Apr 28
VAP or Instructor of Archaeology Candidate Talk, "Ancestral Inuit Trade in Transition: Environmental and Social Drivers of Change, 1200-1800 CE"
Tue, April 28, 2026
• 12:00pm
- 1:00pm (1h) • LDC 104
Join the Archaeology Program for a VAP or Instructor of Archaeology candidate talk titled, "Ancestral Inuit Trade in Transition: Environmental and Social Drivers of Change, 1200-1800 CE" on Tuesday, April 28th at noon in LDC 104. Pizza and sparkling water will be provided by the Archaeology Program.
Abstract: Trade is both an economic and social process, but its forms and transitions are shaped by specific environmental and cultural contexts. Around 1500 CE, ancestral Inuit groups in the Canadian Arctic began to experience the Little Ice Age’s environmental effects alongside the social consequences of cultural regionalization and increased contact with Europeans. Drawing on a large-scale analysis of 32 ancestral Inuit sites, this work seeks to understand how continuity and change in ancestral Inuit trade manifests archaeologically and examines the factors driving these patterns. Results show a decrease in the quantity of trade goods and geographic contraction of trade post-1500 CE, indicating a substantial shift in how trade functioned between ancestral Inuit communities. These changes suggest that the combined effects of climatic disruption and cultural regionalization reshaped trade practices among ancestral Inuit communities. This study also highlights the importance of evaluating trade practices from a multi-causal perspective and demonstrates how environmental and social processes interact to drive alterations in trade practices.
from Archaeology
Event Contact: Christine Hamp