The resources and environment of insular Newfoundland figured prominantly in the establishment and proliferation of Dorset Eskimo settlement on the Island. The primarily hunting-based subsistence of these and other prehistoric peoples required a knowledge of potential food resources as well as a familiarity with the geographical and ecological setting in which these resources were located. Southeastern Newfoundland, the focus of this work, possesses some features which serve to differentiate it from other regions of the island, and which likely presented new obstacles -- and possibilities -- to its Dorset Eskimo inhabitants.

Geologically the Avalon is composed of volcanic and sedimentary bedrock of Precambrian age. The rugged and irregular topography, and the highest landmarks of the area, are evidence of the resistant nature of these rocks. Cambrian slates and shales, with occasional beds of limestone, overlie the Precambrian deposits and are succeeded in turn by Ordovician sandstones and shales. Cambrian and Ordovician deposits are fossiliferous. The occurrence of these beds is irregular and unconformable, due to periods of intense erosion and frequent faulting (McCartney 1967).

The Avalon was last glaciated during the Wisconsin. The Avalon ice-cap originated in the highlands around St. Mary's Bay, when a general cooling trend favoured increased precipitation in this area. The ice-cap is estimated to have been 600 m thick, as it filled bays 200 m deep and was present on uplands 335 m above sea level. The Avalon ice-cap is believed to have blocked ice from interior Newfoundland from moving into the eastern area although some ice from the interior did penetrate into Trinity Bay, flowing southeast through Bull Arm (Henderson 1972).

Deglaciation of the Avalon is thought to have occurred around 10,000 B.P. Radiocarbon-dated pollen samples from northeastern Newfoundland suggest a maximum date for deglaciation there of 12,000 B.P. A date of 9,270 +/- 150 B.P.(G.S.C.¦2601) from the base of a core taken at Sugar Loaf Pond, northeastern Avalon, supports the estimated date of 10,000 B.P.for the Avalon deglaciation. The best record for the post-glacial environment of the Avalon is present in the pollen core from Sugar Loaf Pond. Following deglaciation, the Avalon underwent a series of vegetation changes. Pollen from the base of the core (ca. 9,300 B.P.) indicate a tundra-like environment. An open woodland, composed of spruce, balsam fir, trembling aspen, tree birch, and a variety of shrubs, developed by 8,300 B.P. and persisted until around 5,400 B.P. Boreal forest as present today appeared after 5,400 B.P (MacPherson 1981).

The southeastern Newfoundland terrain is characterized by a steep and rugged coastline broken occasionally by lowland areas, and an inland plateau. Coastal lowlands have resulted from the erosion of softer sedimentary deposits. The interior uplands are gently rolling barrengrounds intermixed with areas of boreal forest, at an elevation of about 100 m above sea level. This plateau is often interrupted by short ranges of hills (monadnocks) rising to more than 300 m a.s.l. (Henderson 1972:5).

The interior uplands drain in a general southerly direction to the coast. The present system of drainage is believed to be similar to that present during preglacial times, when large rivers flowed in the valleys of the major bays (Henderson 1972:10, after Summers 1949:24). Several large streams flow today into Placentia Bay, Fortune Bay, and the Bay d'Espoir-Hermitage Bay system, tributaries of the preglacial rivers. Trinity Bay presents a rather different system, as there are no major streams flowing into the head of the Bay. Drainage there is characterized by a myriad of small streams which sometimes run dry after the spring runoff. The drainage system of southeastern Newfoundland shows the greatest run-off activity in February, with a continued substantial discharge during March and another period of increased activity during April (Yoxall 1981:177).

Banfield (1981:129) describes the climate of the southeastern region as being that part of Newfoundland experiencing the "greatest maritime influence". Annual precipitation ranges from 1500 mm to 2000 mm, of which less than half falls in the winter as snow. Winters are relatively mild compared to northern and western regions, and summers are cool and often foggy. Trinity Bay receives slightly more snow during a somewhat colder winter and enjoys a sunnier summer than the south coast.

