Study co-author Mari Kleist documented a circle of early Paleo-Eskimo tents on the island of Isbjørne in Kitsissut
Greenland: what is now one of the most desired places in the world was, at one time, one of the most difficult to reach. But the Paleo-Eskimos did it 4,500 years ago, braving icy seas.
Donald Trump tem expressed a desire to “conquer” Greenland, but first, he has a lot to learn from the paleoeskimos.
Archaeological remains in ilhas Kitsissutoff the coast of Greenland, reveal that entire communities regularly traveled through dangerous Arctic waters to get there, 4,500 years ago.
The first people to reach the Kitsissut Islands, off the northwest coast of Greenland, were indigenous people, who crossed more than 50 kilometers of treacherous waters. This is the conclusion of a study this Monday in Antiquity.
In 2019, a group from the University of Calgary (Canada) carried out a survey on the Kitsissut Islands, also known as the Carey Islands, northwest of Greenland. The islands are located in the Pikialasorsuaq polynya, an area of open water surrounded by sea ice.
As detailed by , researchers focused on the three central islands: Polar bears, Middle and North West. They found five sites with a total of 297 archaeological elements.
The largest clusters were located in Isbjørne, along beach terraces. There, the team found traces of 15 circular tentseach divided into two halves by stones, with a central fireplace. These “bilobed” tents are characteristic of the Paleo-Eskimos, the first people to arrive in northern Canada and Greenland.
According to the study authors, the Paleo-Eskimos probably traveled west from there to Kitsissut. However, taking into account the prevailing currents and winds, it is likely that they departed from a point further north, resulting in a longer but safer trip.
As New Scientist reports, the only comparable sea voyage known from Arctic prehistory is the crossing of the 82-kilometer Bering Strait from Siberia to Alaska, which was first undertaken at least 20,000 years ago.
“They had to have very sophisticated water vessels to cross this stretch of water”, capable of carrying perhaps nine or 10 people, he told the same magazine, John Darwentfrom the University of California, Davis, who was not involved in the study.
