The Dynamics of Inuit/European Interactions as seen from Sandwich Bay, Labrador

Summary

It can be argued that the southward migration of the Inuit onto the Labrador Peninsula in the 15th century was motivated by their desire to access European metal. Their search ended on the shores of the Strait of Belle Isle where the Inuit scavenged iron and other European commodities from seasonally abandoned Norman, Breton and Basque fishing and whaling station. Such indirect encounters eventually gave way to more regular interactions between the Inuit and the various European populations that occupied the Labrador coast. The excavation of multiple Inuit settlements spanning three centuries of Inuit habitation in Sandwich Bay are used to elucidate the dynamic and transformative nature of these encounters and their role in the early modern expressions of Inuit identity and social structure.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Labrador Inuit and Europeans, Contact and Long-term Relations   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2014

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): SYM-66,08