ABSTRACT
In the Canadian Arctic, there are three groups of mammals that were commonly exploited by prehistoric peoples. These are the pinnipeds (seals and walrus), various whales including beluga and bowhead, and the terrestrial herd species, caribou and musk ox. The ringed seal is ubiquitous in the region and available for hunting year round. The other species are spatially and, in many instances, numerically and seasonally restricted. Archaeological data from all periods of human occupation (2500 bc to the recent past) indicate that the ringed seal was the long-term staple for all coastal peoples, both Palaeoeskimo and Neoeskimo. We might therefore expect that ringed seal would have played a significant role in socio-economic systems, particularly as these developed over the long term. However, recent archaeological data suggests that cultural institutions in the Canadian Arctic may have been most heavily influenced by shorter-term, intensive, and regionally restricted patterns of alternative resource exploitation. This is best illustrated by walrus exploitation in Dorset culture.
