Beach Level Chronology and Paleodemography at Alarniq, Northern Foxe Basin, Arctic Canada

Summary

In this paper we discuss beach level chronology and settlement at Alarniq—the ‘type-site’ for Dorset culture history and one of the largest Dorset archaeological sites in the Eastern Arctic. The Dorset occupation at the site extends approximately 3 km along a succession of raised gravel beach ridges, ranging in elevation between 8 to 24 m asl, and is almost entirely comprised of semi-subterranean structures that would have been occupied during the cold season. The number of houses varies across the beach ridges suggesting populations fluctuated throughout the site’s use. However, new radiocarbon analyses indicate that all houses between 22-16.5 m asl are of the same general age, and that paleodemography at Alarniq is less straightforward than suggested by the number of features per beach ridge. Here we examine how settlement at the site was impacted by the season of occupation, and discuss how ideal house construction locations seem to be a stronger indicator of the placement of winter houses at the site versus proximity to the shoreline.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 83rd Annual Meeting, Washington, DC (2018)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 21768