Preserved in Legends and Ice: What Led to the Extinction of the Dorset Culture?

Before the Inuit’s ancestors conquered the Arctic region of what we now call Canada and Greenland, there is evidence of another remarkable Paleo-Eskimo culture– the Dorset. Soon after the arrival of the newcomers, these “gentle giants” mysteriously lost their land, and their lives soon followed, as changes arrived in the frigid northern landscape. Only legends and elaborate artifacts were left behind to tell their story.

Uncertain Origins of the Dorset People

While the emergence of the Dorset people is unconfirmed, it is evident that the Dorset occupied much of the Canadian Arctic and Greenland from 500 BC to 1000 AD. Archaeological evidence shows that their culture continued to exist until 1300 AD, however the origins of the Dorset people are not completely understood.