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February 9, 2026<\/p>\n
2 min read<\/p>\n
Add Us On Google<\/span>Add SciAm<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Ancient seafarers helped shape Arctic ecosystems<\/p>\n Humans might have been sailing the sea between Greenland and Canada as long as it\u2019s been unfrozen, archaeological evidence suggests<\/p>\n By K. R. Callaway edited by Claire Cameron<\/span><\/p>\n Crossing over 50 kilometers between Kitsissut and shores of northwest Greenland is difficult today, but even ancient seafarers were able to repeatedly make the journey.<\/p>\n In the pristine High Arctic sits the Kitsissut island cluster, also known as the Carey Islands, nestled between northwest Greenland and northeast Canada. The surrounding seas are perilous, and traveling there is difficult even with modern boats. But new archaeological evidence suggests ancient humans managed to sail to the islands, too.<\/p>\n Early settlers lived on the islands between 4,500 and 2,700 years ago. Archaeologists had long assumed they were land-bound, unable to cross the seas surrounding them after the ice that once blanketed the area had melted. But new research published Sunday in the journal Antiquity suggests these settlers formed seafaring communities that existed for at least as long as the area\u2019s polynya\u2014a technical name for unfrozen water amid sea ice\u2014indicating that humans have long had a hand in shaping the dynamic Arctic ecosystem.<\/p>\n \u201cWe saw a space for archaeology to bring forward the deep history of the environment and learn more about stewardship through time,\u201d says the study\u2019s lead author, Matthew Walls, an archaeologist at the University of Calgary.<\/p>\n If you’re enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.<\/p>\n In the past, archaeologists had assumed humans made their way to the Arctic by following musk oxen and other onshore prey. But though more recent evidence has suggested otherwise, it\u2019s been hard to dispel the old theory, particularly because remnants of boats and fishing supplies\u2014made from organic materials\u2014were largely missing from the archaeological record.<\/p>\n The new study helps fill in some of those gaps. The researchers analyzed 297 archaeological features and artifacts from five localities, primarily on Isbj\u00f8rne Island in the Kitsissut island chain. The dwellings they found there indicate that humans regularly visited and inhabited the islands, traveling from one to the other and back.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re looking at a trip that\u2019s maybe 15 to 18 hours of difficult paddling and in this environment where things can change on you very quickly,\u201d Walls says. \u201cI think the people who were able to make this trip had an incredible amount of navigational skill and ability.\u201d<\/p>\n The findings reveal the Arctic settlers\u2019 seafaring nature and deep understanding of the waters around them. They also show that humans played a big role in a vibrant ecosystem that emerged after a massive chunk of sea ice unfroze approximately 4,500 years ago\u2014around the same time humans started journeying across it. Every species that has made the area the ecological hotspot it is today\u2014from seabirds and polar bears to seals and toothed whales\u2014would have had some degree of contact with these early human settlers.<\/p>\n The intertwined history of the ecosystem could help inform future conservation efforts, says Sofia Ribeiro, a researcher at the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland, who was not involved in the study.<\/p>\n \u201c[The study] will be a good contribution to inform measures for the future,\u201d Ribeiro says.\u201cWe need to be looking at stewardship as something that has been happening that is not isolated from the evolution of this ecosystem.\u201d<\/p>\n Walls hopes the work will inform regional officials\u2019 decision-making about environmental stewardship and inspire further study of the region\u2019s lesser-known historical inhabitants.<\/p>\n \u201cI think we\u2019re at a moment where an important platform for archaeology is to help better represent environmental histories that account for cultural stories as well,\u201d Walls says.<\/p>\n If you enjoyed this article, I\u2019d like to ask for your support. 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I hope you\u2019ll support us in that mission.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" February 9, 2026 2 min read Add Us On GoogleAdd SciAm Ancient seafarers helped shape Arctic ecosystems Humans might have been sailing the sea between Greenland and Canada as long as it\u2019s been unfrozen, archaeological evidence suggests By K. R. Callaway edited by Claire Cameron Crossing over 50 kilometers between Kitsissut and shores of northwest<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":44236,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[50],"tags":[723,240,23003,7623,23002,234],"class_list":{"0":"post-44235","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-environment","8":"tag-ancient","9":"tag-arctic","10":"tag-ecosystems","11":"tag-helped","12":"tag-seafarers","13":"tag-shape"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44235","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=44235"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44235\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/44236"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=44235"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=44235"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=44235"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}On supporting science journalism<\/h2>\n
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