Benoit Aquin
By Department of archaeology
The production of stone tools using the skillful application of pressure was a technique employed in Nunavik for thousands of years by Pre-Dorset and Dorset peoples. This technique had also been used in many other areas of the world. It most likely originated from a region that included part of Siberia, Mongolia and Northern China around 20,000 years ago. This is the subject of the book entitled the Emergence of Pressure Blade Making edited by Avataq archaeologist Pierre M. Desrosiers.
Over the years, Avataq has gained recognition by scientists around the world in the field of archaeology. Some of the discoveries (examples: 1, 2, 3, 4), projects see this page) and the quality of its work are now internationally renowned. This is why Avataq is successfully competing with universities to obtain research grants, such as the productive Sivulitta inuusirilaurtangit atuutilaurtangillu project (CURA project). It is no surprise to see one of Avataq’s archaeologists being published by Springer, a prestigious international publisher in science. The current success of Avataq is the fruit of 30 years of expertise in the field of arctic archaeology. Avataq has now strongly established itself in a way that the Inuit organization is leading the research, rather than simply providing the data to external university researchers. This empowers Inuit and is an important step towards ensuring sovereignty of Nunavimmiut over their heritage.
To learn more about this book:
http://www.springer.com
