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A Comment on the Pre-Dorset/Dorset Transition in the Eastern Arctic
Peter Ramsden

The paper reviews the history of ideas concerning the origins of Dorset culture in the eastern Arctic.  We suggest that while the evidence for the derivation of Early Dorset from  Pre-Dorset is sound, the evidence for the subsequent evolution of Early Dorset into Middle and Late Dorset is far less so.  We argue that Early Dorset, Independence II and Groswater are most accurately characterised as the terminal phases of regional 'pre-Dorset' sequences, whereas Middle Dorset, on present evidence, appears to represent a new and distinctive cultural tradition.

More Info: Authors: Peter Ramsden & James A. Tuck. Published: Anthropological Papers of the University of Alaska, New Series 1(1):7-11. 2001.
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Abstract:

The paper reviews the history of ideas concerning the origins of Dorset culture in the eastern Arctic.  We suggest that while the evidence for the derivation of Early Dorset from  Pre-Dorset is sound, the evidence for the subsequent evolution of Early Dorset into Middle and Late Dorset is far less so.  We argue that Early Dorset, Independence II and Groswater are most accurately characterised as the terminal phases of regional 'pre-Dorset' sequences, whereas Middle Dorset, on present evidence, appears to represent a new and distinctive cultural tradition.

More Info: Authors: Peter Ramsden & James A. Tuck. Published: Anthropological Papers of the University of Alaska, New Series 1(1):7-11. 2001.
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