A record of air temperature and precipition spanning a period of 100 years exists for the St. John's area, and gives an idea of the degree of short-term climatic fluctuations possible. Generally, the period 1880-1920 was about 1° C colder during summer and winter than the period 1930-1980. Annual precipitation for the St. John's area reached its lowest level around 1930, when 1100 mm were recorded. The highest level of precipitation was recorded during the 1890's and again during the 1950's, with annual falls of almost 1600 (Banfield 1981:124). Weather inconsistencies were perhaps more important than short-term climatic fluctuations with respect to prehistoric hunters. For example, a period when winds consistently blew ice offshore would have drastic repercussions for a population dependant upon a seal hunt. Similarly, a heavy snowfall early in the fall might catch caribou herds before their annual return to their wintering grounds, and seriously deplete their numbers. Such events are entirely possible in the Newfoundland climate, but are not observable in the prehistory record (see Pastore and Tuck 1986).

Terrestrial

There are fourteen species of land mammals native to insular Newfoundland, ten of which are unique subspecies restricted to the Island. One of these, the Newfoundland wolf, became extinct during the early 20th century.

The greatest potential terrestrial resource in New-foundland is the caribou. Areas of habitation and routes of migration have been disturbed over the past few hundred years by road building, logging and the spread of white settlement, and thus present day caribou herds possibly reflect only a percentage of the prehistoric population. Today the majority of caribou are found on the interior uplands in the southern part of the Island. This area is their principal winter range:open, windswept country where food can be obtained during winter months. Smaller herds are located on the plateaus of the Northern Peninsula and the southern Avalon. Winter is the time of maximum population concentration, when small bands of from two to 30 animals range in close proximity to one another. In spring the caribou disperse to the north and east, as the snow cover disappears and food becomes available in areas unfavourable during winter. Calves are born in the spring and are usually mobile within a few days. In summer the caribou range widely, and frequent forested areas as well as the open barrengrounds. In fall rutting companies unite, and after breeding the caribou return to their winter range (Bergerud 1963).

During the summer dispersal and before the late fall migration the caribou approach to within a few kilometres of the south coast, and animals are occasionally sighted within 40 or 50 km of the Isthmus of Avalon (Bergerud 1958:81-82). The uplands of southeastern Newfoundland are suitable range for caribou, and were conceivably frequented by herds prior to European settlement (Deichmann pers. com.). Historical records indicate that the Beothuk Indians were hunting caribou in the vicinity of the Isthmus during the early years of the 17th century (Howley 1974:15).

The Arctic hare was once populous throughout the Island. With the introduction of the snowshoe hare in the late 19th century and the resultant increase in the lynx population, the Arctic hare declined drastically in numbers.Where Arctic hares do occur, they are often found in groups.

The beaver, an excellent food as well as a source of high quality fur, was also once quite common on the Island, but has been greatly reduced in numbers. Owing to over-trapping, the beaver came close to extinction during the 1920's. Many of the other native land mammals, such as the muskrat, the fox, and the ermine, are valued more for their furs than for their flesh, and have been trapped to varying degrees during historic times.

Marine

Four species of seals may have been available to prehistoric hunters of southeastern Newfoundland. The harbour seal (Phoca vitulina) is found in many locations along the Island's coast -- in the south, the northeast, and the west. In 1973 the largest single concentration of harbour seals was located in Placentia Bay, where 910 animals were estimated to be present. On the northeast coast, from western Notre Dame Bay to Bonavista Bay, a herd of 685 animals was present. Scattered small herds, consisting of from 20 to 100 animals, were located along the west and south coasts. In Trinity Bay harbour seals have reportedly disappeared within the last fifteen years. The total estimate for the harbour seal population along the Newfound-land coast in 1973 included 2005 animals (Boulva and McLean 1979:2). Until quite recently a bounty was offered for harbour seal, as it was thought they were destroying fish stocks. It seems likely that the prehistoric harbour seal population was considerably larger than that present today.

