Central Inuit household economies: Zooarchaeological, environmental, and historical evidence from outer Frobisher Bay, Baffin Island, Canada

Hunter-gatherer subsistence studies often narrowly define economy in ecological terms, typically omitting the sociocultural dimensions of human economic production. The historic period (AD 1576-1950) in the Frobisher Bay region of Baffin Island provides unique venue to redress this problem as it is a time characterized by dynamic social and environmental change. Not only did Inuit living in this region (ethnohistorically known as the Nugumiut) encounter European people for the first time, but climate in this region was also experiencing dramatic change. In this study, I explore the implications each of these phenomenon held for local Nugumiut household groups living in outer Frobisher Bay through an analysis of both the appropriational (social) and locational (ecological) facets of their economy.; Through an examination of oral historic, ethnohistoric, zooarchaeological and environmental evidence, the nature of Nugumiut household economies are revealed. Ethnohistoric and oral historic evidence show that Nugumiut had continued access to the land and its resources throughout the different phases of contact allowing them to interact with foreign agents of change largely on their own terms. Such interpretations are reinforced by the analysis of faunal remains recovered from three historic Inuit habitation sites in outer Frobisher Bay. These data revealed that Inuit/animal interactions showed remarkable continuity through time, with open-water marine species playing a particularly vital role in Nugumiut economic pursuits. Seal body part representation and element matching analyses provide a zooarchaeological basis for exploring the role meat sharing practices played in reinforcing the social bonds that ensured Nugumiut economic autonomy through time.; A study of historic temperature and sea ice data show that the local environment also played an important role in mediating Nugumiut economic activity during this time period. Using a Geographic Information System (GIS) database to plot modern extremes in sea ice in relation to prehistoric Thule and historic Inuit archaeological site distribution on southeast Baffin Island, this study shows that the modern outer Frobisher Bay polynya most likely persisted throughout the climatic extremes experienced during the last 500 years and that the initial settlement of this area may be linked to the enduring presence of this environmental oasis. It is also suggested that the resource-rich polynya habitat provided the economic means for Nugumiut to maintain their autonomy during this tumultuous period in their culture history.