Evidence of Early Metalworking in Arctic Canada

Abstract

This paper examines new evidence related to an early (pre‐Columbian) European presence in Arctic Canada. Artifacts from archaeological sites that had been assumed to relate to pre‐Inuit indigenous occupations of the region in the centuries around A.D. 1000 have recently been recognized as having been manufactured using European technologies. We report here on the SEM‐EDS analysis of a small stone vessel recovered from a site on Baffin Island. The interior of the vessel contains abundant traces of copper–tin alloy (bronze) as well as glass spherules similar to those associated with high‐temperature processes. These results indicate that it had been used as a crucible. This artifact may represent the earliest evidence of high‐temperature nonferrous metalworking in the New World north of Mesoamerica.

Glacier maxima in Baffin Bay during the Medieval Warm Period coeval with Norse settlement

“…Shown are the locations of the Naqsaq valley and Nuussuaq Peninsula study areas, alkenone-based sea surface temperature (SST) records from MD99-2275 and AI07-2G ( 35 ), proglacial lake sediment record from Hvítárvatn, and the location of the Gorner and Aletsch glaciers. Locations of Norse settlements (red dots): Eastern Settlement (ES), Western Settlement (WS), L’Anse aux Meadows (LM), and Tanfield valley (TV), a possible Norse site ( 12 , 13 ). BB, Baffin Bay; LS, Labrador Sea.…”

“…The perceived warmth of the MWP, with a North Atlantic climate favorable for sea voyage and increased crop yield, has often been invoked as a catalyst for Norse migration into the western North Atlantic region (8,9). The Norse settled in Greenland in ~985 CE (10) and expanded to establish temporary settlements on northern Newfoundland, and possibly on southern Baffin Island, by ~1000 CE (11)(12)(13). The Norse remained in Greenland for almost four centuries before abandoning the Western and Eastern Settlements in Greenland at ~1360 and ~1450 CE, respectively (14).…”

Detecting Early Widespread Metal Use in the Eastern North American Arctic around AD 500–1300

“…Finally, there is some indication that the Greenlandic Norse could have supplied smelted metals to contemporaneous Late Dorset and early Inuit groups. The scale of this source, however, is not completely understood (Schledermann and McCullough 2003;Sutherland 2008Sutherland , 2009Sutherland et al 2014).…”

“…Unlike incipient metal use in other parts of the world, there is no evidence of metal being smelted and forged by the Arctic peoples of North America, although there is evidence of smelted metals being acquired through trade (Cooper et al 2016; Schledermann and McCullough 2003; Sutherland 2002, 2008, 2009; Sutherland et al 2014). Rather, raw lumps of metal were cold-worked into their desired form and, in some cases, annealed (Buchwald 2001; Buchwald and Mosdal 1985; Cooper et al 2015; Franklin et al 1981).…”

14. The Great Viking Fake-Off: The Cultural Legacy of Norse Voyages to North America

“…At one site in the Cape Tanfield area, archaeologists discovered a structure with long walls made from boulders and turf (not typically associated with indigenous culture in the Canadian Arctic) and a stone vessel containing traces of bronze and glass. 14 Moreover, in 2016 newspaper reports started to appear concerning another possible Norse site at Point Rosee on the south-west tip of Newfoundland, although further investigations are necessary. 15 The announcement attracted considerable interest in the international media, with articles declaring that the new find could "rewrite history."…”