Harbour seals are often found in coves and inlets and around small islands, and as the weather warms in late spring they are frequently seen close to shore. During the summer and fall harbour seals prefer to remain inactive, basking in the sun on shore.To do so, they leave the water shortly after sunrise, often returning to the same location day after day. Pups are born on shore in the spring, and weigh about 28 kg by the first summer. An adult may attain a body weight of more than 100 kg. During cold months, when inlets are frozen, harbour seals move offshore and are seldom seen out of the water.

The grey seal (Halichoerus grypus) is also known to occur in the southeastern region. Pups are born in late winter on landfast ice or on shore, and gather in large numbers during the summer in good feeding areas. Like the harbour seals, grey seal pups often roam far from their place of birth. As grey seals did not breed on the Newfoundland coast (or have not during historic times) most animals present are immature ones.

The ringed seal (Pusa hispida) is found today in north-eastern Newfoundland. Pups are born on landfast ice, and ringed seals are rarely found in regions where such ice conditions do not prevail during winter and spring. A newborn pup weighs about 4.5 kg, and by maturity may exceed 70 kg (Mansfield 1967:20). The ringed seal maintains breathing holes during winter, basks on the ice in spring, and spends most of the summer in the water. The same condition that might discourage a winter and spring harbour seal population -- the occurrence of landfast ice -- would favour an occupation by ringed seals.

The only migratory seal known to occur in southeastern sNewfoundland is the harp (Pagophilus groenlandicus). Occasionally young harps are found in Trinity Bay as late as May. They are generally available, moreso in the outer regions of the bay, during April and early May, prior to the start of the northward migration (Sergeant 1965:439). Harps are rarely sighted south of Trinity Bay, although years of exceptionally heavy and persistent pack ice may extend their migration, as was witnessed during the spring of 1984 when harp seals were seen near St.John's.

Scott and Crossman (1964) list nineteen species of fish which occur in the fresh waters of insular Newfoundland; several of these species are also found in coastal waters. The sea lamprey, Atlantic sturgeon, alewife, American shad and windowpane are rare, and the sticklebacks are not common. Brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) is by far the most abundant species. Some brook trout remain in fresh water year-round ("mud trout"), while others annually travel to salt water ("sea trout"). Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) are also common and probably constituted the greatest potential piscine resource. Some local populations of Atlantic salmon are landlocked, and never leave fresh water, yet the majority make yearly spawning runs from the ocean to fresh water rivers and streams. The tomcod (Micro-gadus tomcod) is found in salt water, but also seeks fresh water coastal locations.Other coastal fishes include capelin, smelt, and squid.

Avian

The Newfoundland coast has provided shelter, food and breeding places for a variety of sea birds. These birds and their eggs were likely an important supplementary food source for prehistoric inhabitants of the island. Today the largest and best-known breeding locations are on the northeast coast, yet their occurrence during prehistoric times in many places in southeastern Newfoundland cannot be discounted. The destruction wrought by large-scale egging during the 19th and early 20th century is recorded (Cott 1953:418-19) and most certainly affected the habits of Newfoundland sea birds.

Today several species breed in the cliffs and rock faces around the island's coast. Those which gather in colonies during breeding season offer the greatest potential and include:the herring gull (Larus argentatus), present almost everywhere along the coast; the black guillmot or sea-pigeon (Cepphus grylle), which has been observed at Long Island, Placentia Bay; the common eider (Somateria mollissima); the Atlantic puffin (Fratercula arctica), reported to breed at Great Island, Placenta Bay; the Atlantic murre (Uria aalge), known to breed at various locations on the Avalon (Templeman 1945).

Eggs of colonial nesters can be gathered in large numbers during the breeding season. Sea birds have been clubbed on shore by Newfoundland fishermen, or caught with baited hook and line. Templeman (1945:141) relates the interesting practice whereby fishermen would catch young gulls, clip their wings, and raise them to maturity for slaughter.

