Abstract

From the early historical sources on Greenland it is apparent that long-distance trade and exchange were important strategically means to on the one hand ensure a wide access to geographically restricted resources and on the other to maintain and develop social ties that among others were crucial in times of need. The Steatite Objects Analyses Project (S.O.A.P.) 2005 - 2007 focuses on the two main articles that were traded out of the Nuuk-area in early historical times, namely steatite and caribou skin. During the project we will highlight the "life-histories" of both these products and the social systems and circumstances that brought the products to life. With the knowledge gained from the combination of archaeological, historical and geochemical analyses of the historical material we will then try to move back in time to analyse the likely palaeo-Eskimo exchange systems along Greenland's West coast.