Iglulik (Aug 18/03) - It's hard work sifting through gravel while the wind gusts around you and brings the temperatures below zero degrees, in July.

Volunteers aid scientists at Iglulik dig A number of people were required to excavate three sites near the Iglulik airport. Led by Douglas Stenton of CLEY and Robert Park with the University of Waterloo, a team of workers and volunteers spent three weeks over two years to unearth pre-Dorset artifacts. The hired help was made up of Tara Grant (Canadian Conservation Institute), Brooke Milne (McMaster University) and Terry Uyaraq, Elizabeth Qaunaq, Amanda Taqtaq, Krista Uttak, Valerie Quassa and Jacky Qrunnut from Iglulik. A number of volunteers also made their contribution at the dig. They were: Darrell MacKenzie, Edward Atkinson, Joanna Quassa, Sylvia Ivalu, Andre Uttak from Iglulik, Judy Watts (Panniqtuuq) and Margaret Hollingsworth (British Columbia). Carolyn and John MacDonald also had a part in the project as did the department of sustainable development which provided some logistical support.

And if it's not the wind, it's the mosquitoes. Swarms of them, making it hard to see what your doing.

But for a group of people, those were small inconveniences.

Led by Doug Stenton, an archaeologist and director of heritage with the department of culture, language, elders and youth (CLEY) for the Nunavut government, a group of 10 workers and seven volunteers excavated three archaeological sites in Iglulik over a two-year period.

The project started when the Iglulik hamlet showed interest in extending their airport runway south to accommodate jets.

However, all of Iglulik, and the island it's on, is a national park, and numerous sites dating as far back as 1800 BC can still be found.

And three of those were right by the airport and would be impacted by the extension of the runway.

Stenton, with Robert Park, an archaeologist with the University of Waterloo, were in charge of this project.

While what they found may not be as astonishing as ancient Egyptian tombs, it still provides a glimpse of life for Inuit living in the pre-Dorset era (1800BC-800BC).

"We found hundreds of artifacts in 30 tent sites: croppers, engraving tools, stone flakes from making tools. We even found two harpoon heads last year and one lance head. We also found microblades, which are used for cutting," said Stenton from his Iqaluit office after the dig was completed.

The crew, made up of archaeologists, local student workers and community volunteers also found some animal bones (seal and bird) which will be analyzed to determine from when they come from.

"We will carbon date the artifacts to try to determine the age of the sites, or features as we also call them," Stenton said.

Features, he said, include tent rings, kayak stands and even inukshuks.

"An archaeological site, or feature, is any location where human activity took place," Stenton said.

Community joins in

The excavation was also an opportunity to promote archaeology to the community and make people aware of this science and what avenues can be pursued in this field.

"We hired some local students to help us out. We also held an open house for the locals to come look at what we were doing and finding," Stenton said.

The local students didn't need any education in the subject, just a willingness to work and learn.

"This was learning on the job. We mentored and worked with the students. It was an opportunity for them to apply skills they had learned in school and in life and also learn about archaeology," Stenton said.

For Amanda Taqtaq, who is going on to Grade 9, this was an opportunity to do something different.

"I thought it would be interesting, and it was. We found a lot of interesting stuff and I had a good experience," she said, adding that this could be a field she wouldn't mind pursuing.

As for Jacky Qrunnut, this was just something to do this summer.

"I think it was a great experience. It was pretty cool. There was an opening and I thought I'd go for it. It was just a one time thing though," Qrunnut, who will be in Grade 12 this year and is thinking of going to college, though he doesn't know in which field yet.

Analysis and benefits

Some benefits from this dig won't be known for a long time.

"The interest some of our workers showed in this project was great. Maybe some will look at archaeology or similar avenues to pursue," Stenton said.

He also said similar projects would be a great way to teach young Inuit their culture and traditions.

A full analysis of the findings will be made in the fall which will be catalogued at the University of Waterloo.

A monograph, a small book detailing the project, will also be published.

"The key benefit of this dig will be for the airport, but we now have comprehensive knowledge of these sites. This adds to our information on the pre-Dorset era and more specifically life of Inuit on Iglulik island," Stenton said.