![ukpeagvik mounds](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c1/Ukpeagvik_mounds.jpg)
The Birnirk culture was a prehistoric
Inuit
Inuit (; iu, ᐃᓄᐃᑦ 'the people', singular: Inuk, , dual: Inuuk, ) are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic and subarctic regions of Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwest Territories ...
culture of the
north coast of
Alaska
Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S. ...
, dating from the sixth century A.D. to the twelfth century A.D.
The Birnirk culture first appeared on the American side of the Bering Strait, descending from the
Old Bering Sea/Okvik culture and preceding the
Thule culture
The Thule (, , ) or proto-Inuit were the ancestors of all modern Inuit. They developed in coastal Alaska by the year 1000 and expanded eastward across northern Canada, reaching Greenland by the 13th century. In the process, they replaced people o ...
;
it is distinguished by its advanced
harpoon
A harpoon is a long spear-like instrument and tool used in fishing, whaling, sealing, and other marine hunting to catch and injure large fish or marine mammals such as seals and whales. It accomplishes this task by impaling the target animal ...
and marine technology.
A
burial mound
Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...
of the Birnirk culture was discovered in the town of
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...
; 16 more have been found in
Utqiagvik at the "
Birnirk site," which is now a
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...
. An ancient Birnirk village has been found at present-day
Ukpiaġvik.
Culture
![Paglagivsi ukpiegvik](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bb/Paglagivsi_ukpiegvik.jpg)
The Birnirk people lived in small single family dwellings containing either a long or short entrance that led to a single room with sleeping platforms. Houses lacked open fireplaces; instead, heat and light were provided by stone and clay lamps.
Birnirk settlements are thought to have been small, with only a few families living in a settlement at a time.
As such, the concept of the Birnirk people whaling is often debated. Most communities involved in whaling require several crews, which would have been difficult for the Birnirk as they had such small settlements.
However, a whaling harpoon found in Utqiagvik, along with artifacts derived from whale parts found in other sites (baleen, whale bones, and the like) suggest that the Birnirk people were involved in some form of whale hunts.
They were also known to hunt seals, caribou, birds, and fish using a variety of tools.
Tools
A multitude of Birnirk instruments have been found. They were skilled seal hunters, known for their use of innovative equipment, such as ice scratchers to lure seals over frozen waters. They are characterized by the style of the harpoons they used for hunting seals and other marine animals; the heads of the harpoons were self-pointed and had a "single lateral barb and an opposing chipped-stone side blade inset".
In addition to their harpoons, the Birnirk people were known for their use of ground slate weapons. These weapons include knives, blades, arrows, and spears, usually utilized in hunting terrestrial animals.
Genetics
A genetic study published in ''
Science
Science is a systematic endeavor that Scientific method, builds and organizes knowledge in the form of Testability, testable explanations and predictions about the universe.
Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earli ...
'' in August 2014 examined the remains of five Birnirk people buried in Siberia between ca. 570 AD and 680 AD. The five samples of
mtDNA
Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA or mDNA) is the DNA located in mitochondria, cellular organelles within eukaryotic cells that convert chemical energy from food into a form that cells can use, such as adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Mitochondrial DNA ...
extracted all belonged to haplogroup
A2a. Haplogroup A2a was also the predominant maternal lineage among the
Thule people
The Thule (, , ) or proto-Inuit were the ancestors of all modern Inuit. They developed in coastal Alaska by the year 1000 and expanded eastward across northern Canada, reaching Greenland by the 13th century. In the process, they replaced people o ...
. The genetic evidence suggested that the Thule people descended from Birnirk migrants from Siberia who entered northern
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
and
Greenland
Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland i ...
some time after 1300 AD, where they completely replaced the genetically distinct indigenous
Dorset people
The Dorset was a Paleo-Eskimo culture, lasting from to between and , that followed the Pre-Dorset and preceded the Thule people (proto-Inuit) in the North American Arctic. The culture and people are named after Cape Dorset (now Kinngait) in N ...
.
See also
*
Ipiutak site
The Ipiutak site is a large archaeological site at Point Hope in northwest Alaska, United States. It is one of the most important discoveries in this area, competing only with Ekven, Russia.
It is the type site for the Ipiutak culture, which ar ...
References
Sources
*
Inuit history
Archaeological cultures of North America
Prehistory of the Arctic
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