Abstract

Recent attempts to model hunter-gatherer intrasite organization have stressed the correla tion between physical distance and relative level of interaction, that is, 'social distance. ' Since labour cooperation increases interaction, differences in the level of cooperation for subsistence tasks are expected to be reflected in the spatial organization of residential sites. Four spatial dimensions (habitation density, degree of site structure, site integration, and nearest neighbour distances) were examined for 18 Classic Thule Eskimo sites in the central Canadian Arctic. The 18 sites were grouped into three zones according to bowhead whale abundance, and thus the probable importance of the bowhead whale in the Thule diet at the respective sites. Expectations for the four spatial variables were then generated on the premise that the greater importance of bowhead whales in the diet, the greater the level of cooperation, and thus the closer the 'social distance.' Results indicate that there are interpretable differences in the spatial organization of sites from the three zones. These differences will be discussed in relation to the importance of bowhead whaling in Thule diet, labour cooperation, and 'social distance.' It is concluded that these factors must be considered in models for Classic Thule intrasite spatial organization.