From approximately 1830 to 1940, through various expeditions to Siberia, Arctic North America, and Greenland, and through donations, the National Museum of Denmark acquired its collection of historical Inuit skin clothing. Unfortunately, original provenance information has been lost for 14% of the garments. In order to document the extensive collection, this study investigates three methods for species identification of animal skin: microscopy of hair, macroscopic identification, and DNA validation. Thus, the present study has two aims: first, to optimise and test hair microscopy for species identification by validating identifications by DNA analyses, and second, to use species identification to estimate the geographic and cultural provenance of Inuit skin clothing. Based on a dataset of well-documented clothing (for positive controls), this study describes an optimised species identification protocol via hair microscopy using transmitted light microscopy (TLM). We demonstrate that the TLM hair protocol is a reliable and inexpensive alternative to molecular approaches when macroscopic identification is doubtful and DNA validation or protein analyses are impossible. In this study we used photomicrographs to document the identifications of caribou (Rangifer tarandus), musk ox (Ovibos moschatus), species of the true seal family (Phocidae), domestic dog (Canis lupus familiaris), wolf (Canis lupus), Arctic fox (Vulpes lagopus), polar bear (Ursus maritimus), wolverine (Gulo gulo), ground squirrel (Urocitellus parryii richardsonii), ermine (Mustela erminea), and cattle (Bos taurus); these identifications can be used for future reference. We conclude that species identification analyses secure the documentation of garments and allow most objects to be contextualized by culture and geography. The studied garments are accessible at the museum website.

Attempts to accurately reconstruct events that occurred during the final phases of the 1845 Franklin Northwest Passage expedition face a key challenge: how to address inconsistencies and, in some cases, contradictions between historical descriptions of sites and the archaeological evidence they contain. This paper examines the case of site NcLa-1 at Kungearkbeearu, on the Simpson Strait coast of King William Island, for which the Inuit oral history seems incompatible with archaeological interpretations. New archaeological data from the site provide an enhanced framework within which to evaluate both the oral history and archaeology of NcLa-1.

For Paleo-Inuit cultures, needles are arguably one of the most important artefact types, as they were used to create warm, waterproof clothing that is essential for survival in Arctic environments. This, in combination with the prevalence of needles within archaeological collections, has prompted many researchers to the topic of Paleo-Inuit needles. However, the majority of their studies have approached the material using traditional, typological methodology. A pilot study conducted by Siebrecht et al. (2021) demonstrated that, while needles from several Dorset Paleo-Inuit culture (c. 800 – 1300 AD) sites in the Foxe Basin region were previously considered as typologically identical, microwear analysis highlighted variation in how they would have been made and used over time and across sites. The pilot study also noted variation, across sites, in certain typological attributes, such as needle eye shape, distal end shape, and cross-section shape. The present study aims to expand on these discoveries by considering possible reasons for variability in the attribute of needle cross-section shape. Methodologically, we use microwear analysis, experimental archaeology, and ethnographic collaboration. With this approach, we were able to explore Dorset needle making and sewing practices in more detail than has been possible in prvevious, purely typology-focused studies. Our results showed no observable pattern between cross-section shape and the material being sewn but may reveal links between needle size and the material being sewn, a correlation in different polish types and the duration of needle use, as well as insights into the possible sewing techniques used by Dorset groups. Our study thus offers a fresh perspective on this topic and points to new directions for this area of Arctic archaeological research.

Seal hunting is a long-standing cultural practice for Inuit, who have also long participated in the commercial seal market. Inuit were negatively impacted by anti-sealing campaigns that resulted in international trade bans and subsequent market collapses for seal products. To improve market access for Inuit seal products, the Canadian government established the Certification and Market Access Program for Seals (CMAPS) to support export of Inuit seal products in European Union markets. In 2015, the Government of Nunavut became an Attestation Body under the EU Indigenous Communities Exemption, which enables the Government to certify Nunavut seal products for export into EU markets. To date, market development efforts have largely focused on supporting the export market for Nunavut sealskins, while less attention has focused on how such efforts impact the local value chain and meet the needs of Nunavut Inuit involved in the seal market. Focus group discussions with Inuit value chain actors in Iqaluit and Qikiqtarjuaq provide insight into the Nunavut seal value chain and explore perspectives of how government policies and programmes are meeting the needs of Nunavut Inuit. Findings revealed multiple gaps in the local value chain that have gone largely unaddressed due to a priority on export markets over the local value chain. These gaps limit export development opportunities and the ability for the seal market to adequately meet the needs of Nunavut Inuit and Nunavummiut alike. Collectively, this study demonstrates the importance of centralizing Inuit in economic development policies to support local economies and ensure Inuit priorities are met.

In ancient Alaska, people allocated wood, bone, and oil for both fuel and non-fuel purposes, which required careful management. By examining these resources through the lens of human behavioral ecology (HBE) and the principle of least effort (PLE), we can understand fuel use—especially woody fuel use—from the standpoint of selectivity, wherein ancient people considered energetic output, handling costs, and state when choosing fuel sources. At any given site, some degree of firewood selectivity, ranging from complete indifference to marked discrimination, would have been most advantageous. Accordingly, ancient Alaskans at Cape Espenberg, Gerstle River, Hungry Fox, and Walakpa would have employed different fuel management strategies tailored according to their evolving needs. Results suggest that firewood indifference was more common, and that selectivity was advantageous only at longer-term occupations where fuel was abundant. Otherwise, proximity and handling costs trumped the benefits of taxon-specific selectivity, which is a strategy meant to confer desired combustion outcomes. Detecting when and where it was beneficial for ancient Alaskans to be selective grants insight into how they categorized fuel and adapted their fuel selection behaviors to fit particular circumstances. Moreover, the restrictions imposed by finite fuel availability have general implications for settlement patterns and mobility that may help trace ancient migration routes as hunter-gatherers leap-frogged from one fuel patch to another.

