Through Thick and Thin: A Regional Comparison of Harpoon Heads from Thule Sites in Nunavut, Canada

Abstract

<p>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.</p>