Revisiting the Morris Bay Kayak: Analysis and Implications for Inughuit Hunting Practices before the 19th Century

Summary

The Morris Bay Kayak is a unique assemblage that consists of kayak fragments and associated hunting equipment that was discovered in 1921 by chance in Washington Land, NW Greenland. This paper documents results from a collaborative project with the Greenland National Museum to re-analyze and date the Morris Bay Kayak, and to consider how it fits in the current perspectives on Inughuit archaeology. Working with the traditional kayaking community in Greenland, the project reconstructed the kayak’s frame and life history, and then modelled the skills through which it would have been used. Comparisons of structural fragments and hunting tools with regional assemblages, along with new AMS radiocarbon dates, suggests that the kayak represents a local tradition of kayaking that was practiced until shortly before the colonial period. This paper will discuss what open water kayak hunting implies about Inughuit subsistence, and the sudden loss of the technology before John Ross’s arrival in 1818.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)   •
• Arctic and Subarctic Coasts: Current Research and Modern Challenges

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 15183