Semi-Hibernation for Winter Survival

[Toddy]

A quick quibble......to those who would disparage a people who successfully colonised and thrived in the high arctic......they were anything but primitive.

Humanity only existed there because it was inovative and creative with what could be considered sparse resources. That's not primitive; that's skill and craftsmanship of high refinement.

The archaeological record is preferentially biased towards non organic preservation. The investigation and interpretation of those scant remains reveals a culturally rich society.

Toddy

 

[Tengu]

Yes, but when you compare Dorset Island to Thule, you get the impression of somewhat backward.

However we must remember that our ancestors and the Neandertals (who admittedly had an evolutionary advantage) lived in such conditions with few of those eskimo doodads.

 

[Toddy]

Re the preferential preservation; and as the record grows with research and investigation, it becomes apparant that the Neanderthals and the early homo sapiens sapiens both made tools and equipment much like the Inuit.

No primitive cultures.

It's like comparing the physical trappings, the volume of possessions, of a modern hunter gatherer and a farmer within the same region.
Both simply make/acquire the possessions that enable them to thrive in their lifestyle.

or, in Bushcrafty terms .... carry less by knowing more

cheers,
Toddy

 

[Tim Rast]

I don't think you could characterize the Palaeoeskimos as being primitive. Compared to Thule Inuit technology, their tools were smaller and often more specialized, but that doesn't mean they were backward or primitive. They were perfectly adapted to their environment. Anatomically, they were fully modern human beings and they were the first people on the planet to figure out how to live in the most northerly parts of the globe. We find their sites in places that are today considered uninhabitable and they were there and thriving using a stone and bone toolkit for over 3,500 years. The Inuit called the Dorset Palaeoeskimo the "Tunit" and credit them with making the Arctic liveable. They said that the Tunit built the fish wiers and caribou drive lanes that the Inuit found and used when they arrived.

The Dorset Palaeoeskimo were incredible artists. Some people speculate that the origin of their marvelous art came from those very early Independence I pioneers spending so much of their year dreaming in a kind of semi-hibernation. The Canadian Museum of Civilization has an excellent online exhibit dedicated to Palaeoeskimo art called "Lost Visions, Forgotten Dreams."

 

[Ronnie]

Nice post Tim - lots of stuff to explore there