An Analysis of 600-Year-Old Gut-Skin Parkas of the Early Thule Period from the Nuulliit Site, Avanersuaq, Greenland

Three 600‐year‐old hooded gut‐skin parkas were excavated in 1947 at the settlement Nuulliit, situated in the North Water polynya between Ellesmere Island and Avanersuaq in northern Greenland. The parkas, radiocarbon dated to the 14th century AD, belong to the Thule Period Inuit, who migrated from the Bering Strait region through Arctic North America into northern Greenland after 1250 AD. This study compares the Nuulliit parkas with gut‐skin parkas collected from 1846–1945 among resident Inuit in Alaska and eastern Greenland. Further, a comparison is conducted with female and male fur‐skin parkas from Inuit in the Bering Strait region and Alaska.The analyses of the parkas’ cutting, sewing techniques, and material consumption show that the characteristic cut with double hood roots (inserted in the mid‐shoulders or directly connected to the hood), sleeve gussets, and vertical orientation of gut‐skin panels were used for at least 550 years among the Inuit.