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ANCIENT ANCESTORS A LOOK BACK AT THE THULE PERIOD IN THE INUVIALUIT SETTLEMENT REGION // WORDS BY CHARLES ARNOLD
MOST ARCHAEOLOGISTS WOULD ADMIT to having favourite artifacts they have uncovered in their fieldwork. My list includes the so-called ‘Thule type 2’ harpoon heads that I have found at several archaeological sites in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region. Their size and shape suggest they were tips of harpoons used for throwing at swimming seals, either from a boat or at the ice edge. Like so much of the technology that has made survival in the Arctic possible, this type of harpoon head was a marvel of engineering. The complete harpoon was designed in such a way that, when a seal was struck, the head with a line attached to it would separate from the rest of the harpoon. If the harpoon head penetrated deeply, a spur at the
A ‘Thule type 2’ harpoon head uncovered during excavations of an archaeological site at the mouth of the Mackenzie River. (C. Arnold photo)
base would cause it to pivot so that it would not pull out when the hunter retrieved the seal. If it did not penetrate completely, barbs near the pointed end might still hold the harpoon head attached to the seal. These harpoon heads could have been made only with basic functional features and worked as intended, but often they were enhanced with decorative elements that may carry meanings one can only wonder about. I use the word ‘elegant’ when I describe them. These harpoon heads also fascinate me because they are a signature of a great migration of people from northern Alaska into the Canadian Arctic and Greenland about 800 years ago that ushered in the Thule Period of Inuit history.
