Technology & Tradition in the Eastern Arctic, 2500 BC-AD 1200

This study introduces, for the first time, the dynamic technological methodology in Arctic archaeology and contains an investigation of the lithic chaines operatoires (the different stages of tool production from the acquisition of raw material to the final abandonment of the used objects) and lithic concepts of productions for five Palaeo-Eskimo cultures in the easternmost Arctic. The lithic chaines operatoires is documented and explained through numerous drawings, ordered in process steps from the procurement of raw materials, shaping of preforms to the discarding of the rejuvenated tool. Thus, an important result of the investigation is a well-documented analysis of the dynamic change of the lithic artifact types and a definition of the range of the formal tool types in the Palaeo-Eskimo groups of Greenland, which will be important for the understanding of strategic behavior and social aspects in the Palaeo-Eskimo traditions.