Saqqaq culture

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Traces of a hunting settlement of the Saqqaq culture near Sermermiut

The Saqqaq culture was an early culture in Greenland from around 2400 to 800 BC. The culture was named after the place Saqqaq on Disko Bay . In addition to the Disko Bay area, other important find areas are the Sisimiut district and the fjords of the Nuuk area. However, the culture in West Greenland extended from the Thule District in the north to the Nanortalik District in the south, and in East Greenland from the south to Scoresbysund in the north. The Saqqaq culture, lasting 1,600 years, represents the majority of the prehistoric sites in Greenland. It probably disappeared as a result of a cooling climate .

nutrition

A main prey of the culture carriers were marine mammals , which u. a. is concluded from bone finds at a living space in Disko Bay. However, extensive excavations showed that the representatives of the Saqqaq culture drew from all ecological niches in Greenland. In Qeqertasussuk , bones from no fewer than 45  vertebrate species have been found, as have mussels . Traces of plant foods such as berries were also found. By special and complex hunting tools all the species were hunted: Marine mammals of large whales to the ringed seal , land mammals such as reindeer , birds in large numbers and large fish such as cod and char .

habitation

In the dwellings of the Saqqaq culture there was a central aisle and a central fireplace . Findings suggest that there were stone tan lamps that served as a source of heat and light.

The largest houses were 6 m long and 3–4 m wide. Presumably they were the apartment for two families or an extended family during the cold season. Simple round places for tents were also found . Longhouses or other larger meeting buildings were not found anywhere.

In places where caribou herds or marine mammals passed on their migrations, there were many huts that were inhabited at the same time after the find situation. Apparently the Saqqaq people met regularly in larger groups at the height of the hunting season, when a rich supply of food was guaranteed.

Crafts and raw materials

The permafrost soil received numerous finds made of organic materials - wood , bones , antlers , ivory , skin - which prove the excellent craftsmanship of the Saqqaq. The quality of the woodwork was also later not surpassed by any other culture. The wealth of driftwood that has accumulated on the raised beaches for several thousand years since the end of the last Ice Age is shown by the fact that it was also used extensively as firewood .

The preferred material for stone tools was a gray metamorphic slate , the killiaq . The primary sources for this schist were the Disko Bay and Nuussuaq area, where huge quarries have been found. In some areas or times, instead of killiaq , quartzite or regional variants of flint- like minerals, called ammaq - such as chalcedony , agate , rock crystal etc. - were used for tools. In particular, scrapers and microliths made from these rare materials were handcrafted .

Goods exchange

The inhabitants of the Saqqaq culture exchanged valuable goods on a large scale. Mineral raw materials such as agate from northwest Greenland were found throughout the Saqqaq culture. Soapstone lamps have been found in most locations on the west coast of Greenland, although soapstone of good quality is only found in Thule District and the eastern part of the Nuuk Fjord system . A certain variety of the yellow mineral Kiliiaq , which is only found on the Dog Ejlande in southern Disko Bay, was widespread. Antlers and ivory were also traded.

Genetic Relationship

The remains of a member of the Saqqaq culture who lived there about 4,000 years ago were found near Disko Bay. Its DNA , preserved in permafrost , of which 79 percent was sequenced , did not identify it as a relative of the Eskimos or Indians living in North America today , but as a relative of the peoples now living in Northeast Siberia : the HgD2 haplotype found also occurs in Chukchi , Buryats , Evenks and Yakuts .

See also

swell

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Saqqaq culture chronology on the website of the Greenland Research Center of the National Museum of Denmark
  2. ↑ The original Eskimo from Disko Bay. In: derStandard.at. February 10, 2010, accessed December 12, 2017 .
  3. ↑ http://anthropology.net/2008/05/31/4000-year-old-frozen-hair-mtdna-sequenced-from-a-greenlandic-saqqaq-settlement/

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