The Birnirk culture was a prehistoric

Inuit Inuit (singular: Inuk) are a group of culturally and historically similar Indigenous peoples traditionally inhabiting the Arctic and Subarctic regions of North America and Russia, including Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwe ...

culture dating from the 6th to 12th centuries of the

Chukchi Peninsula The Chukchi Peninsula (also Chukotka Peninsula or Chukotski Peninsula; , ''Chukotskiy poluostrov'', short form , ''Chukotka''), at about 66° N 172° W, is the easternmost peninsula of Asia. Its eastern end is at Cape Dezhnev near the village ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

and the

Alaska North Slope The Alaska North Slope is the region of the U.S. state of Alaska located on the northern slope of the Brooks Range along the coast of two marginal seas of the Arctic Ocean, the Chukchi Sea being on the western side of Point Barrow, and the Beau ...

. The Birnirk culture first appeared on the American side of the Bering Strait, descending from the

Old Bering Sea Old Bering Sea is an archaeological culture associated with a distinctive, elaborate circle and dot aesthetic style and is centered on the Bering Strait region; no site is more than 1 km from the ocean. Old Bering Sea is considered, following ...

/Okvik culture and preceding the

Thule people The Thule ( , ) or proto-Inuit were the ancestors of all modern Inuit. They developed in coastal Alaska by 1000 AD and expanded eastward across northern Canada, reaching Greenland by the 13th century. In the process, they replaced people of the ...

; it is distinguished by its advanced

harpoon A harpoon is a long, spear-like projectile used in fishing, whaling, sealing, and other hunting to shoot, kill, and capture large fish or marine mammals such as seals, sea cows, and whales. It impales the target and secures it with barb or ...

and marine technology. A

burial mound Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...

of the Birnirk culture was discovered in the town of

Wales, Alaska Wales (, ) is a City (Alaska), city in the Nome Census Area, Alaska, Nome Census Area, Alaska, United States. At the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census the population was 145, down from 152 in 2000. It is the westernmost city on the North ...

; 16 more have been found in

Utqiagvik Utqiagvik ( ; , ), formerly known as Barrow ( ), is the borough seat and largest city of the North Slope Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. Located north of the Arctic Circle, it is one of the northernmost cities and towns in the world and the ...

at the " Birnirk site," which is now a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...

. An ancient Birnirk village has been found at present-day Ukpiaġvik.

Culture

The Birnirk people lived in small single family dwellings containing either a long or short entrance that led to a single room with sleeping platforms. Houses lacked open fireplaces; instead, heat and light were provided by stone and clay lamps. Birnirk settlements are thought to have been small, with only a few families living in a settlement at a time. As such, the concept of the Birnirk people whaling is often debated. Most communities involved in whaling require several crews, which would have been difficult for the Birnirk as they had such small settlements. However, a whaling harpoon found in Utqiagvik, along with artifacts derived from whale parts found in other sites (baleen, whale bones, and the like) suggest that the Birnirk people were involved in some form of whale hunts. They were also known to hunt seals, caribou, birds, and fish using a variety of tools.

Tools

A multitude of Birnirk instruments have been found. They were skilled seal hunters, known for their use of innovative equipment, such as ice scratchers to lure seals over frozen waters. They are characterized by the style of the harpoons they used for hunting seals and other marine animals; the heads of the harpoons were self-pointed and had a "single lateral barb and an opposing chipped-stone side blade inset". In addition to their harpoons, the Birnirk people were known for their use of ground slate weapons. These weapons include knives, blades, arrows, and spears, usually utilized in hunting terrestrial animals.

Genetics

A genetic study published in ''

Science Science is a systematic discipline that builds and organises knowledge in the form of testable hypotheses and predictions about the universe. Modern science is typically divided into twoor threemajor branches: the natural sciences, which stu ...

'' in August 2014 examined the remains of five Birnirk people buried in Siberia between ca. 570 AD and 680 AD. The five samples of

mitochondrial DNA Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA and mDNA) is the DNA located in the mitochondrion, mitochondria organelles in a eukaryotic cell that converts chemical energy from food into adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Mitochondrial DNA is a small portion of the D ...

extracted all belonged to haplogroup

A2a A2A S.p.A. is an Italian company, organised as a ''società per azioni'', that generates, distributes, and markets renewable energy, electricity, gas, integrated water supply, and waste management services. The company has significant presence i ...

. Haplogroup A2a was also the predominant maternal lineage among the

. The genetic evidence suggested that the Thule people descended from Birnirk migrants from Siberia who entered northern

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

and

Greenland Greenland is an autonomous territory in the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. It is by far the largest geographically of three constituent parts of the kingdom; the other two are metropolitan Denmark and the Faroe Islands. Citizens of Greenlan ...

some time after 1300, where they completely replaced the genetically distinct indigenous

Dorset people The Dorset was a Paleo-Eskimo culture, lasting from to between and , that followed the Pre-Dorset and preceded the Thule people (proto-Inuit) in the North American Arctic. The culture and people are named after Cape Dorset (now Kinngait) ...

References

Sources

* Inuit history Archaeological cultures of North America Prehistory of the Arctic Extinct Indigenous peoples of the Americas {{NorthAm-native-stub

Culture

Tools

Genetics

See also

References

Sources