Re: Paleo-eskimo were building boats in Greenland 4000 years ago.

From: Floyd L. Davidson (floyd_at_barrow.com)
Date: 07/29/04 

Date: Thu, 29 Jul 2004 03:34:52 -0800

Seppo Renfors <Renfors@not.com.au> wrote:
>Erik Hammerstad wrote:
>>
>> Eric Stevens wrote:
>> > I confess.
>> >
>> > I was wrong.
>> >
>> > Floyd L. Davidson and now Martyn Harrison are quite right..
>> >
>> > The Inuit had moved into Greenland more than 4000 years ago.
>> > One of the things they were doing was building boats.
>> >
>>
>> The above is 100% correct,
>
>....but only to a FOOL.

Such as, for example, all of those archaeologists who've been
excavating 4000 year old artifacts on Greenland.

Wow! That takes a lot of something...

>> just replace Inuit with Paleo-eskimo
>
>Ohhhhh...... change the claim totally and there is no problems, eh?
>SURE there is! Just because someone uses a term "Paleo-eskimo" - a
>GENERIC term that doesn't apply to a specific!

I don't quite understand what you are trying to say.
"Paleo-Eskimo" means "old Inuit". I'd guess that 4000 year old
artifacts from an Inuit culture qualify, eh?

>> and neither Seppo nor Eric nor Inger can dispute it. Furthermore
>> _driftwood_ was used for the boat skeletons and also tools such as
>> knife and harpoon shafts. See pp 90-96 in
>> http://www.dpc.dk/PolarPubs/MoG/Dokumenter/MS30.pdf
>
>NOTHING in that document contradicts what I have said. What it does

It certainly does contradict you! Note all the *wood*
artifacts, and the comments that they were made from the
driftwood that you, Eric, and Inger all deny exists! Note the
use of the term "Inuit" in referencing ancient people on
Greenland.

>confirm is that whale bone WAS used for harpoon hafts among other

But it does not mention the use of whale bone for boat frames,
which is what you claimed. I'm sorry, but proving that whale
bone was used for tools, for houses, and in modern times to hold
up Christmas lights in Barrow is just no indication that boat
frames were ever made with any whale bone, much less totally
from whale bone and with no wood.

>things - as well as wood (see Figure 7.11). This shows that whale bone
>was interchangeable with wood, when necessary. In fact there is a

But says *nothing* about it being necessary for boats.

>whole paragraph titled "Large whale exploitation" there. Further to
>that there is this:
>
>"Table 9.11. Total number of worked bone, bone fragments and
>baleen........" the table lists 64 finds of bone 27 of baleen. Yep....
>no mention of a "boat building INDUSTRY" at all - or any other
>"industry".

What significance do you attach to the word "industry"? You are
the only one who uses it, and you've never defined what you
mean.

Obviously there were Inuit people on Greenland making wood
framed skin boats 4000 years ago. Apparently the basis of their
economy was seal hunting and involved the use of skin boats. To
say there was no "boat building INDUSTRY" seems a bit odd unless
you have some very strange definition of "industry".

BTW, why are you including the references to baleen? Are you
now claiming that baleen was used for boat frames? That would
be interesting. I could, however, show you pictures of dog
sleds constructed with baleen...

>I also worry about Erik's eye sight - apparently "Saqqaq" looks like
>"Inuit" to him. Here is a web site that shows the various people and
>timelines.
>
>http://www.sila.dk/History/Saqqaq/Start.html

*All* of the people described there are Inuit.

>We see they were not "Inuits" but a different people. But what the
>hell, lets go with the nutter ideas and call the French, British....
>or Italians or that the Spanish as Germans.... after all THAT is their
>"logic"!

The term Inuit describes a group of peoples, cultures, or
languages which share certain commonalities. Each of those
peoples, cultures and languages have distinct differences, and
are referenced by any number of names (which may be different
depending on who and where a discussion takes place).

The only "nutter ideas" are that you can pin it down to
something entirely unique that existed at any one time, and
then exclude all other Inuit. 

-- 
FloydL. Davidson           <http://web.newsguy.com/floyd_davidson>
Ukpeagvik (Barrow, Alaska)                         floyd@barrow.com

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