Of Skin and Bones: Revisiting an Inughuit Dogsled Procured by John Ross in 1818

Abstract

During a British expedition to the Arctic headed by John Ross in 1818, a dogsled made of bones was procured from the Inughuit people in Northwest Greenland, hitherto unknown to Europeans. We present a contextual and technological analysis of this, the oldest known dogsled from the Arctic still intact. Our work leads to discovery of a hidden artefact, a dog whip mounted on the sled. This study highlights that the bone sled reflects a historic period of the early nineteenth century, during which the Inughuit were isolated. We conclude that the dogsled technocomplex (an integrated system of technological components and processes) both demonstrates the opportunistic ingenuity of the Inughuit and has shaped important aspects of the society through time.