Abstract

The semi-subterranean whale bone house is one of the most recognizable aspects of Thule Inuit culture. These impressive and often enigmatic dwellings are found throughout the Eastern Canadian Arctic and Greenland, from AD. 1000 to the Historic Period. Variability in the architectural properties of semi-subterranean house forms have traditionally been used by archaeologists to infer cultural and historical relationships between regions, and establish seasonal and/or functional distinctions in usage. A statistical analysis of 17 semi-subterranean houses from a Thule site in the Canadian High Arctic, however, reveals architectural variability which reflects the use of two distinctive building strategies. Results indicate that these two strategies represent attempts by Thule builders to accommodate 1) fluctuations in the availability of key building materials, and 2) differences in anticipated group mobility.