INUIT WOMEN AS A CATALY T FOR CHANGE: A REPORT ON THE EXCAVATION OF THE NAIN MIDDEN (1780-1890)

Conference Paper

INUIT WOMEN AS A CATALY T FOR CHANGE: A REPORT ON THE EXCAVATION OF THE NAIN MIDDEN (1780-1890)

Melanie Cabak

Abstract

A feminist agenda in archaeology recognizes the significance of gender as a universal principle of social organization. The pronounced division of labour along gender lines is well recognized in Inuit ethnography as well as in arctic archaeology (McGhee 1981). Archaeological excavation of a deep stratified midden at Nain affords an opportunity to consider the role of Inuit women in the nineteenth century.