Evening star., 1950-10-04
Canadian Arctic IsIundt
Crossrood Of Migrution,l
Report Made on Excavations
Of Four Ancient Villages i
By Thomus R. Henry

A prehistoric crossroads Of migration
for centuries was desolate Cornwalhs
Island in the Canadian Arctic arcfi-
pelago.
Four ancient village sites were exca.
waited there this summer by DR.. Henry 3.
Collins, jr.. Of the United States National
Museum and Dr. william E. Taylor of the. :.
University Of Toronto. They found eyi- =
dence of one-time thriving settlements
in land now uninhabited and essentiallyA
uninhabitable. This was in the neighbour
hood Of Resolute Bay, where joint Ca-sz
nadian-American weather station now
Is IN operatlon. rs
Most OF the remains were those OF 8
the So-called Thule culture" This was
characterized by permanent settlements
with excellently constructed stone. whales!
bone and turf houses, by whalebonel
weapons, by whale, walrus and seal hunts .
ing, and by storage Of food. 1t originated
very early in Alaska. The germs Of this
culture may have been brought from
Asia by the first ancestors of the Eskimo !.
race to come to the New World. It spread
eastward across northern Canada and
the Arctic islands to Greenland. Then,
somewhat modified, 1t moved westward
again. 5sa
Rich Deposits Uncovered. II
Some Of the richest Thule deposits
yet known were uncovered In the ReSolute
Bay excavations. From them a better
picture can be had Of the ancient ways
Of life. ssfg
Among the homes excavated was that
OF an Eskimo who must have been q
physical giant as well as a quite prom
1nent citizen. It was an exceptionally
large house. Apparently 1t was abar1- J
doned IN hurry. perhaps in some ancient
Arctic catastrophe. Stone compartments
built into the floor were found filled with
whale blubber, presumably stored as q +
winter food supply. There was one
exceptionally large whalebone harpoori
head. 1t must have required extraordi-7
nary physical strength to hurl this so K
that it would penetrate q whales thick
skin. ~
There was also an extraordinary
amulet. It was a circular skin thong
around which were attached pouches con-
tanning various magical objects, such al
pebbles and bones. The largest con-
tanned the head Of q bird. Presumably
the hunter wore this around his neck
and over his chest under his clothing.
man. d
Whales Plentiful Then.
Living conditions appear to have :.
changed notably since CORVALLIS Island,
was inhabited by these Thule people. At
that time whales must have been plen-
t1ul. None have been seen In the,
vicinity in historic times. There also
must have been considerable driftwood. Z
3e &,>
Ihis does not mean necessarily that thse
climate was warmer. but that sea eur.
rents and Ice flow were different. sL
The Thule remains found were. for
the most part, quite advanced and prob.
ABLY developed In the eastern Arctic,
after the long trek from Alaska. One .
smal site was found. however, In which 3
the Thule artifacts were Of the most g
primitive type and hardly distinguish
able from those found In Alaska. Il
seems quite probable, DR.. Collins says
that they were left by some Of the earliest q
eastward migrants. - .a-s,,
At another small site were found re.al
mains OF quite different Eskimo cul.
ture the Dorset The Dorset people are 4
the ghosts Of the Arctic" 1as
They were unquestionably Eskinosl
but everything else about them In
wrapped IN mystery. Apparently they
preceded the Thule people in the great
. migration. but there is no clue Is 10
their origin. Their remains are found
around Hudson's Strait and extend from
Newfoundland to Greenland. -
1t seems they were not whale hunters.
They lacked skin boats and dog sleds.
Apparently they had no dogs They were
characterized chiefly by the extrems
f1neness and artistry of their stone chip.
ping. This far exceeded anything ac
complished by the more utilitarian Thuis
Eskimos. :
fyz