ABSTRACT. The pollen stratigraphy of a core extracted from Jenny Lake, southwest Yukon, in 1984 has marked archaeological significance. Five palynological zones are identified as follows: Zone JL1, the oldest (CU. 12 500-9500 B.P.), is a Betula shrub tundra assemblage; Zone JL2 (CU. 9500-8500 B.P.) an Alnus shrub tundra; Zone JL3 (CU. 8500-4500 B.P.) a Picea forest; Zone JL4 (CU. 4500-2000 B.P.) a Picea-Alnus woodland; and JL5 (CU. 2000 B.P.-present) a Picea forest. The widely held belief that the Kluane-Aishihik area of the SW Yukon was covered by extensive grasslands well into the Holocene period is not supported by the palynology of the Jenny Lake Core. Instead, palynological evidence suggests that the area, which initially was a Betula shrub tundra, then Alnus shrub tundra, became a Picea-dominated forest by approximately 8500 B.P. and remained forested to the present. The hypothesis stating early prehistoric hunters and gatherers in the SW Yukon were adapted to extensive Holocene grasslands until CU. 3300-2600 B.P. will have to be modified in view of these findings.

Traduit pour le journal par Nksida Loyer.

Les habitations du Dorsétien récent de deux sites de l'île Little Cornwallis (Nunavut) illustrent la diversité des formes architecturales de cette période. Dix structures architecturales y sont décrites. Elles incluent cinq cercles de tentes assignés à des occupations en saisons chaudes, et cinq maisons semi-souterraines rectangulaires avec aménagement axial, dont un exceptionnellement bien préservé, sont associées à des occupations en saison froide. Les variations au niveau de la taille de l'habitation, du nombre de foyers et des techniques de construction sont examinées. Il est suggéré que les deux types de structures abritaient de multiples familles nucléaires.Late Dorset dwellings from two sites on Little Cornwallis Island (Nunavut) illustrate the diversity of architectural forms from this period. Ten architectural features are described. They include five tent rings, ascribed to warm season occupations, and five rectangular semi-subterranean houses with axial features, including one exceptionally well-preserved example, ascribed to cold season occupations. Variations in size, number of hearths, and construction techniques are examined and the use of both types of structures to house multiple nuclear families is suggested

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