Implications Méthodologiques des fouilles de Tuvaaluk sur l'étude des établissements dorsétiens [The Methodological Implications of the Tuvaaluk Programme Excavations on the Study of Dorset Sites]

Abstract

In the hope of obtaining paleoethnographic data, Tuvaaluk Programme excavations have focused on zones implying Dorset domestic and social organization. The principal site initially selected appeared to comprise diverse habitations with semi-subterranean dwellings, three of which are partially overlapping. The horizontal extension of the excavation into interstructural zones, the registration of structural remains by vertical photography, and analysis of the natural stratigraphy revealed a much more intensive occupation of the excavated area than was originally anticipated. ... Thus, the systematic and intensive excavation of a site initially perceived as relatively simple reveals a variety and complexity of features that would not have been found by the sampling and limited excavation of visible habitations and a supposed midden. Resulting interpretations and hypotheses concerning, in particular, use of the site, seasonality, demography, and the regional settlement pattern, are consequently significantly altered.