This dissertation investigates the domestic architecture produced by the Late Dorset, an Arctic-adapted hunter-gatherer society which occupied much of the Eastern North American Arctic between circa 1500 B.P. and 500 B.P. Architecture, like any artefact class, is a dynamic and socially constructed technology that is produced, maintained, and transmitted by its practitioners. It is replicated via series of learned actions or techniques; patterns accordingly result from adherence to cultural standards while differences represent instances of technological divergence. Such departures are typically ignored or suppressed in closed systems, although they can be tolerated or even widely adopted in more flexible ones. In order to identify and explore patterning, a methodological strategy using the chaîne opératoire is adopted. This approach is invaluable because, when properly implemented, it links the static archaeological record with the dynamic architect-agents whose meaning-laden technical acts are visible archaeologically. Viewed through the lens of chaîne opératoire, I examine domestic architecture as a conduit for informing on Late Dorset structure and social organisation. As part of this investigation, a multi-scalar research design was implemented. The first analytical scale examined architecture across the Eastern Arctic to determine regional patterns of behavioural variability. Large-scale behavioural trends were recognised and demonstrated the range of behaviours enacted by Dorset architects as they designed, reproduced, and altered dwellings. The second stage of analysis focused on the micro-scale analysis of dwellings from three locations, each presented as fully contextualised case studies. Analysis at this level allowed for the investigation of how idiosyncratic behaviours and localised knowledge (reflecting an agent’s awareness of local conditions) was manifested and ‘fit’ within the overall technology. This strategy, which combined structure-specific analysis with purposefully broad regional patterning, suggests that Late Dorset architectural technology was comparatively open and flexible and that architects could adapt technological practise to suit local conditions and housing needs. This flexibility contrasts with other aspects of Late Dorset culture that appear more constrained and standardised.

This dissertation investigates the domestic architecture produced by the Late Dorset, an Arctic-adapted hunter-gatherer society which occupied much of the Eastern North American Arctic between circa 1500 B.P. and 500 B.P. Architecture, like any artefact class, is a dynamic and socially constructed technology that is produced, maintained, and transmitted by its practitioners. It is replicated via series of learned actions or techniques; patterns accordingly result from adherence to cultural standards while differences represent instances of technological divergence. Such departures are typically ignored or suppressed in closed systems, although they can be tolerated or even widely adopted in more flexible ones. In order to identify and explore patterning, a methodological strategy using the chaîne opératoire is adopted. This approach is invaluable because, when properly implemented, it links the static archaeological record with the dynamic architect-agents whose meaning-laden technical acts are visible archaeologically. Viewed through the lens of chaîne opératoire, I examine domestic architecture as a conduit for informing on Late Dorset structure and social organisation. As part of this investigation, a multi-scalar research design was implemented. The first analytical scale examined architecture across the Eastern Arctic to determine regional patterns of behavioural variability. Large-scale behavioural trends were recognised and demonstrated the range of behaviours enacted by Dorset architects as they designed, reproduced, and altered dwellings. The second stage of analysis focused on the micro-scale analysis of dwellings from three locations, each presented as fully contextualised case studies. Analysis at this level allowed for the investigation of how idiosyncratic behaviours and localised knowledge (reflecting an agent’s awareness of local conditions) was manifested and ‘fit’ within the overall technology. This strategy, which combined structure-specific analysis with purposefully broad regional patterning, suggests that Late Dorset architectural technology was comparatively open and flexible and that architects could adapt technological practise to suit local conditions and housing needs. This flexibility contrasts with other aspects of Late Dorset culture that appear more constrained and standardised.

