Beluga Hunters

Before the arrival of the Europeans in the 19th century, the people who are now called Mackenzie Eskimos inhabited the western Canadian Arctic coast between Barter Island and Cape Bathurst. Little is known of them but this document attempts to assemble a picture from the few and diverse published and archival sources available as a background for the interpretation of archaeological evidence presented. The archaeological excavations were undertaken in summer 1969 and 1970 and concentrated on the large prehistoric site of Kittigazuit and smaller related sites along the lower course of the East Channel. The document presents an interpretation of Mackenzie Eskimo prehistory based on the archaeological evidence, with particular reference to the development of the economic adaptation and distinctive cultural characteristics of the Kittegaryumiut groups over the past five centuries.