The tiny male figure casts a haunting image. Carved out of wood as far back as 1,500 years, the details of his dress are still visible: tall boots, short trousers and a unique high-collared fur parka. A delicate creation that fits into the palm of one's hand, the effigy is striking not only because of its age and likeness – it also offers one of the few remaining clues about its makers: the Dorset people.
They were among the Arctic's first artists – and also one of its most enduring mysteries.
The Dorset vanished from the North between 500 and 800 years ago, experts believe, and have no known descendants. Instead, they left behind an impressive collection of figurines, spiritual masks and intimate animal carvings – artifacts that help shape, at least in part, the story of some of Canada's first peoples.
The Dorset collection is now on display at a gallery in the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau, part of a five-year, $30-million project for Canada's 150th birthday that opened this summer. The Canadian History Hall, which features three distinct galleries, was designed to showcase 13,000 years of history in a way that does not keep European and Indigenous narratives separate.
"It's one of the greatest archeological mysteries in Canada: What happened to the Dorset?" says Dr. Karen Ryan, the museum's curator for Northern Canada , who wrote her dissertation on the Dorset people. "For a lot of people that come in, they see the Dorset art – it's incredibly beautiful – but then they stand back a little bit and they realize the Arctic and most of Canada has been occupied for a lot longer than we might necessarily think."
Several small ivory carvings showcase with astounding detail the various animals of their surroundings.
Steven Darby
The Dorset people, named after the discovery of artifacts around Cape Dorset in Nunavut, emerged in the Arctic some 2,500 years ago, according to archeologists. Their ancestors came to the area from Alaska about 4,500 years ago, and were the first-known creators of human representation in Canada.
The story of the Dorset has been pieced together through the oral histories of the Inuit, who called them the " Tunit," and by archeological evidence. The artifacts are also on display in Nunavut, Newfoundland and Northern Quebec, although the Canadian Museum of History is believed to have the largest, and most recognizable, collection. What the evidence suggests is a talented group of artists who were both informed by, and paid tribute to, their surroundings.
"Art is very important, because it does bear stories. It does bear perspectives," says Jonathan Lainey, curator for First Peoples at the museum, who hails from Wendake First Nation near Quebec City. "These populations, they have to create objects and artworks from what they have."
The Dorset are described by the Inuit as an extremely shy and gentle people, living scattered amid the vast Arctic landscape, who came to live together at certain times for celebration or survival. Their artistry is part of the Arctic small-tools tradition. The Dorset used stone tools, scrapers and engraving tools, although in some areas they also had iron, which came from meteorites in northwest Greenland. The materials were wood and primarily ivory, which is believed to have come from walrus tusks.
The small size of the artifacts is telling. The population was always on the move and didn't have big trees with which to create their work. Many of the pieces are marked by hand-polishing, meaning they were held, rubbed and carried by a nomadic people.
In particular, the Dorset appeared enamoured with polar bears – their most frequent subject.
Steven Darby
"They didn't stay in one area for a long time. So everything they had, that they needed, had to be taken with them," Ryan says.
Several small ivory carvings showcase with astounding detail the various animals of their surroundings, such as seals, foxes and caribou – even the representation of a miniature skull. The exhibition also features objects, such as wooden face masks and teeth, believed to have been used by shamans for spiritual purposes or during ceremonies. In particular, the Dorset appeared enamoured with polar bears – their most frequent subject.
They both lived the "ice edge" way of life – travelling to areas where the sea ice ends and the water begins – to hunt seals.
"They would have seen polar bears all the time, and watched polar bears and studied their behaviours," Ryan says.
The bear carvings are frequently found in hunting poses, and the museum curators suggest the Dorset were trying to acquire their predatory abilities.
The Dorset are also believed to have had a spiritual connection with the animals, using the effigies to communicate with them or draw their spiritual power.
The most iconic artifact on display is a white
Igloolik bear. The Dorset filled a tiny slot underneath the figurine's head and neck with red ochre – a move that suggests the bear had a spiritual meaning for the people. The Igloolik bear features numerous precisely cut lines, which are carved to represent the bear's skeleton. The lines are believed to echo the spine structures of the Dorset's communal log houses – where the Dorset would gather during their times together.
Many of the pieces are marked by hand-polishing, meaning they were held, rubbed and carried by a nomadic people.
Steven Darby
"It's evocative of what people were seeing and how they were understanding their environment," Ryan says.
So why did the Dorset disappear? Researchers believe it could be tied to two events: a period of climate warming in the Arctic, and the Inuit's first appearance in the region, some 100 years earlier. As temperatures warmed, sea ice melted, impacting the Dorset's ability to hunt seals. Archeologists believe Dorset groups had difficulty adapting and may have run out of food. If one family was wiped out, it would impact the communal activities, where goods and ideas were exchanged or matrimonies took place.
The Inuit, however, were bowhead whale hunters, and could more easily adapt to warmer conditions.
Because the Dorset were shy, they may have also avoided areas where the Inuit were hunting, losing out on the opportunity to sustain themselves. But no one knows for sure.
"It's just one of these groups that completely disappear," Ryan says. "It's a very rare thing for that to happen in Canada, where you have a group of people that lives in an area, is very well adapted to an area, and then just vanishes with no reason."
For more information, visit historymuseum.ca/exhibitions.