Preliminary Culture History of Nain,Labrador: Smithsonian Fieldwork, 1975

Abstract

Preliminary results of the second Smithsonian field season in Nain, Labrador are described. The area surveyed lies at the boundary between arctic and subarctic environments on the central Labrador coast and has been occupied intermittently by Indians for more than 6,000 years and by Inuit (Eskimo) for the past 4,000 years. Six major cultural groups, some with several chronological subdivisions, have been recognized, and new geographic limits of certain Indian and Inuit groups are suggested. Each of the major complexes is discussed in terms of tool inventories, and preliminary conclusions regarding site typology and settlement patterns are advanced. Other aspects of the 1975 fieldwork include surveys of the coast south of Nain and excavations of a 4,000 year old Maritime Archaic cemetery at Rattlers Bight in Hamilton Inlet.