Other species of birds frequent the seacoast without gathering in nesting colonies. These include the common loon (Gavia immer), the common goldeneye (Bucephala clangula), and the black duck (Anas rubripes). As these species nest inland, in wooded areas near fresh water, they do not constitute a readily available coastal resource. Additional species which are found in the interior forests and barren-grounds are the willow ptarmigan (Lagopus lagopus), the Canada goose (Branta canadensis), and the common merganser (Mergus merganser) (Peters and Burleigh 1951, Godfrey 1967).

The Resources of Stock Cove

The preceding review presented a summary of the food resource potential of Newfoundland and of the southeastern area in particular. Regretfully, it is only possible to speculate as to the //actual// diet of the Dorset inhabitants of south-eastern Newfoundland due to the absence of preserved faunal remains at Stock Cove and other sites. During our stay at Stock Cove during the spring and fall of 1981 we noted several resources which may have been valued by the prehistoric Dorset Eskimo inhabitants.

One evening in the late spring we found hundreds of squid attempting to propel themselves onto shore during the low tide, and obtained a delectable meal simply by picking up a few of the creatures. Dense schools of squid visited the shore each evening for several days, during which time we might have collected many. Capelin and smelt behaved in similar fashion, gathering in great numbers in the intertidal zone to spawn. We occasionally fished the small streams for trout, using only a baited hook tied to a short length of twine. These trout were small, but plentiful and tasty. One evening we tried for "sea trout" where one of the brooks emptied into Little Stock Cove. On the incomimg tide, in a couple of feet of water near shore, we caught fish after fish -- not sea trout, but "tomcods".In a short time we took enough for two meals. Mussels clung to the rocky shore in many places, and could be easily collected when the tide was low. By chance, a lobster was once sighted in shallow water a few feet from shore but, unhappily, escaped in the resulting confusion.

Modern fishing activity in the area has probably affected the habits of sea mammals. Local inhabitants report that it was not uncommon for seals to be shot in the water in years past -- this was encouraged by the bounty once offered for harbour seals. We did not sight any seals during our stay in Stock Cove, but we did observe a young otter frolic and gorge itself on capelin for two days during our stay there in June.

The forests surrounding Stock Cove offer a lesser variety of game. Moose spoor was not uncommon, however this animal is not native to Newfoundland. No signs of caribou were noted. Varying hares (universally referred to as "rabbits" in Newfoundland) are plentiful:this species was also introduced, but may fill an ecological niche similar to the Arctic hare which is native to the Island. Occasionally we flushed a "partridge" (ptarmigan) and sighted flocks of ducks. Herring gulls were a common site -- especially when the fishing boats passed -- and a male and female bald eagle apparently found enough food not only to support themselves, but to feed their single offspring as well.

The mainstay of the Dorset Eskimos subsistence probably no longer exists at Stock Cove. Whether this is due to some climatic shift during the past millennium which has altered sea ice patterns, and consequently reduced the availability of migratory seals, or to recent population pressure which has nearly eliminated sedentary seal populations, cannot be said with certainty. As discussed in a later section, however, this writer tends to favour the latter possibility. The fish, hares and fowl mentioned above were, in themselves, probably insufficient to form the basis of a diet, yet they likely constituted important and welcome supplements. We noted these resources around Stock Cove during our stay there during the late spring, early summer, and fall, and it is during these times that the area appears to offer its greatest potential for a hunting and gathering mode of existence.

Maritime Archaic and Post-Archaic Indian

The faunal resources of insular Newfoundland -- the seals, caribou, fish, etc.-- attracted people to the Island about 5,000 years ago, and since then the nature of the island's environment has made it suitable for occupation by Indian groups usually found in more continental climes as well as by Palaeo-Eskimo groups from Arctic environs. Newfoundland's environment was not, however, ideally suited for a hunting subsistence, as the Island's prehistory is apparently characterized by a series of population expansions and extinctions -- the repeated "boom and bust" situation referred to in a recent paper by Pastore and Tuck (1986).

