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A multidisciplinary study was undertaken at the Qijurittuq Site (IbGk-3) on Drayton Island in Low-Arctic Quebec (Canada) to document the relationships between climatic, environmental, and cultural changes and the choice of Thule/Inuit dwelling style in the eastern Arctic. Several marine terraces were 14 C-dated with shells in order to reconstruct the area's uplift (glacioisostatic rebound) curve. Plant macrofossil analysis of peat was conducted to reconstruct past vegetation and, indirectly, past climate. Archaeological surveys and excavations characterized the structure of subterranean sod houses at the Qijurittuq Site and were supplemented with open interviews with Inuit elders for a better understanding of site location and the use of household space. The sites selected for habitation were well-drained sandy marine terraces in a valley sheltered from prevailing winds. Sod houses were in turn made possible by the abundance of driftwood on the island and the presence of nearby peatland. Thule/Inuit people used semi-subterranean houses rather than igloos at the Qijurittuq Site during the dry, cold conditions toward the end of the Little Ice Age. Stable environmental conditions and food supply during winter possibly explain the use of those semipermanent houses on Drayton Island. However, it does not exclude the use of igloos during short expeditions on ice.

Thanks to its high nutritional potential and huge ivory canines, walrus (Odobenus rosmarus) appears to have been a key resource in the subsistence economy of Dorset groups. However present archaeological data are sparse and a more global analysis of its exploitation by the Palaeoeskimos is required. The Tayara site (KbFk-7) in Nunavik (Quebec, Canada) yielded a significant assemblage of walrus bones and many manufactured ivory objects. In addition, Tayara serves as a reference site in Eastern Arctic cultural chronology. A thorough zooarchaeological study has been conducted which includes skeletal profile, the sexing and ageing of walrus bones, and a technological study of the manufactured ANTHROPOZOOLOGICA • 2013 • 48 (1) Monchot H. et al.

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