by Terry Elliot, Churchill Wild Polar Bear Guide
Unearthing history at Hubbart Point.
A very interesting week!
We hosted an archaeology trip at Hubbart Point and it was awesome to learn about the history of this spectacular area. Elders from Arviat, whose ancestors actually lived there, were able to explain so much about the old structures we found.
We marked 218 specific sites, and there were still more that we continued to notice as the week went on. Summer and winter houses (now I know the difference), food caches, fox traps, wells, cooking shelters and more. During the initial digs we found tools, seal, caribou, whale and bear bones, broken cooking pots and fire pits.
The site sits at approximately 18 metres above sea level, so we determined roughly that it has been in use for the last 1500 to 1800 years. The Thule people are the direct descendants of modern Inuit and for us it was a great lesson in how they lived.
The summer is shaping up to be awesome for polar bears. We have been seeing 6 to 8 bears each day, (including six sets of mothers and cubs so far) and they are all looking fat and healthy.
And I don’t think that I’ve ever seen so many belugas in the Seal River estuary!
