DNA evidence of bowhead whale exploitation by Greenlandic Paleo-Inuit 4,000 years ago

Frederik Valeur Seersholm (), Mikkel Winther Pedersen (), Martin Jensen Søe, Hussein Shokry, Sarah Siu Tze Mak, Anthony Ruter, Maanasa Raghavan, William Fitzhugh, Kurt H. Kjær, Eske Willerslev, Morten Meldgaard, Christian M.O. Kapel and Anders Johannes Hansen
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Frederik Valeur Seersholm: Centre for GeoGenetics, Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen
Mikkel Winther Pedersen: Centre for GeoGenetics, Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen
Martin Jensen Søe: Centre for GeoGenetics, Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen
Hussein Shokry: Centre for GeoGenetics, Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen
Sarah Siu Tze Mak: Centre for GeoGenetics, Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen
Anthony Ruter: Centre for GeoGenetics, Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen
Maanasa Raghavan: Centre for GeoGenetics, Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen
William Fitzhugh: Smithsonian Institution
Kurt H. Kjær: Centre for GeoGenetics, Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen
Eske Willerslev: Centre for GeoGenetics, Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen
Morten Meldgaard: Centre for GeoGenetics, Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen
Christian M.O. Kapel: University of Copenhagen
Anders Johannes Hansen: Centre for GeoGenetics, Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen

Nature Communications, 2016, vol. 7, issue 1, 1-9

Abstract: Abstract The demographic history of Greenland is characterized by recurrent migrations and extinctions since the first humans arrived 4,500 years ago. Our current understanding of these extinct cultures relies primarily on preserved fossils found in their archaeological deposits, which hold valuable information on past subsistence practices. However, some exploited taxa, though economically important, comprise only a small fraction of these sub-fossil assemblages. Here we reconstruct a comprehensive record of past subsistence economies in Greenland by sequencing ancient DNA from four well-described midden deposits. Our results confirm that the species found in the fossil record, like harp seal and ringed seal, were a vital part of Inuit subsistence, but also add a new dimension with evidence that caribou, walrus and whale species played a more prominent role for the survival of Paleo-Inuit cultures than previously reported. Most notably, we report evidence of bowhead whale exploitation by the Saqqaq culture 4,000 years ago.

Date: 2016
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DOI: 10.1038/ncomms13389

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