (silicified slate), were also registered.The faunal assemblage
of Nipisat yielded 28,823 identified bone fragments representingat least 42 species
of fish, birds and mammals. The fish remains, comprising c. 2%of the faunal material,
consisted nearly entirely (98%) of fairly large sized cod (). The bird remains comprise
c. 47% of the material and derive from at least 24bird species. Gulls are the dominant
group (c. 54% of the bird remains) followed by eiderducks ( spp.) (24%) and spp. (13%)
presumably barnacle geese (), while auks () were found in lower frequencies. The most
spectacularfinds, however, were skeletal remains of subadult great auks () fromthe
oldest phase. A total of 60 presumed whooper swan () remains constitutethe hitherto
largest, northernmost and oldest occurrence in Greenland.At least 14 mammalian species
were identified revealing a surprisingly large proportionof caribou () (51% of the
mammal remains) for a coastal site. Sealsaccounted for 45%, with the common seal ()
as the absolutely dominantcomponent. Other marine mammals were walrus () and harbourporpoise
(), which played an important but minor role. Polar bear() hunting was documented
by the presence of four fragments from theyoungest phase. Saqqaq people were accompanied
by fairly large and robust dogs ().Nipisat, the first larger Saqqaq site to be excavated
from the Open Water Area was acoastal site and through all occupation phases the game
animals of the surroundingwaters and fjords were hunted. For more than a millennium,
the site was visited brieflyfrom time to time, at least during spring, summer and
early autumn. Staging geese werecaptured during spring. In June and July the breeding
birds were exploited for their eggsand easily accessible young, as documented by large
numbers of juvenile gull bones inparticular. The common seal hunting specialised on
immature individuals caught primarilyduring their first summer on the breeding grounds.
The inhabitants at Nipisat alsohunted caribou on the mainland. The age structure and
sex distribution of the caribouremains primarily reflect stalking. Selected body parts,
especially the fore and hind legsand the heads, were transported to the island for
raw material, meat filleting and furtherprocessing for marrow extraction and fat rendering.The
exploitation of fauna through the entire occupation period was remarkablyconstant
with respect to choice of game animal and the selected age groups. Althougheiders
were more abundant in phase 1 (36%) than in phase 3 (17%) while gulls increasedfrom
43 to 61% in the same time period. The same trend was found valid for geese, whichincreased
over time while the importance of auks decreased. Harbour porpoise seem tohave decreased
while walrus increased in relative importance through time. Caribouseem to be of greater
importance in phase 3 with 55% compared to 45% in phase 1. Theslight shift in preferred
resources may be explained by fluctuating abundance and availabilityof the game species
combined with the development of new hunting tools.Based on the new investigations
in the Sisimiut District, the gap between Saqqaqand Dorset Culture in Central West
Greenland has been diminished. Although resourceexploitation at the site seems to
have been very stable through all three phases, there areaspects of cultural change
bridging the transition from Saqqaq to Dorset Cultures. Theintroduction of bevelled
tools, sturdy harpoon or lance heads and the abandonment ofthe bow and arrow in phase
3, show cultural affiliation with Dorset technology. This isalso true in terms of
lithic raw material preference, the introduction of soapstone artefactsand the absence
of dwelling structures with a well-defined box-hearth. At the sametime it looks like,
the central occupation area for the Saqqaq Culture shifted southwardsfrom the Qeqertarsuup
Tunua area towards Sisimiut and Nuuk
Sujet(s) : Paléoesquimaux
Fouilles archéologiques -- Groenland (ouest)
Identifiants, prix et caractéristiques : ISBN 9788763512640. - ISBN 8763512645. - ISBN 9788763526265. - ISBN 8763526263 (rel.)
Identifiant de la notice : ark:/12148/cb43542611c
Notice n° :
FRBNF43542611
(notice reprise d'un réservoir extérieur)
