The Paleo-Inuit period or ‘stone age’ cultures of Greenland are closely linked to Sermermiut.
In the 1950s, archaeological excavations revealed cultural layers that revealed better understanding of Greenland's prehistory. Approximately 2 and a half meters below the surface of Sermermiut lies an ancient cultural layer containing tools and remains from the Saqqaq culture, one of the first peoples to settle Greenland. The Saqqaq culture migrated across the Canadian high arctic arriving in Northwest Greenland via Ellesmere Island roughly around 4,500 years ago. Saqqaq peoples lived in tents in summer and winter. Today we can recognize their dwellings by the remains of box hearths made of stone located in the middle of the tent ring, that provided heat, light and food. The Saqqaq culture was spread throughout almost the entirety of Greenland’s ice-free areas, flourishing until about 1,000 BCE.
The Saqqaq culture was followed by another Paleo-Inuit group referred to as the Dorset culture. Like the Saqqaq, the Dorset utilized stone tools with flint-like properties. This culture also spread to most of Greenland and it was present in the country in the period from 800 BCE until the beginning of the first millennium AD.
After the Dorset, Sermermiut remained unoccupied for over a thousand years. Around 1300 AD, Tule Culture Inuit settled in the valley and continued living in the area right up to the middle of the 1800s. The present-day Greenlandic population are direct descendants of the Tule Culture Inuit.
As we head up the stairs and reach the look out we will have a fantastic view of the ice. As we will discuss in the next section, this spot is connected to local legend about Tule Culture Inuit practice of suicide. If you are uncomfortable with this topic we encourage you to skip the next section and resume the tour at Stop #9.
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