Changing Caribou Hunting Technology

We've been working around the confluence of two rivers on northern Baffin Island and although the sites haven't contained a lot of artifacts, they still document generations upon generations of caribou hunting in the same spot.  The artifact on the left is the base of a ground slate lance.  The tip is missing, but this is the sort of implement that the Dorset Palaeoeskimo would have used to hunt caribou in the area one or two thousand years ago.  The large slate point with the two drilled holes would have served the same purpose for the Thule Inuit who came several hundred years ago.  The sphere is a musket ball, used by the Inuit after trade with Europeans opened up in the 19th century and on the right is a .22-250 shell casing.  The area is still used today by hunters who travel up the river valley on ATV.

Photo Credit:Tim Rast