Beothuk and Dorset Palaeoeskimo Reproductions

Beothuk and Dorset
Palaeoeskimo Reproductions

Here's a final look at the Dorset Palaeoeskimo and Beothuk artifact reproductions that I completed earlier this week for an updated display that is being developed to interpret the archaeology of Dildo Island.  These reproductions represent the types of tools found at the site(s), although they aren't exact copies of individual pieces.  I used other archaeological sites and historic references from Newfoundland and Labrador to fill in the gaps.  There is one more large Beothuk piece to complete and deliver at a later date, but I need to harvest a sheet of birchbark sometime over the next couple of months to make that happen.  

In the last photo that I showed of this little soapstone lamp, it was shiny and green because I had a fresh coat of oil on it.  Here it is a few days later, after the oil has soaked in and dried to a nice matte grey colour.  The soot staining around the base remains dark.

Clockwise from 12 o'clock: Dorset Harpoon (wood, antler, bone, chert, sinew, sealskin, hide glue), Dorset pot (soapstone), Dorset unhafted scraper (chert), Dorset hafted scraper (chert, wood, sinew, hide glue), Dorset hafted knife (chert, antler, sinew, hide glue), Dorset unhafted knife blade (chert), awl (bone - this tool is generic enough that it could belong to either culture), three Beothuk Arrows (chert, pine, goose feathers, sinew, hide glue, red ochre)

 Photo Credits: Tim Rast