The Qijurittuq archaeological site (IbGk-3) is an archaeological site located on Drayton Island on the eastern shore of Hudson Bay, Nunavik, in Quebec, Canada. The site contains structural remains and artifacts relating to the Thule/Inuit culture dating back to approximately 700 to 800 years ago.
Research on the site has focused on the study of wood sources, procurement strategies, settlement patterns and examination of why semi-subterranean structures remained long after this type of housing was abandoned years before. The impact of climate change and continuous contact with Euro-Canadians and its effect on Inuit Culture is also examined.
Introduction
Research from the Qijurittuq site began in 2007 as part of a study looking at the effect of climate change on the Thule/Inuit culture and the Paleo-Eskimos of the Hudson Bay area. The research was part of the Global International Polar Year project.
The Nunavik component of this global project was initially oriented towards the investigation of Thule/Inuit archaeology in Hudson Bay and Hudson Strait, within a context of climatic change. The Qijurittuq site research is directed at change in semi-subterranean dwellings and whether it was due to climate change, technology, and/or procurement strategies.
Site excavation
The Qijurittuq site (IbGk-3) research is directed to four areas: palaeoenvironmental data with a focus on the Little Ice Age, archaeological information from Qijurittuq and other related sites, local people and their traditional knowledge and cultural history, and ethno-historical research focused on reasons of abandonment of semi-subterranean dwellings in the Eastern Arctic.
The Qijurittuq site is on Drayton Island, along the eastern shore of Hudson Bay in Nunavik, in Northern Quebec in the Hopewell archipelago. The site is located in a valley protected from the harsh winds during the fall and early winter. The landscape is characterized by continuous permafrost zone with strong winds blowing the fall and winter, shrub tundra with willow, birch, herbaceous plants, mosses and lichens. The islands are characterized by Cuesta formations of sandstone, quartzite and dolomite, with steep cliffs on one side and gentle slopes to seaward. Siltstone, found throughout the area, was utilized by the first Paleo-Eskimos to make tools.
The site has nineteen structures, of which thirteen are semi-subterranean houses, pointing to a fall and winter occupational period. Also included are structures indicating spring and summer occupation, typical of the Late Paleo-Eskimo time period.
Paleo-Eskimo structures were typically tents constructed of driftwood poles and covered with skins secured by a ring of rocks with stones creating a mid-passage that divided the living areas.
Three additional sites were near the Qijurittuq site, IbGk-7 thought to be spring and summer month occupations with evidence of tent rings, food cache, fox traps and graves. Site IbGk-7 was located near the water, down the valley with sites IbGk-8 and IbGk-38 located on top of the hill overlooking the valley to the north and south, exposed to the winds from every side.
Local Involvement
The excavations included local high school students from Inukjuak. The trainees were exposed basic archeology techniques like collecting artifacts, recording data, basic excavation, dendrochronology, as well as geomorphology.
Elders of the community shared their experiences traditional life in the area. Upon touring the site, the elders were amazed to discover how much wood was used by their ancestors in the construction of their houses. Traditional storytelling of ancestral life in the area, and recalling memories from childhood also aided in the research.
Results and continuous evaluations
The Qijurittuq site was occupied by Paleo-Eskimo and Thule/Inuit who lived in the semi-subterranean houses. A total of 29,085 lithic tools and debris was collected along with 2,577 animal bones and teeth, 14 objects of worked bones and ivory, as well as 215 charcoal samples, 100 wood samples, 38 mineral/organic sediment samples and six metal pieces including one barbed point and two nails or rivets.
In addition 17 lithic raw material sources and 3 quarry sites were also sampled. Peat monoliths helped catalog the vegetation and climate history of the region. A decline of certain species occurred due to the onset of the Little Ice Age, which was characterized by cooler and drier conditions.