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Archaeological research on Drayton Island and its environs, near Inukjuak, summer 2007

A team of about twenty people participated in the excavation of an archaeological site on Drayton Island (IbGk-3), and also carried out a brief archaeological survey of the area. These projects, which were part of Avataq’s involvement in the International Polar Year (IPY), were initiated by Daniel Gendron and carried out by Pierre M. Desrosiers and a team composed of Tommy Weetaluktuk (Inuit archaeologist), Sackariassie Pauloosie (hunter-guide), Allie Nalukturuk (hunter-guide), Annie Kokiapik (cook), Mae Partridge (cook), and Paulusie Inukpuk and Chris Amgiyou – assistant hunter-guides. Two students from Europe also participated: Claire Houmard (doctoral student, Université Paris 10, France) and Enrico Foietta (undergraduate student, Italy). Meanwhile, nine Inuit students did a 4-week apprenticeship in excavation methods including surveying, technical drawing, using grids and recovering artifacts. The students were Natalie Echalook, Abraham Kasudluak Mina, Abilie Williams, Magan Kasudluak, Stephan Mina, Tommy Niviaxie, Allie Aculiak, Moses Idlout and Susie Mina. Some of these students also had the chance to receive some training in geography from a team of geomorphologists from Université Laval who accompanied our research team. The Laval group was led by Najat Bhiry and included Anne-Marie Lemieux, Elsa Censig and Bryan Sinkunas.

Our excavations allowed us to establish a number of facts about the IbGk-3 site. It appears that it was occupied by the Palaeoeskimos during a period possibly more than 2,500 years ago. About 2,000 years later, the site was re-occupied by Inuit who built qarmait (semi-subterranean houses) with tunnel entrance. For the moment, only a small portion of the site has been excavated, but this has already produced some significant findings. We discovered some wood that had been used to build the roofs of the dwellings, which is a very rare substance in the eastern Arctic. We have not yet begun the analytical phase of our research, but we already foresee that these discoveries will lead to a better understanding of the early construction techniques for dwellings. In addition, our brief archaeological survey led to the identification of more than forty new sites, mostly on Drayton Island but also on Harrison and Patterson islands. This serves as an indication of the rich archaeological heritage of the area, especially on the islands. The sites we discovered included some summer dwellings, secondary structures such as fox traps, caches and graves, and numerous Palaeoeskimo sites. We also found a number of siltite quarries, (siltite is a rock that was used for making tools.)