The first inhabitants of northeastern North America-- the PalaeocIndians, best known from the Debert site in Nova Scotia (MacDonald 1968) -- apparently did not reach the Island. Across the Strait of Belle Isle, on the southern coast of Labrador, triangular projectile points similar to the fluted points of these maritime people were recovered from a few small sites and suggest that that coast was occupied by 9,000 B.P. (Tuck 1976:11-12). The oldest evidence of human activity on the Island of Newfoundland relates to the Maritime Archaic tradition.At Port au Choix in northwestern Newfoundland a Maritime Archaic cemetery was discovered and excavated in the late 1960's (Tuck 1971, 1976). With the Port au Choix excavation, the significance and extensiveness of the Archaic occupation of insular Newfoundland was recognized. During the 1970's and 80's Maritime Archaic living sites were discovered in other regions of Newfoundland, in the west, the east and the south. This tradition appears to have persisted on the Island, essentially unaltered, until ca. 3,000 B.P.

Europeans arriving in Newfoundland during the 16th century found it occupied by an Indian people, the Beothuks. Historical records and archaeological research have shown that the Beothuks were pursuing a way of life not unlike that of the early Maritime Archaic people. The origin of the Beothuk people has long been a question in Newfoundland prehistory. One line of reasoning holds that they were derived from a maritime or mainland Canada Algonkian ancestry, and were relatively recent arrivals to the Island. The opposing view suggests that the Beothuk population developed in Newfoundland, from previous Island traditions, perhaps extending as far back as Maritime Archaic times. While there still exists no definitive evidence linking Beothuk and Maritime Archaic populations, recent archaeological research does suggest that the Beothuk culture is firmly rooted in Newfoundland prehistory.

Between the time of the last Maritime Archaic Indians -- according, at least, to the present archaeological record -- and the time of the "discovery" of the Beothuks by European people there is a period of approximately 2,500 years. An ever-increasing body of archaeological data indicates that Indian people were living on the Island during at least some of this time. Every year brings to light new sites pertaining to the "Little Passage complex", a pre-Beothuk population first recognized archaeologically by Gerald Penney (n.d.c, 1981) on the south coast of the Island, and now known to have inhabited much of insular Newfoundland, with the possible exception of the Great Northern Peninsula.Recent work by Dr. Ralph Pastore at the Boyd's Cove site in Notre Dame Bay suggests that these people were directly related to the historically-known Beothuk population. Chipped stone arrowheads -- similar to specimens of Little Passage origin -- found in association with modified iron nails and other European goods within pithouse structures, provide convincing evidence (Pastore 1983, 1984).

In Bonavista Bay the Beaches, Bloody Bay Cove, and Cape Freels sites (Carignan 1975) have produced evidence of an Indian occupation which may be earlier than Little Passage. The side-notched "Beaches complex" projectile points are distinct from the corner-notched and stemmed specimens common in Little Passage. Resemblances are sufficient, however, to suggest a relationship, perhaps an ancestral one. An "evolution" of projectile points appears to have occurred, from earlier side-notched specimens as found at the Beaches, to later corner-notched and stemmed examples recovered from Boyd's Cove and other late Little Passage-Beothuk sites.

Evidence for another Indian occupation comes from the stratified Cow Head site in western Newfoundland. A collection of roughly flaked bifaces, unlike specimens found in Little Passage or Beaches collections, are dated to ca. 1,750-1,050 B.P. (Tuck pers. com.) There are visual similarities between some of the chipped stone tools of this Indian culture and those of the Maritime Archaic tradition, despite the 1,300 year gap which separates the two. Absent from the Cow Head complex, however, are many of the artifact types characteristic of Maritime Archaic, such as the stemmed projectile points and ground stone woodworking tools. The Cow Head complex may have been restricted to northwestern Newfoundland, where little Beaches or Little Passage material has been found. Conceivably the Cow Head and Beaches complexes existed contemporaneously, in different regions of Newfoundland, for several centuries. Another, rather speculative, interpretation would see the Beaches and Cow Head complexes as the same: the rough bifaces from Cow Head representing a flintknapping station, rather than constituting a functional toolkit.

