Unique sled dogs followed the Thule culture's Inuit from Siberia to Greenland

The Qimmeq project has contributed to a new study showing that Inuit brought their own dogs all the way from Siberia across Alaska and to Greenland. The results are published today in the prestigious English journal "Proceedings of the Royal Society B".

To date, this is the most extensive study of the sled dog's ancestors, and it has taken a team of researchers under the guidance of Dr Carly Ameen from Exeter University in England and PhD student Tatiana Feuerborn from the Qimmeq Project and the GLOBE Institute at the University of Copenhagen more than three years to review and examine all the known archaeological material of Arctic dogs from Siberia, North America and Greenland.

Dogs have lived in North America for as long as there have been humans, but previously, we did not know if the Thule people's dogs differed from the first Inuit dogs (in Greenland: Saqqaq and the Dorset culture dogs). Tatiana Feuerborn has now helped shed new light on the case:

"Our analyzes show that the dogs the Thule culture brought with them were different from previous dogs in the North American Arctic, and that they had a specialized role contributing to Inuit mobility and hunting in a well-functioning society."

Tatiana Feuerborn visits Nuuk in connection with Greenland Science Week, and she will present her results on Thursday 05 December at 15.00 - 16.00, where the Qimmeq project presents its results in Katuaq.

Contact: Tatiana Feuerborn +45 91 11 85 89.

You can also meet Anders Johannes Hansen from the Qimmeq project on Thursday 28 November at 19.30 - 21.00, where he will host a public lecture at Ilisimatusarfik titled: "What is a Greenlandic sled dog?".

Photo credit: Carsten Egevang / Qimmeq. The photo can only be used in relation to the Qimmeq project, while other use must be agreed upon in advance.