When Worlds Collide: Hunter-Gatherer World-System Change in the 19th Century Canadian Arctic

10. Summary and Discussion

194 10 Summary and Discussion this book has been about reconstructing and understanding networks of intersocietal interaction among small-scale human societies, framed in terms of world-systems analysis. It has taken as a starting point ChaseDunn and Hall’s (1991a) approach, which seeks to define structural aspects of world-systems and apply them to societies of diverse scale. A model of huntergatherer world-systems was developed, providing a framework for defining appropriate societal units that interact as well as a structure for looking at relationshipsbetweentheseunits.ThemodelwasthenappliedtotheQikiqtaryungmiut regional group over the past five hundred years. Archaeological remains, as well as the ethnohistoric record, were used to reconstruct indigenous worldsystems for three periods, in order to allow interpretation of the changes that occurred between these periods. In this final chapter, I will first summarize the nature of the Inuvialuit world-system in each of these periods and then discuss the contributions, and limitations, of the world-system framework. The Changing Qiqiktaryungmiut World-System In the previous three chapters, the expectations for changing Inuvialuit worldsystems in the Herschel Island region were evaluated using a variety of data sources. Many of the expectations for which sufficient data exist were supported at least weakly, although a number were not supported at all or remain unresolved. In the following three sections, the assembled data are used to reconstruct the structure of the indigenous world-system during each period. First, though, I will reiterate that the expectations for the three periods are subject to markedly different constraints. Expectations for the first period— the autonomous zone—were based on general expectations for hunter-gatherer world-systems combined with the more particular analogue provided by the Iñupiat ethnographic record. These expectations were evaluated primarily Summary and Discussion 195 through the archaeological record, and they establish a baseline for comparison with later periods. Expectations for the second period—the contact periphery—are relative; that is, they are intended to be evaluated on the basis of comparison with patterns established for the preceding autonomous zone in order to understand whether change occurred in the direction anticipated by the model. Finally, evaluation of expectations for the third period—the marginal periphery—is made problematic by several factors outlined at the beginning of Chapter 9, primary among which is the near impossibility of being able to reconstruct the indigenous world-system in isolation from the European world-system with which it had become closely articulated. Nevertheless , the evaluation of these expectations can still provide insight into the nature of changing indigenous world-systems during this period. The Precontact Period/Autonomous Zone In the late precontact period, the Qikiqtaryungmiut world-system meets the general expectations for world-systems among relatively small-scale huntergatherer groups. In terms of breadth, archaeological evidence is consistent with the maintenance of regular interaction primarily with a few neighboring groups. Contemporaneous shifts in artifact types and styles indicate interaction with Inuit groups to both east and west, but not with Gwich’in to the south. Trade also links the Qikiqtaryungmiut to both east and west but not south. There is no direct evidence of aggregation sites associated with large-scale trade, as known from the protocontact period, although their presence cannot be ruled out. In terms of intergroup boundaries, it seems clear that empty territory , well-defined boundaries, or both existed between all Inuvialuit groups and Dene to their south, marked largely by avoidance. No firm evidence of trade exists, although some level of hostile interaction is indicated by the violent deaths of at least thirty-five individuals at the precontact Inuvialuit site of Saunaktuk in the Eskimo Lakes area (Arnold 1990; Melbye and Fairgrieve 1994). Precontact evidence is insufficient to indicate the nature of boundaries between the various Inuvialuit regional groups, although the earliest ethnohistoric accounts indicate both an atmosphere of tension between groups and some differences in visible symbols such as tattoos (Franklin 1828). The precontact Mackenzie Delta region saw a somewhat greater level of world-system depth than was originally expected. Interaction is clearly seen in the exchange of preciosities and information and the presence of intergroup conflict . Other archaeologically “invisible” forms of interaction, including intermarriage , are assumed to have occurred. Two primary sources of exotic trade goods were identified: Eurasian iron and Alaskan walrus ivory traded through intermediaries to the west, and copper and soapstone traded through intermediaries 196 Chapter 10 to the east. Several categories of trade goods were also circulating...