Regional Comparison of Thule Harpoon Heads Through Thick and Thin
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REGIONAL COMPARISON OF THULE HARPOON HEADS THROUGH THICK AND THIN: A REGIONAL COMPARISON OF HARPOON HEADS FROM THULE SITES IN NUNAVUT, CANADA By Mary Jo Megginson, B.A. A Thesis Submitted to the School of Graduate Studies in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts McMaster University August, 2000 McMASTER UNIVERSITY LIBRARY MASTER OF ARTS (2000) McMaster University (Anthropology) Hamilton, Ontario TITLE: Through Thick and Thin: A Regional Comparison of Harpoon Heads from Thule Sites in Nunavut, Canada AUTHOR: Mary 10 Megginson, B.A. (McGill University) SUPERVISOR: Professor P. G. Ramsden NUMBER OF PAGES: viii + 132 11 Abstract In 1969170 Robert McGhee first suggested the existence of regional social groups in Thule culture. Under the assumption that such social groupings would be reflected in the distribution of material culture, this study aims to investigate McGhee's hypothesis using one artifact class of Thule culture: harpoon heads. The study looks at harpoon heads from all published Thule sites from across the territory of Nunavut, in arctic Canada. The harpoon heads are broken down into individual attributes, and the regional distribution of each attribute is considered in an attempt to find patterning across space. Rather than confirming the existence of regional social groupings, the patterns discovered suggest a culture continuum moving from west to east across the Canadian arctic. This research is preliminary in nature, and opens a new forum for debate in Canadian arctic archaeology. 111 Acknowledgements Thanks to my committee: Laura Finsten, Trudy Nicks, and especially my supervisor Peter Ramsden for their undying patience and constructive criticism. Though I may never want to look at another harpoon head again, I've learned much from this experience. This thesis would not have been possible without the faithful support of my two best friends: Mom and Dan, this is for you. IV Table of Contents Table of Contents .................................................................................................. .iv List of Figures .......................................................................................................... v I - Introduction ......................................................................................................... l Background ........................................ '" ....................................................... 2 Contributions of the Research .................................................................... .4 II - Background........................................................................................................ 6 Thule Culture - An Introduction .................................................................. 6 Origin of Thule Culture .................................................................... 7 Archaeology and Social Boundaries ........................................................... 10 Ethnicity ........................................................................................ 11 Tyranny of the Ethnographer. ....................................................... 13 The Meaning of Style ............. '" .................................................... 15 The Uses of Style .......................................................................... 17 III - Methodology .................................................................................................. 21 Methodological Problems .......................................................................... 21 The Study Area.......................................................................................... 25 Western Central Arctic .................................................................. 26 The Central Region ........................................................................ 31 v The Eastern Region ........................................................................ 35 Chronology of Sites ....................................................................... 39 Selection of Artifacts ................................................................................ .40 IV - Harpoon Heads: An Introduction .................................................................. .42 Introduction ............................................................................................... 4 2 Harpoon Head Typology ......................................................................... .43 Function ..................................................................................................... 46 Chronological Issues .................................................................................. 50 Methodological Issues ............................................................................... 51 V - Data Analysis .................................................................................................. 53 Thule Type I Harpoon Heads ................................................................... 53 Thule Type II Harpoon Heads .................................................................. 57 Thule Type III Harpoon Heads ................................................................. 67 Thule Type IV Harpoon Heads ................................................................. 76 VI - Discussion and Conclusions ........................................................................... 82 Distribution of Types ................................................................................ 82 Distribution of Raw MateriaL .................................................................. 87 Distribution of Lashing Provision Types .................................................. 88 Distribution of Decorative Motifs ............................................................. 92 Regional 'Tribes'? ..................................................................................... 95 Conclusions .............................................................................................. 103 Appendix ............................................................................................................. 106 Bibliography ........................................................................................................ 121 VI List of Figures Figure 3-1: Map of Major Geographical Features ofNunavut.. ............................ 27 Figure 3-2: Map of Sites ........................................................................................ 30 Figure 4-1: Harpoon Head Types and Attributes ................................................ .48 Figure 4-2: Harpoon Head Types and Attributes ................................................ .49 Figure 5-1: Distribution of Type I Harpoon Heads .............................................. 53 Figure 5-2: Raw Material of Type I Harpoon Heads ............................................ 55 Figure 5-3: Lashing Provision on Type I Harpoon Heads ..................................... 56 Figure 5-4: Distribution of Type II Harpoon Heads ............................................. 57 Figure 5-5: Distribution of Type II Fonus ............................................................ 58 Figure 5-6: Raw Material of Type II Harpoon Heads .......................................... 61 Figure 5-7: Lashing Provision on Type II Harpoon Heads ................................... 63 Figure 5-8: Distribution of Type III Harpoon Heads ............................................ 68 Figure 5-9: Distribution of Type III Fonus ........................................................... 69 Figure 5-10: Lashing Provision on Type III Harpoon Heads ................................ 70 Figure 5-11: Raw Material of Type III Harpoon Heads ....................................... 73 Figure 5-12: Distribution of Lateral Waists on Type III Harpoon Heads ............. 74 Figure 5-13: Distribution of Type IV Harpoon Heads .......................................... 77 Figure 5-14: Distribution of Type IV Fonus ......................................................... 78 vii Figure 5-15: Raw Material of Type IV Harpoon Heads ....................................... 79 Figure 6-1: Distribution of Harpoon Head Types in the Western Region ............ 83 Figure 6-2: Distribution of Harpoon Head Types in the Central Region .............. 83 Figure 6-3: Distribution of Harpoon Head Types in the Eastern Region .............. 84 Figure 6-4: Raw Material Distribution .................................................................. 88 Figure 6-5: Lashing Provision Distribution ............................................................ 89 List of Tables Table 1: Thule Type I Harpoon Heads Being Used in this Study ...................... 106 Table 2: Thule Type II Harpoon Heads from the Western Study Region .......... 107 Table 3: Thule Type II Harpoon Heads from the Central Study Region ......... 108-9 Table 4: Thule Type II Harpoon Heads from the Eastern Study Region ..... .11 0-12 Table 5: Thule Type III Harpoon Heads from the Western Study Region ... 113-14 Table 6: Thule Type III Harpoon Heads from the Central Study Region .... .114-15 Table 7: Thule Type III Harpoon Heads from the Eastern Study Region ..... 116-17 Table 8: Thule Type IV Harpoon Heads from the Western Study Region ......... 118 Table 9: Thule Type IV Harpoon Heads from the Central Study Region ..... 118-19 Table 10: Thule Type IV Harpoon Heads from the Eastern Study Region: .119-20 V111 I Introduction Over one thousand years ago, a new marine-adapted culture arrived into what is now the territory