Palaeo-Eskimo

The last decade has seen a tremendous expansion of Palaeo-Eskimo research in Newfoundland. Prior to the early 1970's researchers had recognized that insular Newfoundland had been occupied by Dorset Eskimo people, primarily from the evidence of the large Port au Choix 2 site, along with other, smaller, western Newfoundland sites (Harp 1964). In more recent years excavations have been performed at several other locations, notably: Sop's Island and Cape Ray Light (Linnamae 1975); Factory Cove (Auger 1982); Cow Head (Tuck 1978); Englee (Tuck); Norris Point (Bishop n.d.); Beaches (Carignan 1975); Moose Pasture (Sawicki n.d.); Frenchmen's Island (Evans 1981); Stock Cove (Robbins 1982); L'Anse a Flamme (Penney 1981). During the 1970's the interpretation of the Palaeo-Eskimo prehistory of coastal Labrador was also advanced by researchers Cox, Fitzhugh, and Tuck. These investigations have resulted in a detailed, although far from complete, comprehension of Palaeo-Eskimo culture history in the province.

As discussed earlier, the terminology pertaining to Palaeo-Eskimo prehistory was reorganized by Fitzhugh (1980) and Tuck (1982). Two traditions -- Early and Late Palaeo-Eskimo -- are distinguished on the basis of artifact styles and chronology. Representatives of both traditions once occupied the Island.

The earliest Palaeo-Eskimo evidence comes from northern Labrador, and indicates that the northern part of the coast was occupied by ca. 3,800 B.P.These early occupants, possibly bearers of Independence I/Sarqaq culture (Tuck 1975:187), did not inhabit insular Newfoundland. Some 800 years later descendants of these people did reach the Island. Feature 40 at the Cow Head site has produced tool types similar to ones dated at ca. 3,000 B.P.in Labrador. Evidence of Palaeo-Eskimo people in Newfoundland for a few centuries after 3,000 B.P.is scarce, yet by about 2,700 B.P.there appears to have occurred a significant population growth and expansion. This Groswater phase of the Early Palaeo-Eskimo tradition persisted until about 2,100 B.P., becoming widespread throughout insular Newfoundland. Diagnostic of Groswater assemblages are such tool types as side-notched harpoon end blades, chipped and ground burin-like-tools, asymmetric biface knives, side blades, and flared-edge end scrapers. Colourful, fine-grained cherts -- originating from Cow Head and/or Port au Port -- are popular. Sites often yield assemblages representative of a variety of subsistence and maintenance activities.

Seemingly the Groswater people disappeared from the Island, for reasons unknown, around or shortly before 2,100 years ago. The next oldest evidence of Palaeo-Eskimo people dates to ca. 1,800 - 1,900 B.P., and relates to the Late Palaeo-Eskimo tradition, or Dorset culture. Assemblages characteristic of Dorset differ greatly from Groswater, and include triangular (often tip-fluted) harpoon end blades, low side-notched bifacial knives, completely ground tabular burin-like-tools, triangular and quadrangular end scrapers, and ground slate end blades and knives. Settlement and subsistence, as considered later in this work, appear to have differed from the Groswater pattern. The Dorset occupation of insular Newfoundland flourished for at least 500 years, until ca. 1,300 B.P., and appears to have persisted in some locations for several more centuries.

The following chapter presents a review of Dorset Eskimo sites in coastal Newfoundland. Site locations and assemblages are examined in an attempt to formulate patterns in Dorset Eskimo settlement and subsistence.