Ancient Mariners: Discovering Remote Arctic Islands Over 4,000 Years Ago

4,500 years ago, early humans embarked on a historic journey to a remote island off Greenland’s northwest coast. This daring expedition entailed crossing over 50 kilometers of open sea, marking one of the longest maritime voyages by Arctic indigenous peoples.

Archaeologists assert that these intrepid sailors were the first to reach these isolated islands. Notably, John Derwent from the University of California, Davis, contributed insights but was not involved in this study.

In 2019, Matthew Walls and a team from the University of Calgary, Canada, explored the Kittisut Islands, also known as the Carey Islands, located northwest of Greenland. These islands lie within the Pikiarasorsuaq polynya—an open ocean region surrounded by sea ice, which has been present for approximately 4,500 years.

The research focused on three main islands: Isbjörne, Mellem, and Nordvest, revealing five sites with a total of 297 archaeological features. The most significant findings were at Isbjörne beach terraces, where they uncovered the remnants of 15 circular tents, each with a central hearth and divided by stones. These distinctive “bilobed” structures are emblematic of the Paleo-Inuit—the first settlers of northern Canada and Greenland.

Radiocarbon dating of a long-billed murre’s wing bones found within one of the tent rings indicated they are between 4,400 and 3,938 years old. This confirms that humans occupied the Kittisut Islands shortly after the formation of the polynya.

“We have nesting colonies of long-billed murres,” Walls noted. The early settlers likely harvested their eggs and hunted them for food, and they likely pursued seals as well.

The Old Inuit had already reached Greenland at this time and likely journeyed to Kittisut from the west, covering a minimum distance of about 52.7 kilometers. However, due to prevailing winds and currents, they most likely set sail from a more northerly location, resulting in a longer, safer journey. To the west of Kittisut lies Ellesmere Island, which is further but presents challenging navigational conditions.

The only comparable journey known in Arctic prehistory was the 82-kilometer crossing of the Bering Strait from Siberia to Alaska, likely first accomplished over 20,000 years ago, with the Diomede Islands serving as a midway stopping point.

“Crossing that expanse required advanced watercraft,” Derwent emphasizes. The population on Kittisut likely necessitated larger vessels rather than single-person kayaks. “You can’t transport children and the elderly safely in a kayak,” he explained. The Old Inuit likely used larger boats capable of carrying nine or ten individuals.

Despite extensive studies, no boat wrecks have yet been uncovered on Kittisut Island, and few such finds exist in the Arctic region. “Their vessels would have been skin-on-frame designs similar to those utilized by later Inuit communities,” noted Walls.

The initial Paleo-Inuit settlers likely played a vital role in shaping the Kittisut ecosystem. By transporting marine nutrients onto land, they fertilized the barren soil, fostering plant growth on the islands. “There’s initially a diverse plant life there, reliant on human involvement in nutrient cycling between marine and terrestrial systems.”

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