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Aspects of Dorset Palaeoeskimo Mortuary Behaviour on the Northern Peninsula of Newfoundland

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The Cultural Landscapes of Port au Choix

Part of the book series: Interdisciplinary Contributions to Archaeology ((IDCA))

Abstract

This chapter briefly summarizes salvage excavations at the Dorset Palaeoeskimo burial sites of Crow Head Cave (EeBi-4) and the Gargamelle Rockshelter (EeBi-21) on the Port au Choix Peninsula (Fig. 12.1) yielding evidence which modestly supplements the meagre database for Palaeoeskimo mortuary behaviour (Brown 1988). These data are analysed in conjunction with other Palaeoeskimo burials from the eastern Arctic to suggest a number of characteristics of Dorset Palaeoeskimo mortuary behaviour in general and Newfoundland Dorset burial practices in particular. These data indicate that the regional nature of the Newfoundland Dorset culture, first suggested by Harp (1964), may be further expressed in terms of mortuary behaviour.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Editor’s note: since the writing of this paper, others have argued that the Imaha skeletal material is Thule rather than Dorset, based on radiocarbon dates, blood group and stable isotope chemistry (Hayes et al. 2005).

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Acknowledgements

I would like to thank Charles Conway for drafting Figs. 12.1 and 12.5, James Tuck for kind permission to use his photograph in Fig. 12.2, and Chris Hammond, Memorial University Photographic Services, for photographing the artefacts in Fig. 12.4. I would also like to thank the Port au Choix Archaeology Project for inviting me to join the 1986 field season.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Archaeology, Memorial University, St. John’s, NL, Canada, A1C 5S7

    Stuart C. Brown

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  1. Stuart C. Brown
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Correspondence to Stuart C. Brown .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Archaeology Unit, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, A1C 5S7, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada

    M. A. P. Renouf

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Brown, S.C. (2011). Aspects of Dorset Palaeoeskimo Mortuary Behaviour on the Northern Peninsula of Newfoundland. In: Renouf, M. (eds) The Cultural Landscapes of Port au Choix. Interdisciplinary Contributions to Archaeology. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-8324-4_12

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