Results of a 2019 human biomonitoring study indicated that several parameters, including lead, cobalt, manganese, and hexachlorobenzene, were elevated in blood and urine samples in Old Crow, Yukon, in comparison to the general Canadian population. This study aims to identify possible local determinants of levels of these parameters, including consumption of locally harvested traditional foods, lifestyle factors, and demographics, in Old Crow and, for comparison, two other northern populations: communities in the Dehcho and Sahtú regions of the Northwest Territories. We ran generalized linear models to identify possible associations between individual determinants of exposure and key biomarkers, controlling for age and sex. In Old Crow, several variables were associated with elevated exposure levels of these biomarkers, including drinking untreated river water (29% higher blood manganese levels and 120% higher blood lead levels), eating caribou kidneys (22% higher blood manganese levels and 58% higher blood lead levels), and eating whitefish (28% higher blood cobalt levels). Additionally, in order to differentiate results in Old Crow from those in other northern regions and to identify trends across regions, we observed relationships between consumption of moose and caribou organs and lead and hexachlorobenzene levels in the reference populations and pooled population groups. Though levels of particular contaminants may be elevated in some traditional foods, these foods remain an important source of nutrients for members in these communities and provide other benefits, including increased physical activity through harvesting, mental health improvements, and spiritual wellness.

This case study aimed to examine the short-term development of body composition and substrate utilization (i.e., contribution of fat and carbohydrates to energy supply) following prolonged low-intensity ski trekking (LIST) with inadequate energy intake in an Arctic region. For 23 days, two highly aerobically fit, male recreational athletes (24 and 26 years) performed ~2 – 11 hours of LIST each day, while pulling supply sledges (initially ~80 kg) across the length of Svalbard’s largest island, Spitsbergen (~640 km). We estimated body composition using bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA). For evaluation of substrate utilization, we analyzed pulmonary respiratory gas-exchange ratio (RER) using an ergospirometry system during treadmill trekking (ski trekking simulation). Results indicated that the energy intake of each participant during this unsupported expedition was ~21.4 MJ·day-1 (~5107 kcal·day-1), of which ~33% (~5.0 g·kg-1·day-1), ~51% (~3.4 g·kg-1·day-1), and ~16% (~2.4 g·kg-1·day-1) came from carbohydrates, fat, and proteins, respectively. Body mass decreased by 7.2 kg (8.4%) in Subject A, and 4.4 kg (5.2%) in Subject B. Absolute fat mass decreased by 5.4 kg (37%) and 4.7 kg (30%) in Subject A and Subject B, respectively, whereas the changes in fat-free mass (–1.8 kg in Subject A, and +0.3 kg in Subject B) were within the random measurement error of the BIA analyser. Changes in RER in Subject A (–0.01 to –0.02 units) were within the random measurement error, whereas the RER data in Subject B were not interpretable due to excessive fluctuations in ventilatory equivalent for oxygen. In conclusion, this study indicates that short-term, prolonged LIST, performed with an energy deficit corresponding to a weight loss of ~2 kg·week-1, can lead to leaner body composition without notable changes in fat-free mass in well-trained, male recreational athletes. Furthermore, substrate utilization does not appear to be affected by short-term, prolonged LIST in this subgroup of athletes.

The international service that ensures access to data and products of global navigation satellite systems (GNSSs), known as the IGS, runs a real-time service (RTS) project to support users who need real-time access to precise products. Thanks to the RTS project, it is now possible to obtain real-time precise point positioning (RT-PPP) solutions. RT-PPP can be used in many real-time positioning applications that require a high level of accuracy, efficiency, and flexibility, including earth sciences, atmosphere sciences, marine sciences, natural hazards, and many more. In this study, we tested the impact of different worldwide RTS products and satellite configurations on the performance of RT-PPP accuracy, as well as convergence time, in the Antarctic’s challenging environment and extreme atmospheric conditions. We applied RT-PPP solutions using real-time precise products (satellite orbit/clock corrections, and biases to conduct the real-time PPP) provided by the IGS and NAVCAST (a real-time PPP positioning service) based on different GNSS constellations: GPS-only, Galileo-only, and a combination of GPS and Galileo. In this way, the performance of two different real-time (RT) services was compared with each other. At the same time, the effectiveness of the Galileo global navigation satellite system for RT-PPP was also tested, and the Galileo system’s contribution to the GPS-only RT-PPP solution was investigated. The PPP-WIZARD software was used to process the corrections and GNSS data from a reference station in the Antarctic region. Although GPS-only, Galileo-only, and multi-GNSS solutions obtained from both RT services were found to have very close accuracy to each other, the combination of the GPS and Galileo systems produced better accuracy than when using the GPS system alone. According to the numerical results of this study, it was concluded that the real-time PPP technique gave promising results in such a challenging environment of the Antarctic region. However, we also observe that the RT-PPP technique requires a stable and robust internet connection, which might limit its usefulness in remote regions. Overall, we found the RT-PPP technique to be a viable alternative to conventional relative GNSS positioning techniques, especially in areas where continuously operating reference networks or similar networks are lacking.