Ce mémoire consiste en une analyse zooarchéologique d’un assemblage faunique provenant d’un site Dorsétien des Îles Nuvuk dans l’Arctique canadien. Les données fauniques ont été analysées statistiquement en appliquant des indices d’utilité économique et des indices de densité des os. Une étude concernant le niveau de conservation de l’assemblage a révélé peu d’évidence de modification taphonomique des spécimens. Les analyses fauniques ont permis d’identifier une stratégie de subsistance de type généraliste et basée sur l’exploitation de mammifères marins, surtout des phoques annelés, pratiquée par les occupants du site de KcFs-2. Une prédominance d’individus immatures (phoques annelés) dans l’assemblage indique une abondance de ressources marines dans les régions du nord de la Baie d’Hudson et du détroit d’Hudson au moment de l’occupation, ce qui est aussi manifeste dans des études antérieures concernant les économies des peuples du Paléoesquimau tardif pour la période donnée. L’occupation du site de KcFs-2 s’est produite durant la période du Dorsétien récent au Nunavik (1500-800 B.P.), et la séquence est définie comme ayant été multi-saisonnière (de l’hiver à l’été). L’analyse des produits de l’industrie osseuse (têtes de harpons et sculptures en ivoire) a permis de confirmer l’affiliation culturelle des occupants. / This thesis presents a zooarchaeological analysis of a faunal assemblage from a Dorset site (KcFs-2) on the Nuvuk Islands in the Canadian Arctic. The faunal data was analyzed through the application of bone density and economic utility indices and bivariate statistical tests. A brief taphonomic study was also undertaken, showing that the assemblage was not heavily affected taphonomically. The faunal analysis revealed a generalized subsistence strategy with an intensified focus on marine mammal exploitation, specifically ringed seals. The predominance of immature ringed seals exposed through the study indicates an abundance of marine resources in the northern Hudson Bay and Hudson Strait regions during the period under study, which correlates well with existing studies concerning Late Palaeoeskimo economy. Occupation of the KcFs-2 site occurred in the Late Dorset period of Nunavik (1500-800 B.P.) and is defined on a multi-seasonal level, from late winter through summer. Analyses of the organic artefact assemblage (harpoon heads and sculpted objects) served to confirm the relative dating of the site and aided in the definition of the cultural affiliation of the inhabitants of the KcFs-2 site.

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Ce mémoire présente l’analyse technologique d’un assemblage lithique du Dorsétien récent provenant des Îles Nuvuk au Nunavik. L’approche technologique et la chaine opératoire ont été employées pour définir le système technique des occupants de la maison 3 du site KcFs-2, daté entre 940±20 ans et 970±15 ans AA. Les analyses technologiques ont permis d’aborder une multitude de sphères comportementales en relation avec la technologie lithique dorsétienne de KcFs-2. Celles-ci concernent l’acquisition des matières, la gestion des supports, les intentions de production, les techniques de taille et enfin, les conceptions volumétriques des occupants du site. Dans le but de questionner le cadre chronoculturel en vigueur et de pallier aux manquements de l’approche typologique traditionnellement employée dans l’Arctique de l’est, ces données ont été comparées à celles des sites GhGk-63 (Kuujjuarapik) et Tayara (KbFk-7) ayant servi à définir la période du Dorsétien classique au Nunavik (Desrosiers 2009). L’analyse comparative des systèmes techniques du Dorsétien classique et du Dorsétien récent a permis de mettre en lumière la continuité des traditions techniques dorsétiennes sur une période d’environ mille ans. / This thesis presents the technological analysis of a Late Dorset lithic assemblage from the Nuvuk Islands in Nunavik. The technological approach and the chaine opératoire have been used to define the “technological system” of the occupants of House 3 at KcFs-2, dated between 940±20 and 970±15 BP. The technological analysis has provided information about many spheres of technological behavior related to the acquisition of raw material, to the management of blanks and preforms, to production objectives, to knapping techniques and finally to the “volumetric conceptions’’ of the site’s occupants. In order to question the actual chronocultural framework and to overcome problems associated with the typological approach traditionally used in the Eastern Arctic, this data has been compared to the data from the GhGk-63 (Kuujjuarapik) and Tayara (KbFk-7) sites, which have been use to define the Classic Dorset in Nunavik (Desrosiers 2009). The comparative analysis of Classic Dorset and Late Dorset “technological systems” has shed light on the continuities that characterise Dorset technological traditions over approximatively a millennium.