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A likely Copper Inuit structure built against a small gravel mound. The structure consists of three sections two of which are open-ended squares and the third is circular with a square hearth.
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The aim of the North Western Victoria Island Archaeological
and Geological Survey Project (2002-920) was to survey coastal
areas along Richard Collinson Inlet and Prince Albert Peninsula,
Victoria Island, NWT for evidence of Palaeoeskimo and subsequent
Neoeskimo occupations. The fieldwork was conduced between
July 3 and August 8 2002. It was expected that evidence of
Palaeoeskimo and Neoeskimo occupation could be used to establish
the manner in which different groups used the area and how
these groups were influenced by changes in their environment
such as sea level, sea ice conditions, local currents, and
climate change. It was anticipated that archaeological sites
would be scattered along the beaches situated at about 20m
ASL and below. Above 20m ASL we hoped to find shells, whalebone
and/or driftwood that could be used to construct a sea level
curve for the area.
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| Remains of a Neoeskimo
structure on the West side of Richard Collinson Inlet.
Four other structures can be seen in the background. |
Owing to the harsher climate condition of Richard Collinson
Inlet, we did not expect the concentration of sites found
during the 1999 and 2000 survey conducted by Jim Savelle and
Art Dyke on southwestern Victoria Island of which our project
is an extension. We did, however, expect a similar pattern
of site location. Fifty-Two sites were recorded of which less
than half were located on beach ridges. Most sites were located
on high ridges or near specific topographic features, which
would either offer protection from the elements or a vantage
point. These sites were found on route to other destinations
and thus our results are not based on a systematic survey.
Four camps were established and used as base locations for
survey. From the first camp, Workshop Point, a section of
approximately 75 km along the coast and 15 Km inland was surveyed
and only 3 sites were recorded; from the second camp, Loch
Point, a section of approximately 40 km along the coast and
25 km inland was surveyed and 1 site was found, at the third
camp, W. Richard Collinson Inlet, a section of approximately
37 km along the coast and the 15 km from our inland camp to
the coast was surveyed and 23 sites were recorded; at the
fourth camp, E. Richard Collinson Inlet, a section approximately
52 km along the coast and 10 km inland was surveyed and 25
sites were recorded. Most of the sites cannot be easily associated
with one of the specific cultural groups because many of the
features are amorphous or do not exhibit classic architectural
attributes. There was a considerable amount of variation in
the features found but they can essentially be divided into
several types: cache sites, kill site, stone tent rings, structures
constructed of just stone or turf or a combination of these
materials, and stone features. In addition to these finds
an historical period sod house was found as well as the outline
of a canvas tent. Very few surface artifacts were located
and in total only 4 artifacts were discovered including a
microblade core, a unifacially worked flake, worked driftwood,
and a partially made harpoon head.
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