Paleo-Eskimo culture (500 BCE–1500 CE) that preceded the Inuit in the Arctic of North America
This article is about the Paleo-Eskimo culture in Arctic North America. For the culture of the English county of Dorset, see Culture of Dorset.
Dorset culture
Maximum extent of the Late Dorset culture (AD 500–1000)
Geographical range
Northern Canada, Greenland
Dates
500 BCE – 1500 CE
Preceded by
Pre-Dorset
Followed by
Thule people
Dorset carving of a polar bear found on Igloolik Island
Dorset carving of a seal
The Dorset was a Paleo-Eskimo culture, lasting from 500 BCE to between 1000 CE and 1500 CE, that followed the Pre-Dorset and preceded the Thule people (proto-Inuit) in the North American Arctic. The culture and people are named after Cape Dorset (now Kinngait) in Nunavut, Canada, where the first evidence of its existence was found. The culture has been defined as having four phases due to the distinct differences in the technologies relating to hunting and tool making. Artifacts include distinctive triangular end-blades, oil lamps (qulliq) made of soapstone, and burins.
The Dorset were first identified as a separate culture in 1925. The Dorset appear to have been extinct by 1500 at the latest and perhaps as early as 1000. The Thule people, who began migrating east from Alaska in the 11th century, ended up spreading through the lands previously inhabited by the Dorset. It is not fully known whether the Inuit and Dorset ever met. Some modern genetic studies show the Dorset population were distinct from later groups and that "[t]here was virtually no evidence of genetic or cultural interaction between the Dorset and the Thule peoples."[1] However, the question of why the Dorset disappeared so completely has led some to suggest that Thule invaders wiped out the Dorset people in "an example of prehistoric genocide."[1]
Inuit legends recount them encountering people they called the Tuniit (in syllabics: ᑐᓃᑦ, singular ᑐᓂᖅ Tuniq). According to legend, the first inhabitants were giants, taller and stronger than the Inuit but afraid to interact and "easily put to flight".[2]
^ ab"Dorset DNA: Genes Trace the Tale of the Arctic's Long-Gone 'Hobbits'". NBC News. 28 August 2014.
^Alan, Kate (31 August 2014). "When science meets aboriginal oral history". Toronto Star.
The Dorset was a Paleo-Eskimo culture, lasting from 500 BCE to between 1000 CE and 1500 CE, that followed the Pre-Dorset and preceded the Thule people...
Dorset (or archaically Dorsetshire) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the area covered by...
1300 BCE. After the Saqqaq culture disappeared, the Independence II culture of northern Greenland and the Early Dorsetculture of West Greenland emerged...
related Dorsetculture (from 500 BCE to between CE 1000 and 1500), called the Tuniit in Inuktitut, which was the last major Paleo-Eskimo culture. The first...
the 13th century. In the process, they replaced people of the earlier Dorsetculture that had previously inhabited the region. The appellation "Thule" originates...
difference in the material cultures of Independence II and the contemporary Dorsetculture in southern Greenland, locally known as Dorset I. Those who lump these...
Pre-Dorsetculture were seasonally mobile, moving between settlements to take advantage of resources. The Pre-Dorsetculture was succeeded by the Dorset culture...
Dorset people arrived in the Qaqortoq area around 2,800 years ago. Several rectangular peat dwelling structures, characteristic of the early Dorset culture...
consisted of several Paleo-Eskimo cultures, including the Independence cultures and Pre-Dorsetculture. The Dorsetculture (Inuktitut: Tuniit or Tunit) refers...
inhabited for the last 4,500 years, first by peoples of the Saqqaq culture, then Dorsetculture, and then the Thule people, whose Inuit descendants form the...
Greenland at least, the Dorsetculture may be better understood as a continuation of Independence II culture; the two cultures have therefore been designated...
Epoch. It is believed to have been replaced by or developed into the Dorsetculture around 2000 BP. It is named after Groswater Bay, a bay in central Labrador...
Maritime Archaic peoples were gradually displaced by people of the Dorsetculture (Late Paleo-Eskimo) who also occupied Port au Choix. The number of their...
Saqqaq culture disappeared and the Early Dorsetculture emerged in western Greenland and the Independence II culture in northern Greenland. The Dorset culture...
last remnants of the Dorsetculture as they had preserved a culture and dialect distinct from the mainland Inuit. Despite their culture and local traditions...
consisted of several Paleo-Eskimo cultures, including the Independence cultures and Pre-Dorsetculture. The Dorsetculture (Inuktitut: Tuniit or Tunit) refers...
Dorsets may refer to: DorsetcultureDorset Regiment This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Dorsets. If an internal link led...
Dorset Island, or Cape Dorset Island, is one of the Canadian Arctic islands located in Hudson Strait, Nunavut, Canada. It lies off the Foxe Peninsula...
absorbing the old Dorsetculture in Arctic Alaska. 900–1150: Pueblo II Era in the American Southwest 1000–1200: Early Mississippian culture in the Eastern...
Dorset (/ˈdɔːrsɪt/ DOR-sit; archaically: Dorsetshire /ˈdɔːrsɪt.ʃɪər, -ʃər/ DOR-sit-sheer, -shər) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered...
Pre-Dorset, a diverse Paleo-Eskimo culture that migrated eastward from the Bering Strait region. The Pre-Dorsetculture was succeeded by the Dorset culture...
over 150 carvings of faces in soapstone. It was created by the Dorset people, the culture who inhabited the Canadian eastern Arctic and Greenland beginning...
preserved artifacts carved in ivory could be considered works of art. The Dorsetculture, which became culturally distinct around 600 BCE, produced a significant...
Arctic coast from 1000 onwards, replacing the older and backward later Dorsetculture. The Inuit people living in the far north of Greenland were also affected...
Bathurst Island. Brooman was both a Late Dorsetculture Paleo-Eskimo village as well as an Early Thule culture village. Both the artifacts and the architecture...
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