Worked bird bone, Pre-Dorset (This artefact resembles one from a Pre-Dorset site, Parry Hill, at Igloolik- personal communication Patricia Sutherland).

Raised marine deposits along the northern Prince of Wales Strait were surveyed for archaeological sites as part of a larger study of Holocene sea ice conditions in the Northwest Passage. Douglas Hodgson (Geological Survey of Canada) and I surveyed an area north of that examined by Arthur Dyke (GSC) and James Savelle (McGill, Anthropology) in previous years.   Two camps were established on Victoria Island: Deans Dundas Bay, Armstrong Point and one, Wallace Point, was established on Banks Island.

While the project had several research goals, the main aim was to establish the time periods when the areas on either side of Prince of Wales Strait were occupied, which cultural groups utilized these areas, and what the nature of use of the area was by Palaeo- and Neoeskimo peoples.   We also wished to establish if there was a difference in Palaeo- and Neoeskimo occupation density between northwestern and western Victoria Island coasts. Dyke and Savelle had observed a decrease close to the northern limit of their study area at 72 N.

Only forty-eight sites were recorded during the 2003 field season, compared to the fifty-two sites recorded during our 2002 field survey of the Viscount Melville Sound coast of northwestern most Victoria Island. Of the forty-eight sites recorded, seventeen of these consisted of clusters of caches. Most of the caches had been opened; however a few were still closed and one contained barrel staves.

Historical Period cache with wooden staves.

Other than one find spot, there is limited definite evidence for Palaeoeskimo use of the area; many of the features recorded were amorphous in form and thus a cultural affiliation could not be assigned. Neoeskimo, Early Historic, and Late Historic sites were evident in low-lying areas.

There were fewer habitation structures found along the examined sections of coast than to the northeast (2002) and it would seem that this area was used predominately for short term hunting and trapping ventures.   It is apparent that this section of coast has been submerging during at least the latest Holocene, so it is possible that some archaeological sites have been destroyed. There is also a paucity of the well-defined raised beaches on which Arctic dwelling sites are often found. Furthermore, the predominantly fine-grained raised marine sediments are undergoing active processes of solifluction and thus any sites are likely being covered or dispersed by this slope movement.