Ancient sailors helped shape Arctic ecosystem
Archaeological evidence suggests that humans may have been sailing in the sea between Greenland and Canada for as long as it was open.
The more than 50 kilometers between the coasts of Kittivustit and northwest Greenland is difficult to cross today, but ancient sailors were also able to make the journey repeatedly.
In the pristine High Arctic lie the Kittisut Islands, also known as the Carey Islands, located between northwestern Greenland and northeastern Canada. The surrounding seas are dangerous, and travel there is difficult even with modern boats. But new archaeological evidence suggests that ancient humans also managed to reach the islands.
The earliest inhabitants lived on the islands between 4,500 and 2,700 years ago. Archaeologists had long assumed that they were land-bound, unable to cross the seas around them once the ice melted. But new research was published Sunday in the journal ancient times These suggest Settlers formed seafaring communities It has existed at least as long as the region’s polynya – a technical name for frozen water between sea ice – indicating that humans have long had a hand in shaping the dynamic Arctic ecosystem.
“We saw a place for archeology to uncover the deep history of the environment and learn more about management through time,” says the study’s lead author, Matthew Walls, an archaeologist at the University of Calgary.
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In the past, archaeologists assumed that humans reached the Arctic by chasing musk oxen and other coastal prey. Although recent evidence suggests otherwise, the old theory is hard to dismiss, especially because remains of boats and fishing supplies made of organic material were largely missing from the archaeological record.
The new study helps fill some of those gaps. The researchers analyzed 297 archaeological features and artifacts from five localities, primarily on the island of Isbjørn in the Kitsisuit island chain. The dwellings they found there show that humans regularly visited and inhabited the islands, traveling from one to the other and back.
“You’re looking at a trip that’s probably going to be 15 to 18 hours of hard paddling and in an environment where things can change very quickly for you,” Walls says. “I think that the people who were able to make this journey had an incredible amount of navigational skill and ability.”
The findings reveal the seafaring nature of Arctic residents and their deep understanding of the waters around them. They also show that humans played a big role in a vibrant ecosystem that emerged after a giant piece of sea ice froze about 4,500 years ago – around the same time humans began traveling across it. Every species that has made this region the ecological hotspot it is today – from seabirds and polar bears to seals and toothed whales – may have had some degree of contact with these early human inhabitants.
Sofia Ribeiro, a researcher at the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland who was not involved in the study, says the underlying history of the ecosystem could help inform future conservation efforts.
“(The study) will be a good contribution to inform future measures,” says Ribeiro.
Walls hopes this work will inform regional officials’ decision-making about environmental management and inspire further study about the region’s lesser-known historical inhabitants.
“I think we’re in a moment where an important platform for archeology is to help better represent environmental history in a way that also accounts for cultural stories,” Walls says.
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